Pope Leo XIV addresses cardinals during the extraordinary consistory on Jan. 7, 2026, in Vatican City. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 8, 2026 / 10:52 am (CNA).

ROME — Some cardinals and faithful who have a devotion to the traditional Roman rite have expressed concern that the liturgy appears to be sidelined in the extraordinary consistory currently underway at the Vatican after the cardinals voted to give priority to other issues on the agenda.

In his opening address to the consistory yesterday, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed to the cardinal participants that they will have the opportunity to “engage in a communal reflection” on four themes already preannounced to be on the meeting’s agenda.

Those topics, he said, were Pope Francis’ 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, “that is, the mission of the Church in today’s world”; Praedicate Evangelium, the late pope’s apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia; the Synod and synodality “as both an instrument and a style of cooperation”; and the liturgy, “the source and summit of the Christian life.”

But Leo added that “due to time constraints, and in order to encourage a genuinely in-depth analysis, only two of them will be discussed specifically.”

The cardinals were then asked to make clear which two of the four they would want to be specifically debated and, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, “a large majority” decided the topics would be “evangelization and the Church’s missionary activity drawn from rereading Evangelii Gaudium,” and “the Synod and synodality.”

Bruni told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday evening that the 170 cardinals taking part were divided into 20 groups, which were then divided into two blocks. Eleven groups consisted of cardinals in Rome including curial cardinals and those who have concluded their service and are no longer electors. The remaining nine groups were cardinal electors of local Churches (archbishops and bishops of dioceses), cardinal electors who are nuncios and cardinal electors who have concluded their service but remain electors due to being under the age of 80.

Bruni said that “for reasons of time,” the cardinal secretaries of the second block had the job of reporting back the decision of the cardinals. “They had three minutes to explain the work done within the groups and the reasons that led to the choice of the two themes.”

The Holy Father had made clear in his opening address that it was his preference to hear back from the second block as he does not usually receive advice from those cardinals. “It is naturally easier for me to seek counsel from those who work in the Curia and live in Rome,” he said.

But the decision not to make the liturgy a key theme was disappointing to some cardinals and traditional faithful.

The liturgy has long been a particularly sensitive issue, and especially to traditional-minded Catholics following recent sweeping restrictions on the older form of the Latin rite during Pope Francis’ pontificate. These faithful experienced the restrictions not as a mere disciplinary change but as a judgment on their fidelity, spirituality, and ecclesial belonging, which many have described as deeply wounding and divisive.

The popular Italian traditional website “Messa in Latino“  wrote Jan. 7 that it had contacted some anonymous but important cardinals who all said they were “discouraged and disappointed” about the relegation of the liturgy as a discussion topic.

In comments to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Jan. 8, the website’s editor Luigi Casalini asked: “To whom did the pope delegate this choice, and according to what criteria were these cardinals of the nine local Churches selected in order to remove — in effect — two topics?” He also wondered “why cardinals sensitive to the issue” appear to have “made no attempt to lobby” for the liturgy to be included as a core topic of discussion, “even before the consistory.”

The consistory, he added, “appears to be in perfect continuity with the synods and the thought of Francis” — a reference to how recent synods were silent on the traditional liturgy.

Speaking to journalists Wednesday, Bruni tried to offer some reassurance. “The other two themes will still be addressed in some way, because mission does not exclude the liturgy,” he said. “On the contrary, in many ways it does not mean exclusion. It means that they will still be addressed within the others or in some other way.”

He added: “As the pope said and as he noted in both his opening and closing speeches [on Wednesday], the themes cannot be separated from each other, because in mission and evangelization there is liturgy.”

Casalini said he was looking ahead to the two free discussions today to see “whether the topic of the liturgy will be taken up again.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

WASHINGTON - On the weekend of January 24-25 many Catholic dioceses in the United States will take the annual Collection for the Church in Latin America, which supports ministries among the poor in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

“This annual collection exemplifies the spiritual journey of Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago but spent most of his ministry serving the poor in Peru,” said Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, SDV, of the Diocese of Fall River, and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America, which oversees this annual collection and the grants it funds.

During the decade that then-Bishop Robert Prevost was Bishop of Chiclayo, his diocese received several grants from the Collection for the Church in Latin America. With this support, the diocese improved youth ministry in impoverished parishes, promoted care for the environment and educated thousands of parents, teachers and catechists in the prevention of child abuse.

