VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis closed the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica Sunday, formally ending the past 12 months' special Jubilee of Mercy holy year.

 The pontiff, after praying silently, pulled the Holy Door of St. Peter to a close, the final door to be shut for the Jubilee of Mercy. The ceremony took place in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica, where the pope entered in procession, wearing his liturgical robes, to the Jubilee hymn ‘misericordes sicut Pater.’

 In the concluding mass of the Jubilee in St. Peter’s Square in front of tens of thousands of people, Pope Francis said, “So many pilgrims have crossed the holy doors and have tasted the great goodness of the Lord. We give thanks for this, and remember to re-clothe ourselves in compassion, to become instruments of mercy. And we shall continue our journey, together.”

 “How many times however, even among us, have we sought the satisfying safety of the world. How many times were we tempted to come down from the Cross: the attraction of power and success seemed like a quick and easy way to spread the word of the Gospel,” said the head of the Holy See, “forgetting the work of the kingdom of God in a hurry. This year’s Jubilee of Mercy invited us to rediscover the centre, to go back to the essentials.”

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