A bit of history - "How old is the Pope?" A bit of history   What is the Jubilee? The word Jubilee comes from the Hebrew yobhel, meaning a ram and, by extension the musical instrument, a type of trumpet made from a ram's horn. According to the Old Testament, the lsraelites sounded this trumpet to announce the Sabbatical Year (which fell every seven years) and the Jubilee (which fell every seven Sabbatical Years, or in other words every half-century). During the Jubilee (or Remission) Year, the land was left uncultivated and fallow, and everyone could enjoy the wild plants it produced. Hebrew slaves were freed, debts were written off and fixed goods - especially land - which had been sold were returned to their original owners. So, as stated in the book of Leviticus, the Jubilee was a return to an original state, a kind of price-fixing or social action which brought all property back into balance, because there could be no rich landowners or capitalists, and no-one so poor as to be reduced almost to the level of slavery. Today, there is a Jubilee every 25 years, unless there are exceptional circumstances. To date, there have been 26 ordinary Holy Years (including 2000) and 95 extraordinary Holy Years, called on the occasion of special anniversaries or moments of difficulty for the Church and the world. The Jubilee of 2000 will be celebrated in all the local churches in Rome, in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land. For the first time in the history of the Holy Years, the Pope will personally open all four Doors of the Roman Basilicas. The Holy Door The Holy Door is a door which is bricked up on the inside, and is found at Rome's four Major Basilicas: St. Peter's, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. The opening takes place on Christmas Night of the year preceding the Jubilee and marks the formal beginning of Holy Year. At the end of the Jubilee period, the door is closed again. There are other Holy Doors in the world's Cathedrals and main churches. The ceremony to open the Holy Door today in accordance with formalities, is that which was instituted at the 8th Jubilee in the Church's history in 1500 by Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia). He ordered a new door to be opened in the Vatican basilica and commanded that it should be decorated with multi-coloured marble and sculpture, so as to be immediately recognizable. For years, it was the custom for the most famous cathedrals of abbeys to take part in the construction of the wall which blocked up the Holy Door of the Vatican basilica using their own bricks, which would be returned when the Door was re-opened at the next Jubilee. Since the Holy Year of Restitution in 1983 (an Extraordinary Jubilee), the Holy Door has been opened like a normal door, and is no longer blocked up, but lowered with winches. The Holy Door of the Vatican basilica is opened by the Pope, using a ceremonial hammer while, at the same moment, three delegated cardinals carry out the ceremony at the other major basilicas. The pontiff reaches the Portico and, on the steps of the Holy Door and in general silence, recites the ancient prayer: You, who through Your servant Moses gave the 5oth year to the Israelites as a time of Jubilee and remission, grant to Your servants that this Jubilee year, instituted through Your authority, and in which You wish this door to be opened to contrite people. We do this gladly, so that beseeching complete forgiveness and remission of sins, at the day of Your coming, we shall all be fit to enjoy ineffable glory and eternal happiness. Having finished the prayer, the Pope grasps the hammer and strikes three blows, accompanied by the recitation of the verse from Psalm 118: Aperite mihi portas iustitiae. When the Door is opened, the Pontiff enters the basilica and recites Vespers, followed by hymns, the singing of the choir and the ringing of bells which proclaims to the world the beginning of Holy Year. This year, the Jobhel will also be sounded. This is the ram's-horn trumpet which in the Old Testament announced the Jewish Jubilee. The ritual of establishing a Door in the four major basilicas, and dedicating it specifically to Holy Year, recalls the words of Jesus Christ: Ego sum ostium, per me si quis introierit salvabitur (I am the door, whosoever passes through me shall receive salvation). Thus, the passage through the Holy Door is one of the most important practices of the Jubilee. The Door represents entry into the mercy of God, the passage to a new life. The Holy Doors of Rome's four Major Basilicas In the porch of St. Peter's there are five doors, leading into the naves. The oldest is the central one, the work of the Florentine sculptor Filarete in 1433. It had already been a part of Constantine's basilica. The panels contain scenes from the life of Jesus, the Virgin with Saints Peter and Paul and episodes from the Council of Florence (1417). The present Holy Door (the last on the right as you enter the basilica) was inaugurated on 24 December 1949 and replaces the wooden one which dated from 1749. The bronze panels were produced for the 1950 Jubilee by the Siennese sculptor Vito Consorti, and commissioned by the then Director of the Fabric of St. Peter's, Monsignor Ludwig Kaas. A gift from the Diocese of Basle, the Door is truly an illustrated Bible: 15 of the 