By Pat Murphy

 

So, after many months and years of preparation, the Jubilee Year 2025 is over. 

I was interested to note on 6 January that Pope Leo closing the Holy Door at St Peter’s was announced on BBC National News. I had read a few days earlier that 33 million people had walked through the Holy Door of the Basilica during the year. That is roughly 90,000 every day of 2025, a huge number of pilgrims responding to the invitation to walk through the doors of St Peter’s. 

Having spent six wonderful but very busy days in Rome a couple of months ago, I can well believe that number of pilgrims would have visited St Peter’s every day – the city was so busy and vibrant. The queue to visit St Peter’s snaked around the square, and numerous pilgrims, including myself, took part in a procession carrying a cross up the Via della Conciliazione through the square, into the Basilica, and to the tomb of St Peter to pray. The doors were blessed and opened by Pope Francis and closed by Pope Leo. It’s over 300 years since there was a change of Pope during the Jubilee Year. In fact, in 1700, Pope Innocent XII called a Jubilee Year but was in poor health and could not celebrate as he died during the year. In 1800, there was no Jubilee Year due to the Napoleonic War and the Pope having been deposed.

It’s always a joy to visit the four main Basilicas in Rome. St Mary Major of course this year has become not just a place of pilgrimage but something of a tourist destination to visit the tomb of Pope Francis. This will probably continue for a few years. I felt it was somewhat of a rugby scrum lining up to walk past the very simple tomb and marble plaque, and I think each visitor was given about 10 seconds to look and maybe photograph them before a security guard moved the continual procession along.

The Basilica of St Mary Major was the first Marian shrine in the Western world, and has been known as Our Lady of the Snows and St Mary of the Crib. Its history is a lovely gentle story and the Blessed Virgin appearing to a nobleman and the Pope who had dreamt of a snowfall in Rome in August. Our Lady asked for a church to be built.

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Although it was partly destroyed by earthquake in the 14th century, the main structure remains. Under the high altar is a special place known as the crypt of the Nativity, said to contain wood from the holy crib of the Nativity. It’s always a privilege to descend the steps to kneel and say a prayer at this shrine.

If you want to have a few hours in Rome surrounded by church art, sculpture and architecture, St Mary Major is a good place to start, as you can walk to at least another four or five beautiful churches within a few minutes of each other.