TUESDAY, Dec. 8 marked the beginning of an important year in the Catholic Church–the beginning of the Year of Mercy, a special holy year for Catholics.
Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday morning, officially launching the yearlong celebration of mercy, compassion and forgiveness for Catholics around the world.
Francis stood in prayer before the great bronze doors leading into the Basilica, the largest Catholic Church in the world, before pushing them open and walking through its entrance. He is the first of an estimated 10 million faithful who will pass through the doors over the course of the next year, in a rite of holy pilgrimage that dates back centuries, reported The Associated Press.
Francis’ aging predecessor, Benedict XVI, followed the Pope through the giant doors into the Basilica.
In a solemn, gloomy day Mass attended by thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, the pontiff celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception, celebrating the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He also praised the work of the Second Vatican Council, saying that the newly-begun Jubilee Year “compels us not to neglect the spirit which emerged.”
The Eucharistic celebration Tuesday was opened with readings of excerpts from the Vatican II’s four constitutions and its documents on ecumenism and religious liberty. In his homily, Francis said the Council documents “verify the great advance in faith” made at the event, said National Catholic Reporter.
“How much wrong we do to God and His grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by His mercy,” Pope Francis told an estimated 50,000 people in attendance. “We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s judgment will always be in the light of His mercy.”
Thousands of police, Roman soldiers, and extra heightened security were also present in the square. A no-fly zone had been imposed on Rome’s skies, to protect pilgrims flocking to witness the celebration.
Francis launched the 12-month Jubilee Year to emphasize the importance of mercy, healing and forgiveness to a church with a bad-rep for moralizing and judgment.
A Jubilee Year is defined by Dynamic Catholic as “when the Catholic Church across the world takes approximately a year to focus on forgiveness and healing in a special way…to help people grow spiritually, strengthen their faith, and encourage works of service, and to promote unity within the Catholic Church and society” as a whole.
The last Jubilee Year was in 2000, called for by St. John Paul II as the church’s third millennium.
In his official announcement, Pope Francis asked individuals and the entire Church to “be a witness of mercy,” reflecting on the love of God, practicing spiritual and corporal works of service to others, and simply reflecting on mercy, receiving it, and being merciful to all.
The Year of Mercy will include a host of special Masses celebrated in Vatican City, with extra added security to accommodate the throngs of pilgrims expected to visit in the next 12 months. The Vatican Office also opened onto the main road in St. Peter’s Square, to welcome pilgrims and centralize services such as tickets to walk through the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Francis has also said he would set aside one Friday each month to perform a private act of mercy himself.
Francis announced his Holy Year on the second anniversary of his papacy, during a chaotic time of ongoing war, terrorist attacks, and inbred violence–a time when the Church and its people most need peace, healing and encouragement.
The Pope has made it a priority for the Catholic Church to be a “field hospital after battle,” with the ability to “heal wounds and warm the hearts of the faithful,” he told America Magazine in 2013.
Holy Years are generally celebrated every 25-50 years, and have been used over time to encourage the faithful to make pilgrimages to Rome to obtain blessings and a “plenary indulgence,” defined by the Vatican as “having the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin.” It removes all temporal punishments from sins that have already been forgiven by God, through the sacrament of reconciliation in the Catholic Church.
The Pope also made clear that this Holy Year would be a more “sober” occasion. Francis will also open the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, his cathedral church, on Dec. 13, when US Cardinal James Harvey will also open the holy door at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.
For the first time, the Pope instructed all cathedrals worldwide to open their Holy Doors to pilgrims to encourage them to mark the jubilee at home, rather than traveling to Rome.
During his visit to the Central African Republic last week, Francis also opened the Holy Door of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Bangui.
Francis asked churchgoers and followers, “When we are called to share joys and sorrows, do we sincerely weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice? When we express our faith, we do it with courage and simplicity, without being ashamed of the Gospel?”
“Wherever there is a person, the Church is called to reach out to them to bring the joy of the Gospel. After these decades, we again take up this missionary push with the same power and enthusiasm,” he continued. “Be merciful as your father is merciful.”