“The Second Vatican Council, which ended a dozen years before Robert Prevost entered the Augustinian order, encouraged Catholics to reach out in love across all national borders, especially those between the wealthy global north and the developing global south,” said Bishop da Cunha, a Brazilian whose diocese includes Portuguese and Spanish-speaking Catholics. “Pope Leo XIV’s faith journey embodies the spirit of why the bishops of the United States created the Church in Latin America program six decades ago to make an impact in Latin America.”

The online giving platform iGiveCatholic also accepts funds to support this work.

In 2024, gifts to the Collection for the Church in Latin America provided more than $8 million for 344 projects. Some sample projects are:

• Evangelization, faith formation and pastoral care of teenagers in the Archdiocese of Caracas, Venezuela, whose parents have migrated to work in other countries.
• Prison ministry in the notorious Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with 10,000 severely overcrowded inmates and frequent lethal violence.
• Forming hundreds of Haitian lay leaders in marriage ministry so they can promote strong families in a society that is disintegrating from poverty and gang violence.
• A conference for 1,500 Colombians to seek peace in a six-decade civil war through evangelization that emphasizes Jesus’s command to love our enemies.
• Preparing lay leaders in the Archdiocese of Havana, Cuba, to become evangelists in their communities, despite communist repression of the Catholic faith.
• An international gathering of 130 faith leaders in Mexico City to explore the continuing importance of the Vatican II document on Scripture, Dei Verbum.

“All of these projects represent the types of initiatives that inspired Father Prevost to go to Peru as a missionary,” Bishop da Cunha said. “In supporting the Collection for the Church in Latin America, we are able to honor Pope Leo XIV and, above all, serve the Lord who calls us to love our neighbors.”

More information is at www.usccb.org/latin-america.

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The extraordinary consistory of cardinals is taking place from Jan 7-8, 2026. Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 7, 2026 / 19:12 pm (CNA).

In his opening address at the extraordinary consistory convened for Jan. 7–8, Pope Leo XIV assured the cardinals from around the world gathered at the Vatican that “I am here to listen.”

The Holy Father reminded the cardinals, assembled in the Synod Hall, that “as we learned during the two assemblies of the Synod of Bishops in 2023 and 2024,” within the framework of the so-called Synod on Synodality, “the synodal dynamic implies a listening par excellence.”

“Every moment of this kind is an opportunity to deepen our shared appreciation for synodality,” Pope Leo said, recalling that in the speech Pope Francis delivered on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops in 2015, the late pontiff said that it is “precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.”

“We must not arrive at a text,” the pope clarified regarding the task of the consistory, “but continue a conversation that will help me in serving the mission of the entire Church.”

The 4 themes of the consistory

In his address, the Holy Father outlined the four themes that will be discussed during the extraordinary consistory. Two of them are named after papal documents of his predecessor, Francis: the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium.

Evangelii Gaudium, he noted, has to do with “the mission of the Church in today’s world,” while Praedicate Evangelium refers to “the service of the Holy See, especially to the particular Churches.”

The third and fourth topics will be “synod and synodality,” as “both an instrument and a style of collaboration,” and “the liturgy, the source and summit of Christian life.”

However, he clarified, “due to time constraints and in order to encourage a genuinely in-depth analysis, only two of them will be discussed specifically.”

“While each of the 21 groups will contribute to the choice that we will make, the groups that will be reporting will be those nine coming from the local Churches, since it is naturally easier for me to seek counsel from those who work in the Curia and live in Rome,” he added.

On Jan. 8, he said, the two chosen themes will be addressed with the following question as a guide: “Looking at the path of the next one or two years, what considerations and priorities could guide the action of the Holy Father and of the Curia regarding each theme?”

As the consistory proceeds, the pope called on the cardinals to be “attentive to the heart, mind, and spirit of each; listening to one another; expressing only the main point and in a succinct manner, so that all can speak.”

“The ancient Romans in their wisdom used to say: ‘Non multa sed multum!’ [Not many things, but much],” Leo pointed out, a phrase understood as prioritizing quality over quantity.

