Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, 24 December, officially beginning the Jubilee of Hope 2025.
At the beginning of this jubilee year, the Holy Father said, “we are entering a time of mercy and forgiveness, so that the path of hope that does not disappoint may be revealed to every man and woman.”
The Pope then approached the Holy Door, praying briefly before it. After knocking on the door, it was opened and the Holy Father crossed it towards the Altar of Confession, the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica.
After the rite of opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope celebrated Holy Mass on the night of the Nativity of the Lord.
After the announcement of the Lord’s birth, the image of the Child Jesus was unveiled, placed on a throne in front of the altar. A group of children of different nationalities surrounded the Child Jesus and paid homage to him by placing flowers around him.
In his homily, Pope Francis said that “amid the wonder of the poor and the song of the angels, heaven opened on earth; God became one of us to make us like Him, He descended among us to raise us up and bring us to the embrace of the Father.”
“This, brothers and sisters, is our hope. God is Emmanuel, the ‘God with us.’ The infinitely great became small; the divine light shone through the darkness of the world; in the smallness of a Child,” he said.
“And if God comes, even when our heart resembles a poor manger, then we can say: hope has not died, hope is alive, and it envelops our life forever,” he stressed.
The Holy Father then said that “with the opening of the Holy Door we begin a new Jubilee. Each one of us can enter into the mystery of this announcement of grace.”
“On this night, the door of hope has been thrown wide open to the world; on this night, God says to each one: there is hope for you too!” he said.
“There is hope for each one of us,” he said, briefly departing from his pre-prepared homily. “But do not forget, brothers and sisters, that God forgives everything, that God always forgives. Do not forget this,” he added.
“To accept this gift, we are called to set out with the astonishment of the shepherds of Bethlehem. The Gospel says that they, having received the angel’s announcement, ‘went quickly’. This is the sign to recover lost hope: to renew it within ourselves, to sow it quickly in the desolations of our time and of our world.”
“And there is so much desolation in our time. Let us think of the wars, let us think of the children who are machine-gunned, the bombs in schools and hospitals,” he said.
“Christian hope,” the Pope said, “is not a happy ending to be passively awaited; it is not a happy ending to a movie; it is the Lord’s promise that we must accept here and now, in this suffering and groaning land. This hope, therefore, asks us not to delay, not to be carried away by routine, not to dwell on mediocrity and laziness.”
Following the example of the shepherds, the Pontiff said that “the hope that is born on this night does not tolerate the indolence of the sedentary nor the laziness of those who are comfortable in their own comfort. And so many of us are in danger of becoming comfortable in our own comforts.”
“Hope does not admit the false prudence of those who do not take risks for fear of committing themselves, nor the calculation of those who think only of themselves; hope is incompatible with the peaceful life of those who do not raise their voice against evil or against the injustices committed against the skin of the poorest.”
The Pope said that, on the contrary, “Christian hope, while inviting us to patiently await the Kingdom that sprouts and grows, demands of us the audacity to anticipate this promise today, through our responsibility. And not only through our responsibility but also through our compassion.”
“It would also do us good to ask ourselves about our own compassion: Do I have compassion? Do I know how to suffer with others? Let us think about this,” he encouraged.