Twenty million pilgrims. To cross the Holy Door and pray at the tomb of Pope Francis. And then stop in front of the relic of the Sacred Cradle, where the newborn Baby Jesus was placed. In Santa Maria Maggiore, Cardinal Rolandas Macrickas greets the pilgrims and closes, on the evening of Christmas Day, the first of the four holy doors of the papal basilicas. The fifth, the one that Pope Francis had opened in Rebibbia, had already been closed on 20 December. “What closes is not divine grace, but a special time of the Church and what remains open forever is the heart of the merciful God,” said the cardinal. A giant screen mounted in the square to allow everyone to witness the ancient rite showed the images of the archpriest who, in silence, climbing the few steps, knelt in front of the Holy Door before getting up and closing its doors. Then, in the homily, he reiterated that «Many pilgrims like us crossed the Holy Door during the Jubilee Year. Today we have seen it close again but the door that really matters remains that of our heart: it opens when it listens to the word of God, it expands when it welcomes its brother, it is strengthened when it forgives and asks for forgiveness.” And again: «crossing the Holy Door was a gift and from today becoming open doors for others is our mission for the future».
The cardinal also recalled that this Holy Year had a special aspect. Paying homage to Pope Francis whose body is «buried here and honored by thousands of faithful every day» and explained that «this basilica in this Holy Year has had the grace of a very special task: to preserve a memory that becomes prophecy».
Furthermore, going back to the precedent of the Holy Year of 1700 opened by Innocent XII and closed by Clement The Lord never abandons his Church, which today finds its shepherd in Pope Leo and which walks steadfast together with him.” And finally, he reiterated that «the greatest risk is to have crossed the Holy Door without having let God enter the heart. The real door to leave open is that of mercy, reconciliation, brotherhood.”
On the morning of 27 December, Cardinal Baldassarre Reina closes the Holy Door of San Giovanni in Laterano, while on Sunday 28 December, Archpriest James Michael Harvey closes that of San Paolo Fuori le mura.
The closing of the Holy Year will then be on January 6th with the closing, by Pope Leo, of the Holy Door of San Pietro. The next extraordinary Jubilee year will be 2033 for the two thousandth anniversary of the Rendering of Christ.