“And in the future, this way of listening to one another, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and walking together, will continue to be of great help for the Petrine ministry entrusted to me,” he affirmed.

“Even the way in which we learn to work together, with fraternity and sincere friendship, can give rise to something new, something that brings both the present and the future into focus,” Leo declared.

A conciliar perspective

From the beginning of his address, the pope made clear the perspective of the Second Vatican Council for this consistory, quoting the first paragraph of the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, which emphasizes that “Christ is the light of the nations” and that it is the Church’s duty to ensure that “all men, joined more closely today by various social, technical, and cultural ties, might also attain fuller unity in Christ.”

“We can understand the overall pontificates of St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II within this conciliar perspective, which sees the mystery of the Church as entirely held within the mystery of Christ and thus understands the evangelizing mission as a radiation of the inexhaustible energy released by the central event of salvation history,” Leo XIV said.

He then noted that both Benedict XVI and Francis “summarized this vision in one word: attraction.”

“Pope Benedict did this in the inaugural homily of the Aparecida Conference in 2007 when he said: ‘The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by ‘attraction’: Just as Christ ‘draws all to himself’ by the power of his love, culminating in the sacrifice of the cross, so the Church fulfills her mission to the extent that, in union with Christ, she accomplishes every one of her works in spiritual and practical imitation of the love of her Lord,’” Leo recalled.

“Pope Francis was in perfect agreement with this and repeated it several times in different contexts,” he added.

‘Unity attracts, division scatters’

Pope Leo XIV also emphasized in his speech that “unity attracts, division scatters. It seems to me that physics also confirms this, both on the microscopic and macroscopic levels.”

“Therefore, in order to be a truly missionary Church, one that is capable of witnessing to the attractive power of Christ’s love, we must first of all put into practice his commandment, the only one he gave us after washing his disciples’ feet: ‘Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.’”

“And he adds: ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,’” the pope emphasized.

The Holy Father went on to indicate that in the consistory, “we are a very diverse group, enriched by a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, ecclesial and social traditions, formative and academic paths, pastoral experiences, not to mention personal characteristics and traits.”

“We are called first to get to know one another and to dialogue, so that we may work together in serving the Church. I hope that we can grow in communion and thus offer a model of collegiality,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The concluding high Mass for the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage, an annual three-day pilgrimage for devotees of the Traditional Latin Mass, on Oct. 29, 2023, celebrated by Bishop Guido Pozzo at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims in Rome. | Credit: Andrea Zuffellato / null

Jan 7, 2026 / 10:37 am (CNA).

As cardinals gather this week in an extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV on Jan. 7–8, a French traditionalist priest has sent a memorandum to members of the Sacred College of Cardinals proposing the creation of an ecclesiastical jurisdiction specifically structured to oversee the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in an effort to resolve the liturgical crisis that has marked the Church in recent years.

The letter, dated Dec. 24, 2025, and made public by U.S. journalist Diane Montagna, was written by Father Louis-Marie de Blignières, founder of the Fraternity of St. Vincent Ferrier in 1979 and a senior figure of the post-1988 Ecclesia Dei movement who took part in dialogue with St. John Paul II following Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s illicit episcopal consecrations.

“Before the consistory, where liturgy will be on the agenda, I take the filial liberty of addressing this short memorandum to you,” de Blignières, 76, wrote at the outset, explaining that his purpose is to suggest “an ecclesial solution that could provide a stable framework for these faithful who are in full communion with the Catholic hierarchy and attached to the ancient Latin rite.”

In practical terms, de Blignières proposes the creation of a new Church structure — such as a personal apostolic administration or an ordinariate — similar to a diocese but not tied to a specific territory. Instead of being organized by geography, it would bring together priests and faithful attached to the traditional Latin liturgy under a single authority wherever they are located.

De Blignières pointed to existing canonical models, particularly military ordinariates, which exercise what canon law calls “cumulative jurisdiction.” Under this arrangement, priests and faithful attached to the traditional rite would belong to the new jurisdiction while remaining members of their local dioceses. Diocesan bishops would therefore not be bypassed but would share pastoral responsibility with bishops appointed to oversee the proposed structure.

