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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

The Door That Only the Pope May Open

30/5/2019

 
Map
Relief of Pope Pius XII opening the Holy Door, Porta Santa, St Peter's Basilica, Rome
Pope Pius XII Opening the Holy Door for the Jubilee of 1950

The Porta Santa (Holy Door) is the smallest of the five bronze doors leading into St Peter's Basilica. The work of Vico Consorti (1902-97), the Holy Door was consecrated and opened on December 24th, 1949, by Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-58), marking the start of the Jubilee, or Holy Year, of 1950. 

The door is made up of sixteen bronze panels, which depict scenes inspired by the theme of the 1950 Jubilee: 'The great return and the great pardon'. There are scenes of sin, incredulity and denial, but also of reconciliation between man and God. The bottom right panel depicts Pope Pius XII Opening the Holy Door.  

The Porta Santa is only used on the occasion of a Jubilee (Holy Year), which is normally held every twenty-five years; for the rest of the time the portal is bricked up on the inside. At the start of a Jubilee the bricks are removed and the door is officially opened by the pope, who is the first person to enter the basilica through it. And, at the close of the Jubilee, he is the last person to leave through it. The portal is then once again bricked up. 
​
St Peter's Basilica is not the only church in Rome to have a Porta Santa. There are Holy Doors in the other three Papal Basilicas: Santa Maria Maggiore 
(St Mary Major), San Paolo fuori le Mura (St Paul's Outside the Walls) and San Giovanni in Laterano (St John Lateran, Rome's cathedral).

Holy Door (Porta Santa), St Peter's Basilica, Rome
Porta Santa
Holy Door (Porta Santa), St Peter's Basilica, Rome
Holy Door (Porta Santa)
Bronze relief of the Annunciation, Porta Santa, St Peter's Basilica, Rome
The Annunciation: Upper Right Panels
Holy Door (Porta Santa) by Floriano Bodini, St John Lateran, Rome
Holy Door (Porta Santa) by Floriano Bodini, St John Lateran
Holy Door (Porta Santa) by Floriano Bodini, St John Lateran
Holy Door (Det.) by Floriano Bodini, St John Lateran
Holy Door by Guido Veroi, St Paul's Outside the Walls, Rome
Holy Door by Guido Veroi, St Paul's Outside the Walls
Holy Door (Porta Santa) by Luigi Enzo Mattei, Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Porta Santa by Luigi Enzo Mattei, Santa Maria Maggiore

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    Walking Tours For Discerning Travellers

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
    small-group walking tours
    of Rome.

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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Small-Group Tours
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque