Cardinal Makrickas opens the Holy Door of Santa Maria Maggiore for the Jubilee

On January 1, 2025, the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God, at 5pm, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Coadjutor Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, presided over the Rite of Opening of the fourth Holy Door of the Jubilee Year.

The event followed the openings of the Holy Doors of the Basilicas of Saint Peter in the Vatican, Saint John Lateran and Rebibbia prison, and precedes the opening of the fifth and final Holy Door of the Jubilee at the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

“We ask for the grace that this Jubilee Year may move us and urge us to walk towards the Lord with authentic and sincere concern for our loved ones, for our poor, for the sick, for those who have lost the path of truth, joy and peace,” said the Cardinal. He continued with the invitation to accept the appeal that the Pope makes in the Bull of Indiction, Spes non confundit, to “experience the closeness of the most affectionate of mothers" – Our Lady. The final prayer of the meditation of the Coadjutor Archpriest was addressed to the Madonna in these words: “Lead us to Jesus: the fullness of time, of every time, of the time of each of us.”

The Holy Door of the Basilica of St Mary Major, the work of the sculptor, Luigi Enzo Mattei, was completed following a competition held ahead of the the Great Jubilee of 2000. Dedicated to the Third Millennium, it was blessed by Saint John Paul II on 8 December 2001.

It was opened for the first time by Pope Francis on 1 January 2016 for the Jubilee of Mercy. On one door is depicted the Madonna, showing Our Lady as ‘Savior of the Roman people’ - Salus populi romani. The icon of this title is preserved inside the basilica in the Pauline Chapel, and shows Mary pointing to the Risen Christ. On the other door Jesus holds his right arm outstretched with his hand turned towards the Mother and the Christian people.

When the two doors are open, the figures of Christ and the Madonna are turned towards the faithful who pass by and, because of the position of their hands, appear to invite people to enter.

In the upper part of the Door are depicted the biblical scenes of the Annunciation and Pentecost. At the bottom are depicted two Councils, that of Ephesus, in which Mary is proclaimed Mother of God, and Vatican II, where Mary is invoked as Mother of the Church.