According to the letter, this would allow bishops familiar with the 1962 liturgical books to oversee ordinations, confirmations, and other rites specific to the traditional liturgy while relieving diocesan ordinaries who may feel unprepared or reluctant to manage these matters. For the faithful, it would offer clarity and continuity in a context that has often been marked by uncertainty and conflict.

“For more than 60 years, this group has continued to exist and to grow, but it lacks the support of a juridical framework adapted to its legitimate needs,” de Blignières wrote. “The creation of dedicated ecclesiastical jurisdictions would move matters forward toward stability, peace, and unity.”

The proposal comes amid renewed tensions following Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which significantly restricted the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass and reversed the more permissive regime established under Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.

Implementation of Traditionis Custodes has varied widely across dioceses. In some places, bishops have sought pragmatic arrangements to preserve coexistence. In others, traditional communities and liturgical celebrations have been heavily reduced or suppressed. Critics of the current situation argue that this uneven application has contributed to pastoral instability and deepened divisions within the Church, particularly in France and the U.S.

De Blignières framed his proposal not as a challenge to papal authority but as an attempt to offer a constructive way forward. In his view, the absence of a stable juridical solution since the end of the postconciliar liturgical reform has left communities attached to the older rite in a recurring state of vulnerability.

Following the illicit episcopal consecrations carried out by Lefebvre in 1988, the Holy See created the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to facilitate the reconciliation of communities attached to the liturgy in use prior to the postconciliar reform.

Over the decades that followed, various proposals were already advanced to provide a more stable canonical framework for these communities. One such solution was adopted in 2002 with the establishment of the Personal Apostolic Administration Saint John Mary Vianney in Campos, Brazil, which was granted the faculty to celebrate the sacraments according to the 1962 Roman rite. Other initiatives, including petitions from lay associations such as Una Voce in the United States, did not result in comparable structures elsewhere.

Father Matthieu Raffray, superior of the European District of the Institute of the Good Shepherd and a popular public figure among the youth, commented on the proposal in an interview with Montagna, describing it as a constructive contribution rather than a demand. In his view, the proposal seeks to move beyond what he calls a “sterile” opposition by offering an institutional solution capable of preserving ecclesial communion while recognizing the distinct pastoral reality of communities attached to the vetus ordo.

Other Church figures, however, have already expressed reservations.

Father Pierre Amar, a priest of the Diocese of Versailles near Paris who is also well known on social media, claimed that while a dedicated jurisdiction is “one solution,” it is “not the best one” in his view, warning that it could “isolate traditionalists within a structure, where contact and interaction are a source of enrichment for everyone.”

The letter was sent to a number of cardinals known for their interest in liturgical questions — 15 by post and approximately 100 by email — but not directly to Pope Leo XIV. Its author presented it explicitly as a contribution to reflection ahead of the consistory rather than as a formal request.

Pope Leo XIV gives the first general audience of 2026 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Jan. 7, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

Jan 7, 2026 / 09:37 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV began a series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council at his first general audience of 2026 on Wednesday.

The public audience, held indoors in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall due to low temperatures, took place shortly before the start of Leo’s first consultation with cardinals, called a consistory, convened for Jan. 7–8.

The pope noted that though the Second Vatican Council took place just over 60 years ago, its generation of bishops, theologians, and lay Catholics is no longer alive — necessitating a renewed study of its teachings.

“While we hear the call not to let [the council’s] prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through ‘hearsay’ or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content,” the pope said on the morning of Jan. 7.

He affirmed that the magisterium of Vatican II “still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey today.”

“As the years have passed, the conciliar documents have lost none of their timeliness; indeed, their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society,” he said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI.

The Holy Father also recalled the original impulse of this great ecclesial event, convened by St. John XXIII, which paved “the way for a new ecclesial season” following a “rich biblical, theological, and liturgical reflection spanning the 20th century.”

Leo reviewed some of the council’s principal fruits, including that it “rediscovered the face of God as the Father who, in Christ, calls us to be his children.”

It also led, he said, to a renewed understanding of the Church “as a mystery of communion and sacrament of unity between God and his people,” and it initiated an important “liturgical reform” by placing the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious participation of the entire people of God at its center.

“It helped us to open up to the world and to embrace the changes and challenges of the modern age in dialogue and co-responsibility, as a Church that wishes to open her arms to humanity,” he explained.

