In a ceremony dating back to 1423, the Pope will tonight mark the beginning of the Holy Year 2000 by opening a special Holy Door in the facade of St Peter's basilica in Rome. Shortly after 11.00 p.m. he will begin a ceremony which ends when he ascends the steps in front of St Peter's before pushing open the door with both hands.
The opening of the Holy Door has marked the beginning of jubilee year celebrations for the past five centuries. Pope John Paul has attached special importance to the the door's opening on this Christmas Eve, a point he underlined in his 1994 apostolic letter, "Tertio Millenio Adveniente", on the preparations for the Jubilee Year 2000.
"The Holy Door of the Jubilee of the Year 2000 should be symbolically wider than those of previous jubilees because humanity, upon reaching this goal, will leave behind not just a century but a millennium," he said then. "It is fitting that the church should make this passage with a clear awareness of what has happened to her during the last 10 centuries. She cannot cross the threshold of a new millennium without encouraging her children to purify themselves, through repentance of past errors and instances of infidelity, inconsistency, and slowness to act."
Attending tonight's ceremony, which is followed by the celebration of a solemn Mass, will be not only the Curia, diplomats and representatives of the Italian state but also Catholics from Asia, Africa and Latin America, there to emphasise the mission of the church throughout the world.
The newly opened Holy Door will be adorned with Asian flowers and perfumes as a sign of joy. Shortly afterwards African horns will be blown in an evocation of the biblical jubilee. The Pope will formally mark the beginning of Jubilee Year with a similar Holy Door opening rite at the three other Roman basilicas - St John Lateran on Christmas Day, St Mary Major on January 1st, and St Paul's Outside the Walls on January 18th.