In a world filled with darkness, anxiety, and the clash of weapons, Holy Year 2025 arrives like a ray of sunshine. It heals wounds, soothes hearts, and instills hope.
This is the Jubilee of Hope that Pope Francis envisions in his Bull of Indiction, SPES NON CONFUNDIT—“Hope does not disappoint.”
Director of the Department of Church History at the Pontifical Gregorian University Robert Regoli explains, “Jubilee serves to tell the truth to the man and woman of our time that the Lord can reach them where they are, but He will never leave them where they are. The one who comes is Christ, our Hope.”
He urges us to do so by passing through the Holy Door, the Jubilee's most powerful symbol.
A few days ago, on Christmas Night, December 24, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica, inaugurating the Jubilee and inviting all of humanity to follow him on a new path of conversion and spiritual resurrection.
Besides Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, three other Holy Doors at Rome’s major basilicas—Saint Mary Major, Saint John Lateran, and Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls—are opened each Jubilee Year.
This time, Pope Francis introduced a uniquely special fifth Holy Door—opened personally by him on December 26 inside a Roman prison—making it the only Holy Door he has opened himself besides Saint Peter's Basilica.
The chaplain of Rebibbia Prison Fr. Lucio Boldrin explained, “Opening the Holy Door here in Rebibbia Prison is opening a Holy Door in all prisons around the world. Let's remember that this celebration is not just for Italy, the Jubilee is international and universal and so is this celebration, this opening wants to be letting in of hope for millions of inmates.”
From the start of his pontificate, Pope Francis has championed the weak and marginalized. The Jubilee of Hope perfectly embodies this mission. His visit to Rebibbia serves as a powerful symbol of closeness and hope for those who are struggling.
Teresa Mascolo, Head of Rebibbia Prison, noted, “When our prisoners found out that Pope Francis was coming to visit us for the opening of the Holy Door, they immediately became active with a disarming spontaneity in thinking of creating, of building a gift using the woods from migrants' barges. We have a workshop here called Metamorphosis, which transforms the woods from the barges that transported the migrants into many objects. They couldn’t wait the moment of giving the Pope their special gift.”
Now, the bronze door hidden behind the high prison walls stands as a powerful symbol of hope for those enduring life behind bars.
On Sunday, December 29, the world witnessed the spectacular opening of the Holy Door at another of Rome’s major basilicas: St. John Lateran.
St. John Lateran Basilica, also known as the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, is the Cathedral of Rome and the most important of the four major basilicas. Revered as Mater Ecclesiae—the Mother of the Church for Roman Catholics—it was likely the first basilica in Rome to open its Holy Door, commemorating the Jubilee of 1425.
Prof. Francesco Buranelli, President of the Holy See's Monument Protection Commission, explained, “According to the archives the very first Holy Door to be opened in Rome was probably that of St. John in Lateran in the year 1425, followed by that of St. Peter's Basilica.”
On January 1st, the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major—Pope Francis’s beloved church in the heart of Rome—opened its Holy Door to pilgrims during the Solemnity of Mary, Most Holy Mother of God.
The final Holy Door of this Jubilee at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls was opened on Sunday, January 5.
Rome expects over 35 million pilgrims during the Holy Year. Visitors must register online and download a special QR code to access the Holy Door.
“We have the official site of the Jubilee. You can download the official app for the Jubilee, that can give you the opportunity to register, to cross the Holy Door. We will have many pilgrims from all over the world coming to Rome for the Jubilee Year, And so everyone, maybe they can feel a bit confused. So the only info point, the official info point is here at Via della Conciliazione, 7. Many volunteers can help them to have facilities to cross the Holy Door completely safe,” explained Davide Vincent Mambriani, Cultural Affairs Office for Jubilee 2025.
Apart from those who will come to Rome during the year 2025, many millions will follow the Jubilee events online.
Pietro Zahnder, Head of Necropolis and Artistic Heritage of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, noted, “Certainly technology comes to us, the mass media transmit images in real time to the farthest corners of the globe, but the spirit remains the same: passing through the Holy Door is an inner journey and an inner renewal. The spirit that animated the first Jubilee in 1300 even though it has been over 700 years now since that moment, remains the same. Everything changes, but on the other hand nothing changes. We have to be ready to undertake a new path. And the Church gives us this opportunity.”
Adapted by Jacob Stein
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Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1979, she is a linguist, translator, producer, writer, journalist, and a long-time foreign correspondent for Polish National Television TVP in Rome and the Vatican. She holds a master's degree from the University of Warsaw, doctoral studies from the Gregorian University in Rome, and post-master studies from the Diplomatic Academy in Warsaw. For 10 years, she was a translator for the Tribunal of the Roman Rota and the Apostolic Signature in the Vatican. She has produced over 20 documentaries about the Vatican and the papacy and authored four bestsellers about the Vatican and Rome. As the wife of a Pontifical Swiss Guard member, she lived for over 16 years in Vatican City, a neighbor to the last three popes. She is the mother of two teenage daughters and has been the EWTN Vatican correspondent in Rome since May 2024.
