THE CLOSING OF THE HOLY DOOR.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIX, Issue 9, 28 February 1901, Page 29

THE CLOSING OF THE HOLY DOOR.

His Holiness the Pope on Monday, December 24, performed the oeremony of closing the Holy Door at St. Peter's, which had been op«n daring the yeaifiofii Jubilee. The ceremony was attended by all the solemnities incidental to great functions of the Churoh in Rome. The Pope left the Vatican at a quarter to 12, preceded by a long train of clergy, bearing lighted candles and surrounded by Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals, and Noble and Swibs Guards, his Holiness himself being carried in the portontina as far as the entrance to the portico of tit. Peter's. Here he alighted and entered the cathedral by the Holy Door. The appearance of the Sacerdoa Magnus within the basilica was hailed by the soft and solemn strains of the silver trumpets. The interior of St. Peter's furnished a magnificent spectacle. It was crowded in every part. As many as 80,000 invitations to the ceremony were issued. The vast ohuroh was superbly decorated, red and gold being the prevailing oolori, while all the candelabra used on great occasions were displayed. The portico in which the oeremony was to take place was also handsomely draped with red hangings bordered with gold. To the left of the Holy Door was the Papal throne, oovered with crimson cloth. Holy water was offered to the Pope, who, entering the Sedia Gestatoria, was borne through the cathedral, blessing the assembled worshippers, to the high altar, on which the most precious relics of the Church were exposed. His Holiness having knelt for a while before the altar, was next borne to the Altar of the Holy Sacrament, where he once more engaged in prayer. The procession then moved to the portico for the performance of the ceremony of the day. His Holiness allowed every one of his train to pass first through the Holy Door, and then followed himself on foot, walking to the throne, on which he took his seat. Then, rising, the Holy Father blessed all the material necessary for the closing of the Holy Door, and, kneeling in front of the portal, laid three portions of lime with a golden trowel on the threshold, and afterwards three bricks, each containing a commemorative inscription. By the side of the bricks was plaoed an urn containing gold, silver, and bronze medals with portraits of the Pope, and inscriptions recording the opening and closing of the Holy Door by Pope Leo XIII. His Holiness then returned to the throne, and Cardinal Serafino Vannutelli and four other penitentiaries in sacerdotal vestments performed the same ceremony with the lime and bricks. This concluded, the workmen in attendance oovered the door on the inside with cloth painted in imitation of marble, with a cross in the centre. The Pope on leaving St. Peter's was enthusiastically acclaimed. The ceremony had lasted just an hour. The crowd outside was immense. Order was kept by Italian troops. The weather was rainy in the early morning, hut was brilliant by midday. This formal act of the Pontiff, as Father Thurston, S.J., points out in his work on the jubilee, has a mystic signification. The three bricks placed in position by the Pope represent the stouea spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah when he said, ' Jerusalem shall be built of Bquare stones.' The bricks are also held to Bignify either faith, hope, and charity, or contrition, confession, and satisfaction. So, too, the soul when purified and embellised by grace and by the indulgence of the jubilee is as a stone set in the mystical building of the heavenly Jerusalem. When the Holy door is closed, the Cross of Christ, the standard of our salvation, is put on it in token of the victory won by the faithful over the evil one ; and likewise to accomplish the precept of Daniel the Prophet, ' Close the door and Beal it with thy ring,' that is, with the Holy Cross, the seal of the King of Kings, the High Priest Christ. The gold and ivory trowel used in the ceremony was designed by Professor Tartarini, of Bologna. It is triangular in form, the blade being in gold, and the handle in ivory set with jewels. Like the mallet used in opening the Holy Door, the trowel symbolises various attributes of Christianity. A wreath of carved roses running from the handle to the blade is meant to show that from the thorns of sorrow and sacrifice proceed the flowers of pardon and gladness. His Holiness rested on Christmas Day after the fatigue of Monday's ceremonies, for which he was none the worse. He received innumerable telegrams from all over the world, congratulating him on the successful closing of the Holy Door, notable among them being those from the aged Emperor Francis Joseph, and the QueenMother and K-iug of Spain.