HOLY DOOR OF ST. PETER'S.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XIX, Issue 2061, 30 December 1924, Page 5

HOLY DOOR OF ST. PETER'S.

OPENING BY THE POPE. A GORGEOUS CEREMONY. (Press Association.) Rome, December 28. The opening of the Holy Door at St. Petr's by his Holiness the Pope, was a gorgeous ceremonial. The cardinals wore long silk trains, and white fur caps. The Oriental patriarchs wore jewelled head-dresses. The Pope was covered with a golden mantle, and was seated in a chair carried by 12 bearers. He ascended the throne, and while the Pontifical March was played, he descended, holding a cross in one hand and a lighted candle in the other. His Holiness knelt on the threshold of the door, the choir singing the Te Deum. Beside the throne was a gold dish, upon which were a golden hammer, sponges, and holy water with which to remove bits of the masonry from the door. The Pope struck thrice with the golden hammer. The wall collapsed, revealing the jubilee door. An immense crowd waited in St. Peter's Square. The ceremony was hidden from them by velvet curtains. Then they ponied in the newlyopened door, each kissing the doorpost . The city is crowded with visitors from all over the world. Upwards of a million visitors are expected during Holy Year.

An official medal commemorating Holy Year has been approved by the Pope from designs by the sculptor. Signor Boninregni. The medals are now being struck and will be distributed to every pilgrim visiting the holy city in jubilee year. The medal carries a good halflength likeness of Pope Pius XL, in pontifical robes. It is notable that all likenesses of his Holiness show rimmed spectacles..