Pope Francis called on the faithful to be inspired by the history of great pillars, Holy Apostles Peter and Paul of the Catholic Church on 29 June, Saturday.
“In the light of the Word of God, let us be inspired by their story, by the apostolic zeal that marked the path of their lives. In meeting the Lord, they lived a true Easter experience: they were liberated and the doors of a new life opened before them,” he said in his homily this morning before more than 5,000 parishioners.
The celebration, which took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, included the blessing of the pallia of the 42 metropolitan archbishops appointed in the past year. The ceremony was also celebrated with 36 cardinals, 36 bishops and 400 priests, according to Vatican News.
“Let us look at the two Apostles Peter and Paul: the fisherman from Galilee whom Jesus made a fisher of men; the Pharisee persecutor of the Church transformed by Grace into the evangelizer of the nations,” said the Holy Father, inviting us to reflect on the power of conversion and evangelization.
The Pope focused on the idea of the “Easter experience” lived by both apostles, pointing out how their encounters with Jesus gave them a life with greater meaning, with a transcendent meaning.
“When they met the Lord, they lived a true Easter experience: they were freed and the doors of a new life opened before them,” he said, highlighting Peter’s release from prison as a new exodus and a work of God’s mercy.
The Pontiff also stressed the upcoming Jubilee of 2025 and the importance of the Holy Door. “The Jubilee will be a time of grace in which we will open the Holy Door, so that everyone can cross the threshold of that living sanctuary that is Jesus and, in Him, live the experience of God’s love that strengthens hope and renews joy,” he said.
Using the figure of the door, the Holy Father also recalled the story of Peter, who was freed from prison by an angel. “On that night of liberation, the prison doors were miraculously opened; and then, before Peter and the angel who accompanied him, it is said that they found themselves ‘at the iron gate that leads to the city; the gate opened by itself before them’ (Acts 12:10),” he noted, stressing that it is God who opens the doors, paving the way for his people.
He then used the metaphor of open doors again to describe Paul’s evangelistic ministry. He remembered how the Apostle to the Gentiles experienced the opening of doors in his mission.
“Thus, of his arrival in Antioch with Barnabas, it is said that ‘when they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles’ (Acts 14:27). Likewise, addressing the community in Corinth he says: ‘A great and prosperous door has opened for me’ (1 Cor 16:9); and writing to the Colossians he exhorts them thus: ‘Pray also for us, that God may open to us the door of the word to proclaim the mystery of Christ’ (Col 4:3)”, he recalled.
The Pope concluded his homily with a call to the new metropolitan archbishops to open the doors of the Gospel to the people of God. “In communion with Peter and following the example of Christ, door of the sheep, they are called to be zealous shepherds, who open the doors of the Gospel and who, with their ministry, contribute to building a Church and a society with open doors,” Francis exhorted.
The ceremony was attended by a delegation from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Pope Francis expressed the ecumenical commitment of the Church and sent a cordial greeting to his “dear brother” Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Constantinople.
“May Saints Peter and Paul help us to open the door of our lives to the Lord Jesus, may they intercede for us, for the city of Rome and for the whole world. Amen,” he concluded.