Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving

Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors at Saint Peter’s Basilica, officially beginning the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy on December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady.

On December 13, the Third Sunday of Advent, Father Nicholas Wichert will open Tacoma’s Holy Doors.

Perhaps I should explain.

Normally for a Jubilee, the Holy Doors of all four Papal Major basilicas in and around Rome¹ are unsealed, and pilgrims must make their way to Rome to gain the plenary indulgence of the pilgrim.

These are not the only recognized Holy Doors in the world, of course. There are several others², including most obviously the one in the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, which is normally unsealed only for Jacobean Holy Years³.

So the Pope asked that those shrines and basilicas open their Holy Doors as well. They have all complied, which is likely to complicate our spring Camino – but that’s another story for another day.

But the Pope went still further. He asked every cathedral in the world to designate such a door for pilgrims, and he further indicated that the Bishops could designate additional important shrines and churches in their diocese to open such doors.

Our parish of Holy Rosary is one such church.

So at the Noon Mass on Sunday, we will celebrate a rite that has never been celebrated in Tacoma’s history – we will unseal Tacoma’s Holy Door at Holy Rosary church.

Please join us!

Very Rev. Nicholas Wichert seals the Holy Doors at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church, Tacoma, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 2015

Psalm 100 [99]

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the LORD is God!
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him, bless his name!
For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

(RSV-CE)

1. Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
2. Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia (Spain), the Sanctuary of the Curè of Ars in Ars-sur-Formans (France), and Notre-Dame Basilica-Cathedral in Quebec City (Canada).
3. Jacobean Holy Years are celebrated whenever the Feast of Saint James (July 25) falls on a Sunday. This last happened in 2010, and will happen next in 2021.