Quoting St. Paul VI, he stated that the Church embarked on a new path in order “to seek the truth by way of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and dialogue with people of goodwill.”

That same spirit, he added, “must characterize our spiritual life and the pastoral action of the Church, because we have yet to achieve ecclesial reform more fully in a ministerial sense and, in the face of today’s challenges, we are called to continue to be vigilant interpreters of the signs of the times, joyful proclaimers of the Gospel, courageous witnesses of justice and peace.”

“As we approach the documents of Vatican Council II and rediscover their prophetic and contemporary relevance, we welcome the rich tradition of the life of the Church and, at the same time, we question ourselves about the present and renew our joy in running towards the world to bring it the Gospel of the kingdom of God, a kingdom of love, justice, and peace,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Rochester, New York. | Credit: DanielPenfield via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Jan 7, 2026 / 09:07 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday named New York Auxiliary Bishop John S. Bonnici to lead the Diocese of Rochester, New York.

Bonnici, 60, was made an auxiliary bishop for New York in March 2022 after 30 years as a priest of the archdiocese. In Rochester, he succeeds Bishop Salvatore R. Matano, who is 79.

Bonnici holds a doctorate from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington (1995) and a licentiate degree from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute (1992) in Rome, where he also studied at the Pontifical North American College and the Gregorian University (1987–1990) before his ordination.

He was born in New York on Feb. 17, 1965, and earned bachelor of science degrees in biology and philosophy from St. John’s University in Queens, New York, in 1987.

The Diocese of Rochester serves approximately 306,000 Catholics in the upstate region of the state of New York.

WASHINGTON - In response to discussions in Congress regarding healthcare affordability, Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, affirmed the importance of the Hyde Amendment:

“Authentic health care upholds the dignity of all human life, and health care policy must not violate this dignity. In upholding this core principle, the U.S. bishops have long opposed any proposals to expand taxpayer funding of abortion and will continue to do so, including, if necessary, in the current debates in Congress over health care affordability plans. We urge Congress to work creatively to enact legislation that does not compromise the dignity of the human person and that ensures access to authentic, life-affirming care.”

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WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano, 79, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Rochester, and has appointed Most Reverend John S. Bonnici, currently auxiliary bishop of New York, as his successor. 

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on January 7, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The Diocese of Rochester is comprised of 7,107 square miles in the State of New York.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The teachings of the Second Vatican Council are still "the guiding star" the Catholic Church is meant to follow, Pope Leo XIV said.

Rereading all of its teachings "is a valuable opportunity to rediscover the beauty and the importance of this ecclesial event," he said Jan. 7, and because its work remains "a guiding principle for us today."

"We have yet to achieve ecclesial reform more fully in a ministerial sense and, in the face of today's challenges, we are called to continue to be vigilant interpreters of the signs of the times, joyful proclaimers of the Gospel, courageous witnesses of justice and peace," he said. 

Speaking to visitors gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall for his weekly general audience, the pope said that with the conclusion of the Holy Year Jan. 6, he was beginning a new series of talks dedicated to the Second Vatican Council.

The council, which convened for four sessions from 1962 to 1965, produced 16 documents, addressing everything from liturgy to Scripture, missionary activity to ecumenism and interfaith relationships, and the functions of clergy and laity to religious freedom.

"Vatican Council II rediscovered the face of God as the Father who, in Christ, calls us to be his children," he said in his talk.

The council looked at the Catholic Church "as a mystery of communion and sacrament of unity between God and his people; it initiated important liturgical reform, placing at its center the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious participation of the entire people of God," he said.

"At the same time, it helped us to open up to the world and to embrace the changes and challenges of the modern age in dialogue and co-responsibility, as a Church that wishes to open her arms to humanity, to echo the hopes and anxieties of peoples, and to collaborate in building a more just and fraternal society," he said. 

For the past six decades, the popes have repeatedly underlined the importance of Vatican II, its teachings and its fuller implementation.

However, since the council was held so long ago, that means that "the generation of bishops, theologians and believers of Vatican II is no longer with us," said the pope, who would have been 10 years old when the council ended in December of 1965.

"It will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through 'hearsay' or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content" directly, he said.

"Indeed, it is the Magisterium that still constitutes the guiding star of the Church's journey today," he said.

