Many Catholics are discussing the topic of the “Holy Door.” Perhaps you too have heard about this from a friend or on the news. What is the Holy Door and what is the significance of its being opened?

This practice is nothing new for the Church. It is part of a set of years, often referred to as a jubilee year, that is associated with the opening of the doors at St. Peter’s Basilica. In fact, it was as far back as the year 1300 when Pope Boniface VIII declared the very first “Holy Year.” Since then, the Church has observed Holy Years – in most cases every twenty-five years. This interval has taken place at least since the late 1400’s. However, there have been some special cases when a Holy Year was declared. One of these instances was back in 1983, when a Holy Year was declared to commemorate the anniversary of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many Catholics take this opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Rome as an act of reparation for sin, followed by the renewal of one’s life to Christ and His teaching. One of the acts involved with the pilgrimage is passing through the Holy Door.

Concerning this ritual, Pope John Paul II said that it “evokes the passage from sin to grace which every Christian is called to accomplish. Jesus said, ‘I am the door’ (John 10:7) in order to make it clear that no one can come to the Father except through Him. This designation which Jesus applies to Himself testifies to the fact that He alone is the Saviour sent by the Father. There is only one way that opens wide the entrance into this life of communion with God: This is Jesus, the one and absolute way to salvation. To Him alone can the words of the psalmist be applied in full truth: ‘This is the door of the Lord where the just may enter’ (Psalm 118:20).”

When we pass through the door just outside of St. Peter’s, entering into the basilica, it is symbolic of the pilgrim passing from the world of darkness and into the presence of God. This act is reminiscent of the Temple in the Holy City of Jerusalem when the High Priest would pass through the veil that covered the entryway of the Holy of Holies to offer the atonement sacrifice on the Festival of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

With the Holy Door being opened this year, it should be every Catholic’s prayer that spiritual weakness, vices and various temptations that lead to sin be removed so that we “may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days.” (Psalm 22:6; DRB; or 23:6 in the NABRE)