Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church

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Vatican City, Jan 6, 2026 / 08:45 am Celebrating the Solemnity of the Epiphany in St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV said God’s saving presence is revealed not “in a prestigious location,” but [...]

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Often it is helpful to linger a little while longer on the spiritual depth of a particular feast day. Epiphany is one such day — a day we often pass by on our way back to “normal” from Christmas vacation. One way to pause for a moment on this feast is to read the following Read More…

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After celebrating a rite to close the Holy Door of St. Peter’s and then Mass for the Epiphany, Pope Leo came to the loggia of the Basilica for the midday Angelus. The Square was full of pilgrims marking this popular feast and the end of the Jubilee of Hope, despite cold temperature and a drizzly Read More…

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After the rite for the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, which brought the ordinary Jubilee of 2025 to an end, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s for the feast of the Epiphany. The Holy Father likened the millions who crossed through the Holy Door to the Magi who arrived Read More…

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Pope Leo XIV closed the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at 9:41 a.m. on January 6, 2026, thus concluding the 28th Jubilee in the history of the Catholic Church. Just over a year after its opening by Pope Francis on December 24, 2024, his successor knelt in prayer on the threshold before closing, one Read More…

Pope Leo kneels at threshold of Holy Door, closes Jubilee

Vatican City, Jan 6, 2026 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday closed the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, bringing the ordinary Holy Year to an end — a time of grace that invited Catholics to conversion, reconciliation, and hope.

The pontiff processed toward the Holy Door as the antiphon O clavis David was sung. Reaching the threshold, he knelt before the door and remained for a few minutes in silent prayer. He then rose and, at 9:41 a.m., pushed shut the two large bronze doors — a gesture that visibly marked the end of the jubilee season.

“With thankful hearts we now prepare to close this Holy Door, crossed by a multitude of faithful, certain that the Good Shepherd always keeps the door of his heart open to welcome us whenever we feel weary and oppressed,” Leo XIV said in an address before the concluding gesture that ended the ecclesial event, ordinarily held every 25 years to offer the faithful the possibility of obtaining a plenary indulgence.

With these words, Leo XIV emphasized that even though the Jubilee has ended, God’s mercy remains ever open to believers.

Before closing the doors, the Holy Father pronounced in Latin the formula prescribed by the rite, following a practice established in 1975 and later simplified by St. John Paul II during the Jubilee of the Year 2000.

In keeping with the simplified celebration, the public rite did not include the portion involving the construction of a brick wall and was limited to the closing of the bronze doors. The masonry work itself will be carried out later, privately, about 10 days after this public rite.

The act will be overseen by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. The so-called sampietrini — personnel of the Fabric of St. Peter, including carpenters, cabinetmakers, and electricians who normally handle basilica maintenance — will build the brick wall inside the basilica to definitively seal the Holy Door.

During this private rite — without cameras or journalists — the traditional metal capsule (capsis) will be inserted into the wall. It will contain the official act of closure, coins minted during the jubilee year, and the keys of the Holy Door, as a material and symbolic testimony of the Holy Year that, as the pope noted, has ended on the calendar but not in the spiritual life of the Church.

Leo XIV then recited the prayer of thanksgiving for the ordinary Holy Year, proclaiming: “This Holy Door is closed, but the door of your mercy is not closed.”

The formula concluded with an invocation that the “treasures” of divine grace would remain open “so that, at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we may confidently knock at the door of your house and enjoy the fruits of the tree of life.”

The Jubilee of Hope was instituted on Dec. 24, 2024, by Pope Francis but, after his death in April, was concluded by his successor, Leo XIV — a situation not seen since the year 1700. The last ordinary Jubilee (celebrated every 25 years) took place in 2000.

Jubilees may also be celebrated at “extraordinary” moments, such as the Jubilee of Mercy celebrated by Francis in 2015, or the one to be convoked in 2033 to commemorate the two millennia of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

After closing the Holy Door, Leo XIV presided over Mass for the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord inside St. Peter’s Basilica, bringing the day’s liturgical celebration to its conclusion.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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