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In the Cathedral of Rome

Laura Galimberti

At the opening of the Jubilee in the Cathedral of Rome, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, 4,000 faithful were inside the basilica. Around 12,000 were outside, in the square. In the basilica which has been returned to its white splendour, as had been envisaged by Borromini, the new celestial Jerusalem, a series of screens were installed in the lateral naves of the basilica and two maxi-screens placed externally to make it easier for the pilgrims, from all over the world, to participate in the event. The opening rite followed with deep participation and gathering, opened with the chanting of the Psalm 121 “Let’s go to the door of the Lord”. After the monition and prayer, Pope John Paul II advanced towards the door. A great silence followed and then the festive greeting of the pilgrims when they saw the open door. After the prayer, the procession began inside the basilica, which as Pope John Paul II recalled in his homily, is Mother and Leader of all the churches in Rome and in the world, the place where Boniface established the first Jubilee in 1300, and where in 1423 the Holy Door was opened for the first time. It’s in the Basilica of Saint John, historic memory of the Church of Rome that the rite takes on “a more familiar dimension”. It’s the diocesan family, which after the Synod and the city Mission begins the jubilee journey with the other local churches, “aware of the mission of universal solicitude and testimony of faith that providence has entrusted to it since the martyrdom of Peter and Paul”. Church of Rome “grow in faith and in missionary nostalgia” was the invitation expressed by the Holy Father. And thus the faithful, not only Romans, gathered in prayer around the Pope in the recitation of the second vespers of Christmas.

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