A solemn prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica followed by the sound of a hammer and chisel breaking through a wall to retrieve the box containing the key that, on the evening of December 24, will allow Pope Francis to open the Holy Door and inaugurate the Jubilee.
The ceremony, held on the evening of December 2, heightened the sense of anticipation for the opening of the Jubilee on Christmas Eve.
The recognitio—the Latin term for this rite—is performed to confirm that the Holy Door, sealed at the end of the last Jubilee, remains intact and is ready to be reopened for the new Holy Year.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, introduced the ceremony with a prayer.
Then, the sampietrini (maintenance workers at St. Peter’s) dismantled the wall sealing the Holy Door from inside the Basilica and removed the metal box embedded there on 20 November 2016, the day the Jubilee of Mercy ended.
Cardinal Gambetti led a procession, accompanied by the chanting of the Litany of the Saints, to the Altar of the Confession, where participants paused for a moment of prayer before proceeding to the Chapter Hall.
There, the metal box removed from the Holy Door was opened.