St. Peter's Basilica - Table of Contents ................... Architecture Around the World
2013 photos
Holy (Jubilee) Doors - St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican City, Italy
On the first day of a Jubilee year which which occurs every 25 years (the last one in 2000), the Pope strikes the brick wall with a silver hammer and opens it to the pilgrims. From inside the basilica, the door is walled up. The doors are closed by the Pope himself at the end of the Jubilee Year. The ceremony dates back
to the Jubilee of 1500, under the papacy of Alexander VI, 200 years
after the institution of this solemn pardon by Bonifacius VIII, who
established that the ceremony would be repeated every 100 years.
Afterwards, Clement VI reduced the period to every 50 years, Urban VI
to 35 and Paul II to 25. Artist: Vico Consorti. Since 24 December 1949 these doors have replaced the former wooden panels made in 1749. In 1949 the Bishop Francesco Von Streng donated the two bronze panels for the Swiss Catholics, as an ex-voto, because his land was saved from war. - Consorti (online March 2013) |
![]() ![]() The Angel at the Gates of Paradise ... The Fall ![]() The Annunciation ... Gabriel ![]() Christ's Baptism ... The Good Shepherd ![]() The Prodigal Son ... The Cure of a Paralytic ![]() The Woman who was a Sinner ... The Need for Forgiveness ![]() Peter's Denial ... Crucifixion ![]() The Appearance to Thomas ... Christ's Appearance to The Disciples ![]() The Conversion of Saul ... Opening the Holy Door |