Pope Francis officially launched the 2025 Jubilee of Hope by opening the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica on the evening of December 24, 2024. During the Christmas Eve Mass, he assured the faithful that the Christ Child of Bethlehem brings boundless hope and joy to the world.
The symbolic opening of the Holy Door marked the beginning of the Ordinary Jubilee, a tradition observed every 25 years, as outlined in the papal bull Spes non confundit. The Jubilee Year will culminate with the closing of the same Holy Door on January 6, 2026, during the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.
The Holy Door’s Meaning
The Holy Door holds profound significance, inviting those who pass through it to embrace a life of holiness. As the Jubilee hymn played, representatives of the global Church followed the Pope through the door, symbolizing the millions of pilgrims from all nations and tongues who will journey to St. Peter’s Basilica during this Holy Year to partake in the mysteries of salvation.
The tradition of opening the Holy Door dates back to Pope Martin V, who initiated it during the Extraordinary Jubilee of 1423 at the Lateran Basilica. In St. Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Door was first used for the Jubilee of 1450. Its current location, at the rear wall of the chapel dedicated to the Mother of God by Pope John VII, has remained consistent.
In 1500, Pope Alexander VI established a ritual for opening the Holy Door to mark the Jubilee, a tradition largely unchanged for centuries. However, in 2000, during the Jubilee Year, the ceremony evolved, replacing the removal of a brick wall with the opening of the bronze Holy Door, a practice introduced in 1983.
The Holy Door was last opened for an Ordinary Jubilee by Pope St. John Paul II in 2000. More recently, Pope Francis opened it in 2015 for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, observed in 2016.
Jubilee: A Time to Deepen Faith and Recognize Christ Among Us
Pope Francis has expressed his heartfelt prayer for the Holy Year, saying, “May the light of Christian hope shine upon every man and woman, as a testament to God’s love for all! And may the Church faithfully embody this message in every corner of the world.”
This Jubilee serves as a call to strengthen faith and to recognize Christ present in our midst, inviting the faithful to reflect deeply on their spiritual journey and share the hope of the Gospel with others.
Restoring us to Our Father’s embrace
The Pope picked up the Jubilee theme of hope in his homily. He began recalling the Gospel passage according to St. Luke which recounts when the angel of the Lord, bathed in light, illumines the night and brings glad tidings to the shepherds: ‘I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord’ (Lk 2:10-11).
At that moment, the Holy Father reflected on how Heaven breaks forth upon earth amid the wonder of the poor and the singing of angels. “God,” he highlighted, “has become one of us to make us like Himself; He has come down to us to lift us up and restore us to the embrace of the Father.”
Little Child offers hope for the world
In Emmanuel, ‘God with us,’ the Pope reiterated, we find our hope.
“The infinitely great,” he marveled, “made Himself tiny” and “the glory of heaven appeared on earth as a little child.”
“If God can visit us, even when our hearts seem like a lowly manger,” the Pope continued, “we can truly say: Hope is not dead; hope is alive and it embraces our lives forever!”
“If God can visit us, even when our hearts seem like a lowly manger, we can truly say: Hope is not dead; hope is alive and it embraces our lives forever!”
‘There is hope for you’
The Pope reminded that with the opening of the Holy Door, the new Jubilee was inaugurated, which exhorts each one of us to enter into the mystery of this extraordinary event.
“Tonight, the door of hope has opened wide to the world” and “God speaks to each of us and says: ‘there is hope also for you!’” he said.
“With haste,” therefore, he said, “let us set out to behold the Lord who is born for us, our hearts joyful and attentive, ready to meet him and then to bring hope to the way we live our daily lives. For Christian hope is not a ‘happy ending’ which we passively await, but rather, a promise, the Lord’s promise, to be welcomed here and now in our world of suffering and sighs.”
“With haste, let us set out to behold the Lord who is born for us, our hearts joyful and attentive, ready to meet Him and then to bring hope to the way we live our daily lives”
The end to wallowing in mediocrity
Significantly, Pope Francis underscored, the Jubilee “is a summons not to tarry, to be kept back by our old habits, or to wallow in mediocrity or laziness.”
“It is a summons not to tarry, to be kept back by our old habits, or to wallow in mediocrity or laziness”
The Pope recalled Doctor of the Church Saint Augustine’s having suggested that hope calls us to be upset with things that are wrong and to find the courage to change them.
Pope Francis concluded by offering some food for thought.
“Dear sister, dear brother, on this night the ‘holy door’ of God’s heart lies open before you. Jesus, God-with-us, is born for you, for us, for every man and woman. With him, joy flourishes; with Him, life changes; with Him, hope does not disappoint.”
“Dear sister, dear brother, on this night the ‘holy door’ of God’s heart lies open before you.”
Rediscovering the Joy of Encountering the Lord
Pope Francis emphasized the essence of the Jubilee, saying, “Brothers and sisters, this is the Jubilee.” It is a sacred time to rediscover the joy of meeting the Lord, deepening our relationship with Him, and embracing His boundless love and mercy.
Christmas Mass during the Night in Saint Peter’s Basilica
“This is the season of hope in which we are invited to rediscover the joy of meeting the Lord,” he stressed, adding how the Jubilee “calls us to spiritual renewal and commits us to the transformation of our world, so that this year may truly become a time of jubilation.”
Opening of Holy Doors
On Christmas Day, Pope Francis will deliver his Urbi et Orbi message to the people of the city of Rome and the world from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica at noon.
On 26 December, for the first time in the Jubilee tradition, Pope Francis will open a fifth sacred portal in a Roman prison, a gesture of hope that shows his ongoing closeness to detainees.
On Sunday, 29 December, the Pope will open the Holy Door of his cathedral, Saint John Lateran, which on 9 November this year celebrated the 1700th anniversary of its dedication.
Then, on 1 January 2025, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major will be opened.
Lastly, Sunday, 5 January 2025, will mark the opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
These last three Holy Doors will be closed on Sunday, 28 December 2025.
Full video of the Opening of the Holy Door and Christmas Mass during the Night
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