16 panels contain scenes from the Old and New Testaments, and portray the themes of original sin, salvation and forgiveness. The last panel depicts Pope Pius XII in the act of knocking on the Door with a hammer. The Holy Door at the Basilica of St. Mary Major is the first on the left. At St. Paul Outside the Walls, where it is the first on the right, six vertical bands contain 54 bronze panels surviving in 1823 from the original 11th Century Byzantine door. The Door at St. John Lateran (the last on the right) depicts episodes from the life of John the Baptist and is the work of several 18th Century sculptors. Indulgence Indulgence is the remission before God - through a jurisdictional action of the Church - of those temporal penalties which must be atoned for in Purgatory for sins committed in life. Sins whose guilt has already been pard\oned or nullified by the sacrament of confession, or penitence. Indulgence can be partial or plenary, depending what freedom there is available, in part or completely, for the temporal punishment due for the sins. Every faithful member of the Church can obtain indulgences; for himself, by way of absolution, or it can be applied to the departed through prayer. Indulgence may be temporary or permanent, personal (for example, if granted to members of a religious order), local (is connected with a place of worship) or real (if connected with a sacred object). The Jubilee plenary indulgence can only be earned once a day, under the conditions laid down by the Holy Year Bull. The person must have been baptized, have made confession and taken communion (in other words, be in a state of grace) and must carry out certain actions decided by the ecclesiastical authority: normally, to visit the four major Roman basilicas and other Churches, to pray according to the wishes of the Roman Pontiff (for the triumph of the Catholic Church, the defeat of heresy and the conversion of sinners) and to carry out established acts of charity, self-denial, penitence and devotion. How to obtain an indulgence during Holy Year The Bull for the Indiction (Declaration) of the next Jubilee, the Incarnationis Mysterium, establishes that the faithful may obtain an indulgence in Rome, in the Holy Land, in Churches locally and (a significant innovation compared with other Jubilees) elsewhere. The Bull sets out certain actions which must be carried out in order to obtain plenary indulgence. These are: - Acts of piety - pilgrimages and visits to specified churches for the purpose of prayer: In Rome, the four patriarchal basilicas, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Holy Cross), San Lorenzo, the Catacombs and the Sanctuary of Divine Love; in the Holy Land, the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. - Acts of penitence - abstinence and fasting; suitable offerings to the poor; abstention from unnecessary consumption (smoking, alcoholic drinks.... ) - Acts of mercy - charitable work with the sick, prisoners, old people living alone, the handicapped, abandoned children, young people with problems, people needing help and assistance. Pilgrimage and the Romei Pilgrimage is a collective or individual religious experience, a manifestation of the spiritual journey towards God; it is thus a journey of conversion. So a pilgrim is someone who travels to a foreign country, moved by faith, the desire for penitence or the wish to fulfil a vow. Pilgrims are often identified by special clothing. Romei are those pilgrims who, by various routes, will head for Rome, the capital of Christianity, during Jubilee year. In ancient times, pilgrims on their way to the Eternal City carried a staff known as a bordone. It was tall and made of wood with an iron point, and was used by the Romeo to lean on, to help him over difficult terrain or, if necessary, to cross rivers and defend him from wild animals. He wore a long cloak of unbleached cloth, and a wide-brimmed hat known as a galero or petaso. This was made of felt, fastened under the chin with a cord, and the brim protected the traveller from the sun and rain. The pilgrim carried a bag containing his food and a letter from the Bishop which served for identification and safe conduct. The bag therefore became known as a scrip. In the Middle Ages, the journey to Rome was full of hardships and danger, so that often the pilgrim made his will before starting. He was only allowed to stop for two days to refresh himself although, in the case of proven illness, this might be extended by a day or two. The three great objectives of pilgrimages during the Jubilee are, as always, Rome, Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where the relics of St. James have been venerated since the 9th Century. The faithful who travelled to Santiago were called jacquaires, from the French Saint Jacques; those who went to Jerusalem were known as palmari, because they brought home a palm of Jericho as a memento of their journey to the Holy Places. It is estimated that more than 250 million pilgrims travel from their homeland every year. For this Jubilee at the end of the Millennium about 50 million pilgrims and religious tourists are expected to come to Italy (half of them to Rome alone). PAST HOLY YEARS AND POPES ORDINARY HOLY YEARS 1300 Boniface VIII 1350 Clemens VI 1390 Urban VI and Boniface IX 1400 Boniface IX 1423 Martin V 1450 