The Holy Door Sealed at St Peter’s

On the evening of Friday, 16 January, inside St Peter’s Basilica, the rite of the sealing of the Holy Door, opened for the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, was carried out in a private ceremony. The celebration was presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of the Basilica, in the presence of the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli. The rite was led by the Pontifical Master of Ceremonies, Monsignor Massimiliano Matteo Boiardi.

During the brief opening prayer, the Cardinal entrusted to the Lord the many pilgrims who, throughout the Holy Year, passed through the Holy Door, invoking for each perseverance in faith and communion with the Successor of Peter.

The sealing rite

The sanpietrinis of the Fabric of St Peter constructed the inner wall sealing the Holy Door, using approximately 3,200 bricks. Within the wall, a bronze capsa, specially made for the occasion, was placed, bearing the coats of arms of Pope Francis, who opened the Jubilee, and of Pope Leo XIV, who solemnly closed it.

Placed inside the container were:

• the key of the Holy Door;

• a metal container holding the parchment certifying the opening and closing of the Holy Door;

• two medals from the first year of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV;
• one medal from the final year of the pontificate of Pope Francis;
• other commemorative medals marking the ten years between the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 and that of 2025;
• a medal of the 2025 Vacant See.

The container was then placed inside a lead casing, which was soldered and sealed. The Cardinal Archpriest and the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations symbolically laid the first two bricks, marking the beginning of the final phase of the sealing. The rite concluded with the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and the final blessing.