Catholic News Agency
Pope Leo XIV closes St. Peter’s Holy Door, concluding Jubilee of Hope
Vatican City, Jan 6, 2026 / 02:00 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday closed the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, bringing the ordinary holy year to an end — a time of grace that invited Catholics to conversion, reconciliation, and hope.
The pontiff processed toward the Holy Door as the antiphon “O clavis David” was sung. Reaching the threshold, he knelt before the door and remained for a few minutes in silent prayer. He then rose and, at 9:41 a.m., pushed shut the two large bronze doors — a gesture that visibly marked the end of the jubilee season.
“With thankful hearts we now prepare to close this Holy Door, crossed by a multitude of faithful, certain that the Good Shepherd always keeps the door of his heart open to welcome us whenever we feel weary and oppressed,” Leo XIV said in an address before the concluding gesture that ended the ecclesial event, ordinarily held every 25 years to offer the faithful the possibility of obtaining a plenary indulgence.
With these words, Leo XIV emphasized that even though the jubilee has ended, God’s mercy remains ever open to believers.
Before closing the doors, the Holy Father pronounced in Latin the formula prescribed by the rite, following a practice established in 1975 and later simplified by St. John Paul II during the Jubilee of the Year 2000.
In keeping with the simplified celebration, the public rite did not include the portion involving the construction of a brick wall and was limited to the closing of the bronze doors. The masonry work itself will be carried out later, privately, about 10 days after this public rite.
The act will be overseen by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. The so-called “sampietrini” — personnel of the Fabric of St. Peter, including carpenters, cabinetmakers, and electricians who normally handle basilica maintenance — will build the brick wall inside the basilica to definitively seal the Holy Door.
During this private rite — without cameras or journalists — the traditional metal capsule (“capsis”) will be inserted into the wall. It will contain the official act of closure, coins minted during the jubilee year, and the keys of the Holy Door as a material and symbolic testimony of the holy year that, as the pope noted, has ended on the calendar but not in the spiritual life of the Church.
Leo XIV then recited the prayer of thanksgiving for the ordinary holy year, proclaiming: “This Holy Door is closed, but the door of your mercy is not closed.”
The formula concluded with an invocation that the “treasures” of divine grace would remain open “so that, at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we may confidently knock at the door of your house and enjoy the fruits of the tree of life.”
The Jubilee of Hope was instituted on Dec. 24, 2024, by Pope Francis but, after his death in April 2025, was concluded by his successor, Leo XIV — a situation not seen since the year 1700. The last ordinary jubilee (celebrated every 25 years) took place in 2000.
Jubilees may also be celebrated at “extraordinary” moments, such as the Jubilee of Mercy celebrated by Francis in 2015 or the one to be convoked in 2033 to commemorate the two millennia of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
After closing the Holy Door, Leo XIV presided over Mass for the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord inside St. Peter’s Basilica, bringing the day’s liturgical celebration to its conclusion.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
St. Carlo Acutis’ parents helped develop new Vatican City State app
Vatican City, Jan 5, 2026 / 05:20 am (CNA).
The parents of St. Carlo Acutis contributed to the development of a new official news application connected to the institutional website of the Vatican City State, www.vaticanstate.va, an initiative presented as part of an ongoing digital renewal and as a tribute to the young saint, often held up as a model for evangelizing through new technologies.
After downloading the app, users can read a message of thanks from the Governorate of Vatican City State to Andrea and Antonia Acutis, Carlo’s parents.
“The Governorate of Vatican City State thanks Andrea and Antonia Acutis who, on the occasion of the canonization of their son Carlo, generously contributed to the creation and development of the News App of the official website www.vaticanstate.va,” the message reads.
The new application, officially launched over the weekend, is dedicated to the Italian saint, who died of leukemia in 2006 at age 15 and is frequently remembered for his computer prowess.
The platform is designed to provide fast, intuitive access to news, notices, and official communications from the Vatican Governorate, aiming to improve navigation and accessibility to institutional information.
The app includes several sections, including “saint of the day,” news, interviews, videos, and direct links to other institutions of the Governorate, such as the Gendarmerie Corps, the Vatican Museums, the Vatican Pharmacy, Poste Vaticane, the Pontifical Villas, and the Vatican Observatory.