Nicholas V 1475 Sixtus IV 1500 Alexander VI 1525 Clemens VII 1550 Paul III and Julius III 1575 Gregory XIII 1600 Clemens VIII 1625 Urban VIII 1650 Innocent X 1675 Clemens X 1700 Innocent XII and Clemens XI 1725 Benedict XIII 1750 Benedict XIV 1775 Pius VI 1825 Leo XII 1875 Pius IX 1900 Leo XIII 1925 Pius X 1950 Pius XII 1975 Paul VI SPECIAL HOLY YEARS Exceptional Holy Years have been called to mark either special anniversaries or urgent necessities of the Church. Here are some of them: 1383 Urban IV proclaims a Holy Year to recall the 33 years of Christ's earth life 1560 Pius IV Proclaims a Holy Year for a fruitful outcome to the Council of Trent 1566 Pius V proclaims a Holy Year to implore the protection of Christianity 1585 Sixtus V proclaims a Holy Year for the beginning of his pontificate 1605 Paul V proclaims a Holy Year for the beginning of his pontificate 1621 Gregory XV proclaims a Holy Year for the beginning of his pontificate 1879 Leo XIII proclaims a Holy Year for the beginning of his pontificate 1904 Pius X proclaims a Holy Year for the anniversary of the definition of the Dogma on the Immaculate Conception 1933 Pius XI proclaims a Holy Year for the 19th centenary of the Redemption 1654 Pius XII proclaims a Marian Year 1967 Paul VI proclaims the Holy Year of the faith 1983 John Paul II proclaims the Holy Year to mark 1950 years since the Redemption 1987 John Paul II proclaims a Marian Year in honour of the Most Holy Virgin Mary "How old is the Pope?"   How many of us have asked this question? After the fall of the Berlin Wall, even the camper lovers have benefited from the opening to the East. A confirmation of this can be seen in our page of Itineraries where one can find reports of trips which were hard to make only ten years ago. Therefore, it seems only obvious that we should honour the author of changes that have modified the world scene with a page of this "Speciale Giubileo" dedicated to his biographical data. KAROL JÓSEF WOJTYLA was born in Wadowice (Kraków), Poland, on May 18, 1920. He was the second of two sons born to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska. He lost his mother in 1929 and his eldest brother Edmund, physician, in 1932. Upon graduation from high school he enrolls in Kraków's Jagiellonian University in 1938. On Sept. 1, 1939, Second World War begins. When the Nazi occupation forces closes the University, young Karol earns a living and avoid deportation to Germany, as a stone cutter in a quarry and later in a chemical factory in Solvay. On Feb. 18, 1941, his father dies. On October 1942 he begins clandestine studies for the priesthood in Krakóws underground seminary and at the same time he is one of the pioneer of the clandestine "Rhapsodic Theater". When the war ends, he continues his theological studies until his priestly ordination on November 1, 1946. Soon after, he leaves Poland to begin studies in Rome where he earns a doctorate in theology (1948). He returns to Poland and begins apostolic work. Among other things, he serves as a chaplain for the university students. Later he is appointed professor of moral theology and social ethics in the major seminary of Kraków and in the Catholic University of Lublin. On July 4, 1958, he is appointed Auxiliary Bishop to Archbishop of Kraków by Pope Pius XII, and on January 13, 1964, he is nominated Archbishop of Kraków by Paul VI, who made him a Cardinal on June 26, 1967. He takes part in the sessions of the Second Vatican Council. On 1967 Cardinal Wojtyla does not attend to the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops as a sign of solidarity with the Primate, who was not granted a passport. Later, before his election to the Pontificate, he attends to 5 Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops. On October 16, 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla is elected 2631 Successor of Peter. Since the start of his pontificate, John Paul II has completed 89 pastoral visits outside of Italy and 137 within Italy. As Bishop of Rome he has visited 290 of the 328 parishes. His principal documents include 13 encyclicals, 12 apostolic exhortations, 20 apostolic constitutions and 37 apostolic letters. The Pope has also published two books: "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" (October 1994) and "Gift and Mistery: On the 50th Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination" (November 1996). John Paul II has presided at 119 beatification ceremonies (938 blessed proclaimed) and 38 canonization ceremonies (296 saints) during his pontificate. He has held 7 concistories in which he created 157 cardinals. He has also convened five plenary meetings of the College of Cardinals and has presided at 14 Synods: five ordinary, one extraordinary and eight special. No other Pope has encountered so many individuals like John Paul II to date, almost 15 millions pilgrims have participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays (more than 900). Such figure is without counting all other special audiences and religious ceremonies held and the millions of faithful met during pastoral visits throughout the world. It must also be remembered the 38 official visits and the 586 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State and even the 196 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers. Home Page Giubileo