The Holy Door of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, the last of four papal basilicas for the Jubilee of Hope, will be sealed shut.<\/p>\n
With the final sealing on Jan. 16 of the Holy Door of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, the Holy See will complete the closing \u2014 which includes the actual masonry work \u2014 of the four Holy Doors of the papal basilicas following the Jubilee of Hope.<\/p>\n
The concluding rite of closing the Holy Door of St. Mary Major Basilica took place Jan. 13. St. John Lateran Basilica\u2019s was closed Jan. 14 and the Holy Door of St. Paul Outside the Walls was closed Jan. 15.<\/p>\n
The Holy Door of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica will be sealed shut on Jan. 16. <\/p>\n
The so-called \u201csanpietrini,\u201d the staff of the Fabric of St. Peter \u2014 comprising carpenters, cabinetmakers, and electricians \u2014 who normally handle the maintenance of the basilica, will repeat the process they have already carried out in the other three basilicas: They will erect a brick wall inside the church to permanently seal the Holy Door.<\/p>\n
In addition, the traditional metal capsule (\u201ccapsis\u201d), a bronze box, will be inserted into the wall of the church. It will contain the official closing document, the coins minted during the jubilee year, and the keys to the Holy Door.<\/p>\n
These elements serve as material and symbolic testimony of the holy year, which, as the pope emphasized in the Jan. 6 ceremony in which he closed the great doors of the Vatican basilica, has concluded on the calendar but not in the spiritual life of the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n
In all the papal basilicas, the official document of closing the Holy Door has been deposited along with the key to the door and several pontifical medals from the last sealing, during the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016 to the present day.<\/p>\n
This story\u00a0was first published\u00a0by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n