By Amedeo Lomonaco
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’ Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.” The words of the Psalmist and the sound of the horn accompanied the opening rite of the last Holy Door to be opened, found in the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, presided over on Sunday, Jan 5 by Cardinal Archpriest James Michael Harvey.
The sequence of moments and images echoed what has already been experienced in the start of the Jubilee of Hope, beginning at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome’s Rebibbia prison, and the Basilicas of Saint John Lateran and Saint Mary Major. The gaze of the faithful, before entering the Basilica that holds the relics of the Apostle of the Gentiles, turned towards the cross at the top of the tympanum of the mosaic facade. Beneath this symbol of life overcoming death and sin are two words in Latin: ‘Spes unica’, words stating the certainty that Christ is the hope, the Door to enter the Kingdom of God.
Opening of the Holy Door
In the Basilica of Saint Paul, located on the Via Ostiense in the district of the same name near the left bank of the Tiber and a few kilometres from the place where the Apostle suffered martyrdom, the opening rite of the Holy Door was marked by prayer. Cardinal Harvey approached the Holy Door, on the right side of the façade, made of bronze with bas-reliefs depicting significant episodes in the life of Saint Paul. He then opened the door to a prayerful silence from the faithful. The ringing of the Basilica bells preceded the next moments.
Cardinal Harvey crossed the threshold as the Jubilee hymn resounded. The procession, which was also joined by members of the monastic community of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, made its way to the Altar of Confession. The Cardinal Archpriest, together with, among others, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation and organiser of the Jubilee, walked down the nave of the basilica. The Eucharistic celebration was attended by over 2,800 people.
Joy and hope
Faithful and pilgrims listened to the passage from John’s Gospel on the incarnation of the Word who “came to dwell among us.” In his homily Cardinal Harvey dwelt on the opening of the Holy Door, “an act that is as simple as it is evocative.” “We have crossed the threshold of the sacred temple with immense joy, because in a symbolic way, we have passed through the door of hope.” He highlighted two key words of the Holy Year: joy and hope. “Joy,” said Cardinal Harvey, “because the Saviour has been born; hope because Christ is our hope.”
