Steve's Genealogy Blog

The first known Jubilee year was declared in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII, but the first use of the Holy Door was probably not until the Jubilee year 1423 when Pope Martin V opened the Holy Door at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

Pope Boniface VII intended that the Jubilee year be celebrated only once every hundred years. Nonetheless, Jubilee years were declared in 1350, 1390, and 1400. Pope Urban VI proposed that a Jubilee year be celebrated every 33 years and Pope Nicholas V later proposed that a Jubilee be celebrated every 50 years.

Finally, Pope Paul II changed the frequency of the Jubilee year to every 25 years which is the general rule for celebrating Jubilees and opening the Holy Door today. In addition to the regular Jubilee years, two extraordinary Jubilee years were declared in the 20th century:  1933 for the 1900th anniversary of the Redemption, and in 1983 for the 1950th anniversary of the Redemption.

The third row of panels in the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter depicts:

• The Woman who was a Sinner
• The Need for Forgiveness
• Peter’s Denial
• In Front of the Crucifix; The Good Thief

The Woman who was a Sinner

SOURCE:  The Woman who was a Sinner (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The Need for Forgiveness

SOURCE:  The Need for Forgiveness (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

Peter’s Denial

SOURCE:  Peter’s Denial (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

In Front of the Crucifix; The Good Thief

SOURCE:  In Front of the Crucifix; The Good Thief (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The posts in this series include:

• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 1 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 2 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 3 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 4 of 4

Copyright © 2011 by Stephen J. Danko

The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the State of the Vatican City was at one time made of wood. The present door is made of bronze and 16 panels can be viewed from the exterior. The door is sealed on the inside and is not scheduled to be opened again until the year 2025. Traditionally, the plaster sealing the door on the interior was loosened so that it would fall when the Pope struck three blows on it. However, in the Jubilee year 2000, the plaster had been removed so that Pope John Paul II needed only to push the door open with his hands. This was presumably done for safety reasons. Debris had fallen on Pope Paul VI when he opened the Holy Door in 1975.

The second four panels of the Holy Door depict:

• Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan
• The Lost Sheep
• The Merciful Father
• The Cure of a Paralytic

Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan

SOURCE:  Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The Lost Sheep

SOURCE:  The Lost Sheep (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The Merciful Father

SOURCE:  The Merciful Father (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The Cure of a Paralytic

SOURCE:  The Cure of a Paralytic (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The posts in this series include:

• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 1 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 2 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 3 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 4 of 4

Copyright © 2011 by Stephen J. Danko

The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the State of the Vatican City was created in bronze by Nivo Consorti in and donated by Bishop Francesco Von Streng of Switzerland in 1949 in the name of Swiss Catholics whose land was saved from war. The door is normally sealed on the inside and opened only during Jubilee years which, at the present time, are celebrated every 25 years or at the discretion of the Pope. In the last hundred years, the Holy Door has been opened 6 times, including 4 normal Jubilees and 2 special Jubilees. Jubilee years were celebrated in:

• 1925 by Pius XI
• 1933 by Pius XI (1900th anniversary of the Redemption)
• 1950 by Pius XII
• 1975 by Paul VI
• 1983 by John Paul II (1950th anniversary of the Redemption)
• 2000 by John Paul II

The 16 panels of the Holy Door include scenes from throughout biblical history and including a scene of opening the Holy Door. The top four panels show:

• The Angel at the Gates of Paradise
• The Fall
• Mary:  The Annunciation
• The Angel of the Annunciation

The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter

SOURCE:  The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The Angel at the Gates of Paradise

SOURCE:  The Angel at the Gates of Paradise (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The Fall

SOURCE:  The Fall (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

Mary:  The Annunciation

SOURCE:  Mary:  The Annunciation (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The Angel of the Annunciation

SOURCE:  The Angel of the Annunciation (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

The posts in this series include:

• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 1 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 2 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 3 of 4
• The Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Part 4 of 4

Copyright © 2011 by Stephen J. Danko

The State of the Vatican City is a city state with an area of 100 acres. It was created in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. Saint Peter’s Square and the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican are popular destinations for tourists and pilgrims alike. The dominant structure seen from Saint Peter’s Square is the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter. This basilica is not, in fact, the ecumenical mother church of the Roman Catholic Church. That honor goes to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome which is the seat of the bishop of Rome – the Pope.

In front of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter two sculptures stand guard:  Saint Peter, sculpted by Giuseppe de Fabris, and Saint Paul sculpted by Adamo Tadolini. Near the center of Saint Peter’s Square towers an obelisk originally built by the Romans in Alexandria in about 30-28 BC and dedicated to Augustus. It was moved to Rome by Caligula in 37 AD and was moved again to its present location by Pope Sixtus V in 1586 AD. The obelisk was thought to have been topped at one time with a bronze globe containing the ashes of Caesar, Augustus, and Tiberius, but is now surmounted by a cross and by the mountains and the star of Pope Sixtus V.

A total of 13 obelisks that were either brought from Egypt or were constructed in Rome still exist in Rome. Most are carved with hieroglyphics but the Obelisk of Augustus in Saint Peter’s Square does not.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter

SOURCE:  The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

Saint Peter

SOURCE:  Saint Peter (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

Saint Paul

SOURCE:  Saint Paul (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

Obelisk of Augustus in Saint Peter’s Square

SOURCE:  Obelisk of Augustus in Saint Peter’s Square (State of the Vatican City); photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 10 August 2011.

Copyright © 2011 by Stephen J. Danko