VATICAN CITY: The 2025 Jubilee year of Catholic celebrations drew over 33 million pilgrims to Rome, the Vatican said on Monday, as the last of the faithful passed through the “Holy Door” of St Peter´s Basilica.
Pope Leo XIV will close the basilica´s ornate bronze doors in a ceremony on Tuesday, just over 12 months after they were opened by his predecessor Pope Francis, who died in April. “The entire world came to Rome. Pilgrims arrived from 185 countries” for 35 major events, including a festival for young Catholics and the canonization of the first millennial saint, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella.
The numbers showed the centuries-old institution was still “a dynamic church”, he told a press conference. It will also be remembered as a rare two-pope Jubilee. The last time a pope died during a “Holy Year” was in 1700.
Despite torrential rain outside, thousands of pilgrims streamed through the Holy Door at St Peter´s on Monday, many pausing to make the sign of the cross. By tradition, going through it allows them to benefit from a “plenary indulgence”, a type of forgiveness for their sins.
“It´s really a grace. And I feel great,” said Josie Aguirre, 67, from the Philippines. “It was emotional, the feeling was really great. The jubilee door is a way to renew people´s faith, it brings people together,” she told AFP. The last pilgrim will pass through the huge door -- which is normally bricked up -- at 5:30 pm (1630 GMT).