Pope Leo begins catechesis on Vatican II

A look at Pope Leo's general audience Jan. 7, 2026. (CNS video/Robert Duncan)

Catholic News Service produced a significant documentary in 2015 called, "Voices of Vatican II," in which twelve men who took part in the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) look back at that historic event. It features abundant archival footage of the council, much of it rarely seen, and exclusive interviews with those who recount the history they witnessed and helped to make.

All the voices heard in this film are of bishops and priests --including the late-Pope Benedict XVI-- who participated in Vatican II and who, in most cases, have played important roles in the life of the Catholic Church over the subsequent decades.

Length: 49 mins.

Voices of Vatican II

In Voices of Vatican II, twelve men who took part in the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) look back at that historic event, half a century after the fact. It features abundant archival footage of the council, much of it rarely seen, and exclusive...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With rain-slicked coats and rain-soaked feet, last-minute visitors did not let Rome's infamous winter deluges and damp stop them from their goal: to pray and pass through to the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica.

With just a few hours to go before it closed to the public late Jan. 5, hundreds of pilgrims streamed nonstop into the basilica, pushing the final tally to well past 33 million people who visited the Vatican during the Holy Year that Pope Francis opened on Christmas Eve in 2024.

"Avanti! No stop! Vámonos!" one basilica employee manning the Holy Door told the stream of people. 

It was clear by "looking at their eyes" who was coming to the door out of pious devotion, and who experienced it as just one more stop on a busy day, one guard told Catholic News Service.

In fact, people often looked awestruck, jubilant or a bit dazed by the brilliant light bouncing off the white and gold interior of the church after weaving through the darkened square. The majority of visitors held their cell phones high, seeing the scene through the screen or taking selfies and posing as a family or a couple at the door.

Those visitors who stopped to rest their heads against the depiction of the crucified Christ on the door or reverently touch the other panels were allowed to linger longer. And men and boys who forgot to pull off their hats or hoodies were given a stern look and a curt gesture by guards to remove their headwear.

The only ones who looked tired by early evening were the children -- many slung over a loved one's shoulder or snuggled in a baby sling. 

Touching one of the bronze panels of the Holy Door became a moment of catechesis for some parents as they explained to their children how to make the sign of the cross or kiss one of the bas-relief depictions of Jesus.

One father bent down to his small son, explaining how the door "will only be open again when you're 28 years old!" calculating the next Holy Year to be in 2050. However, one is expected to be declared for the 2000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in 2033.

The last official pilgrim group through the door was led by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, which organized the different Jubilees during the Holy Year. 

He held the Jubilee cross as he walked through the Holy Door, leading members of the dicastery and scores of Jubilee volunteers who had endured the extremes of Rome's weather all year, welcoming pilgrims at all four major basilicas and manning the special corridor from Castel Sant'Angelo to St. Peter's Basilica. The volunteers wore their bright lime-green jackets and bibs, and some proudly held their country's flag in their hands.

No more pilgrim groups were allowed to leave from Piazza Pia after 5:30 p.m., and the last wave of individuals was let in after 6 p.m. By 6:40 p.m., the square was barricaded, and latecomers negotiated or pleaded with police to let them in.

"I came from Finland," said Anton, 22, an Orthodox Christian from Helsinki, who lingered at one barricade, musing about the "bad timing."

He and his friend told CNS that they had come to Rome to enjoy the food and sights, but Anton had wanted to go through the Holy Door as part of an act of spiritual purification and strengthen his desire to do something "for the greater good of God."

"Perhaps we could break in," the young men joked when considering a contingency plan. 

One young mother parked a stroller along the perimeter of the square with her two small children and her father and mother. They had taken a two-hour train and subway ride from a small town just 11 miles away, and missed their chance to get through the door, too.

"We wanted to take our picture," she said, adding that they had managed to pass through the Holy Doors of St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. John Lateran, which had both closed in late December.

Andrea, a man in his 60s, said he got to the square just when it closed. Traveling directly from Florence, he said he couldn't come earlier "because of work."

He told CNS he had been looking forward to the spiritual significance of passing through the Holy Door and the experience of "a kind of purification."

"But I did make it through in 2000," he said, recalling the very long lines to get to the door. "Let's just hope (the graces from that year) will last me another 25 years."