The Ordinary Jubilee of 2025 will enter its final phase with the progressive closure of the Holy Doors of the main papal basilicas in Rome, beginning on Christmas Day at Saint Mary Major and culminating solemnly on January 6, 2026, at the Basilica of Saint Peter. This was reported by Vatican News, the official media outlet of the Holy See.
The first Holy Door to be closed will be that of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, on December 25 at 5:00 p.m., in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Archpriest Rolandas Makrickas. It will be followed, on Saturday, December 27, by the closure at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, and on Sunday, December 28, at Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
Closure at Saint Mary Major, on the feast of Christmas
The choice of Saint Mary Major to begin the closure of the Jubilee is not coincidental. The Liberian basilica, known as the Basilica of the Holy Nativity for housing the relics of the Holy Cradle of the Child Jesus, was also the place chosen by Pope Francis for his burial.
The Holy Door, opened on January 1, 2025, has been crossed by more than twenty million pilgrims. The closure rite will begin with the singing of Second Vespers and, at 6:00 p.m., the solemn closure of the Holy Door will take place, accompanied by the sound of the historic bell La Sperduta.
To facilitate liturgical preparation, the basilica will close to the public at 3:00 p.m. and reopen at 4:00 p.m. only for those participating in the celebration, until capacity is reached. The event can also be followed from outside through a giant screen installed in the square.
A Jubilee marked by two pontificates
The Holy Year 2025 has had a singular character in the recent history of the Church. Convened by Pope Francis through the bull Spes non confundit and opened on December 24, 2024, with the opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter, it will finally be closed by Pope Leo XIV, elected on May 8, 2025, following the death of the Argentine Pontiff on April 21.
This extraordinary fact—the opening and closure of a Jubilee under two different pontificates—has only one historical precedent: the Jubilee of 1700, begun by Innocent XII and concluded by Clement XI. In the case of Saint Mary Major, this circumstance has acquired additional significance due to Francis’s personal connection with the basilica, which has become a place of constant and silent pilgrimage in homage to his memory.
Saint John Lateran and Saint Paul Outside the Walls
On December 27, at 11:00 a.m., the closure of the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome, will be celebrated, presided over by Cardinal Baldo Reina, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Roman Diocese. After the rite, the Eucharistic celebration will take place, animated by the diocesan choir under the direction of Monsignor Marco Frisina. Access will be free between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.
The following day, Sunday, December 28, Cardinal James Michael Harvey will preside over the closure of the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, with free participation by the faithful and no need for entry.
Definitive closure at Saint Peter
Finally, the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint Peter will be closed on January 6, 2026, the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, in a ceremony presided over by Pope Leo XIV. With this rite, the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025 will be officially concluded, which the Holy See has presented as a providential time of conversion, hope, and spiritual renewal for the entire Church.