Magnificat Vol. LX, No. 1 3 N THE NAME OF the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and of the Mother of God. Amen. On this first day of the New Year, first of all, I offer my wishes to our Eternal Father, to whom all honor and glory belong, as we have just prayed in the liturgy. Every twenty-five years, it is a custom that the Church proclaims a Holy Year. To mark the occasion, the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica – which in the meantime remains sealed – is opened: a symbolic gesture that gives tangible expression to the opening of the Holy Year.1 A holy year – the word says it all – is a year in which we sanctify ourselves. We had already made 2024 a holy year to draw attention to the 800th anniversary of the stigmatization of Saint Francis of Assisi. To satisfy a desire that was made known to 1. Jubilees have generally been celebrated every 25 or 50 years, with extraordinary jubilees in addition depending on need. Catholic jubilees generally involve a pilgrimage to a sacred site, normally the city of Rome. The current jubilee year began on December 24, 2024.
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