Holy Door, Santa Maria Maggiore - Rome, Italy - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

The concept of Jubilee in the Catholic Church dates to the beginning of the 14th century when pilgrims were granted certain indulgences by visiting the basilicas in Rome. At first, they occurred once per century, but the time interval has been incrementally reduced to the current 25 years. In between the official 25-year period, special or extraordinary Jubilees can be declared as was the case in 2015 when Pope Francis announced 2016 as the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

Holy Doors, which are normally walled shut, are opened during the Jubilee allowing pilgrims to pass through securing their indulgences. All the papal basilicas in Rome have one as well as a few major basilicas and cathedrals in other parts of the world. At the end of the year of Jubilee, the Holy Doors are shut again until the next Jubilee.

In celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016, Italy issued a set of four postage stamps showing the Holy Doors of the four papal basilicas in Rome. This particular stamp shows the Holy Door of the basilica of St. Mary Maggiore along with a portrait of Pope Francis.

If the Holy Door of St. Mary Maggiore looks new, it’s because it is. Created by sculptor Luigi Enzo Mattei and dedicated to the third millennium, it was blessed by Pope John Paul II on December 8, 2001. Besides the Papal coat-of-arms of Pope John Paul II and his motto Totus Tuus, the bronze doors show images of the Virgin Mary and Christ as well as scenes from church history. The Holy Door of this basilica is the leftmost door when facing the church. It’s easy to find as it’s labeled in large letters ‘PORTA SANTA.’

Stamp Issuing Country: Italy Date of Issue: 7-Dec-2015 Denomination: €1,00 Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/29/2024 djdomin visited it