A Guide to St Peter's Basilica

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Porta Santa (Holy Door)

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Porta Santa (Holy Door)

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The Porta Santa (Holy Door), the work of the Sienese sculptor Vico Consorti (1902-97), was installed in 1949. 

The Porta Santa is only open during a Jubilee, or Holy Year, which normally takes place every twenty-five years. For the rest of the time the door remains closed and walled up on the inside. The Holy Door represents Jesus, the Good Shepherd and the sheep pen: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." (John 10:9, KJV).

The sixteen bronze panels are divided by the coats of arms of popes who have celebrated Jubilee years. The panels depict scenes from the bible, apart from the bottom-right panel, which depicts Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-58) opening the Holy Door to mark the start of the 1950 Jubilee. 

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The Sixteen Panels of the Porta Santa

Porta Santa (Holy Door) walled up on the inside