According to the report, additional features will be implemented progressively.
The app’s launch comes after the institutional website of the Holy See received a graphic overhaul following the May 8 election of Pope Leo XIV. That portal now features a more modern design, including a sky-blue background and an image of the pope greeting the faithful, updating a site that has been online since December 1995.
The Vatican City State app is available as a free download for iOS and Android devices.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Vatican says more than 33 million pilgrims took part in jubilee
Vatican City, Jan 5, 2026 / 04:00 am (CNA).
More than 33.4 million pilgrims traveled to Rome to participate in the Jubilee of Hope, surpassing initial projections, the Vatican said Monday.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said 33,475,369 pilgrims ultimately took part in the jubilee — nearly 2 million more than the Vatican’s initial estimate of 31.7 million.
He also said the final group to pass through the Holy Door on Monday will be staff from the Dicastery for Evangelization, the principal organizers of the holy year, at 5:30 p.m. local time.
The solemn closing of the holy year will take place Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. local time, when Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to close the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in a ceremony expected to be attended by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, civil authorities, and large numbers of faithful.
The Holy Door is scheduled to be opened again in eight years, in 2033, for the Jubilee of the Redemption.
In his assessment of the jubilee, Fisichella described the year as extraordinary in many respects and noted its unusual historical arc: The jubilee began under Pope Francis and concludes under Pope Leo XIV — a transition he said underscored the complexity of the organizational effort.
He also pointed to major events that unfolded alongside the jubilee calendar, including the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26 and the election of his successor, Leo XIV, on May 8, saying those developments were integrated into the jubilee schedule amid an exceptional succession of events.
Pilgrims from 185 countriesAccording to official Vatican data presented Monday, pilgrims from 185 countries took part in jubilee events. By geographic area, Europe accounted for 62.63% of participants, followed by North America (16.54%), South America (9.44%), and Asia (7.69%). The remaining pilgrims came from Oceania (1.14%), Central America and the Caribbean (1.04%), Africa (0.95%), and the Middle East (0.46%).
By country, Italy represented 36.34% of pilgrims, followed by the United States (12.57%) and Spain (6.23%). Other leading countries included Brazil (4.67%), Poland (3.69%), Germany (3.16%), the United Kingdom (2.81%), China (2.79%), Mexico (2.37%), and France (2.31%). The Vatican also recorded significant participation from Argentina, Canada, Portugal, Colombia, Australia, the Philippines, Slovakia, Indonesia, and Austria.
Fisichella said that beginning in May — around the time of Leo XIV’s election — Rome saw an unexpected increase in pilgrims, which he said was managed with close attention in a city that remained under international media focus throughout the year.
How the count was madeFisichella said the initial projections were based on a study by the faculty of sociology at Roma Tre University and were intended as an early planning guide.
He said the primary count was made at St. Peter’s Basilica’s Holy Door, where a camera automatically recorded the number of pilgrims passing through each day.
For the other three papal basilicas — St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls — the Vatican applied percentages based on the flow recorded at St. Peter’s, supplemented by volunteer counts using manual clickers. Attendance at major jubilee events and audiences was also tracked and cross-checked with registrations made through the official jubilee website.
Rome mayor cites lasting legacy and spendingRome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said the Jubilee of Hope has left a lasting legacy for the city, both in infrastructure and in institutional governance, pointing to what he described as a “jubilee method” of sustained cooperation among public administrations.
Gualtieri said the jubilee program included 332 interventions, with 204 already completed or partially completed. He added that street works in Rome were about 90% finished, with the remaining 10% scheduled for completion in 2026.
He also said government funding specifically allocated for jubilee-related works totaled 1.725 billion euros ($2.02 billion). According to Gualtieri, 75% of those resources were used for interventions completed or partially completed, while spending for essential, nondeferrable interventions reached 90%.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope says Christian hope doesn’t depend on human calculations
Vatican City, Jan 4, 2026 / 05:20 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV said Christian hope “is not based on optimistic forecasts or human calculations” but on God’s decision to share humanity’s path so that no one is alone on life’s journey.
Speaking Jan. 4 from the window of the Apostolic Palace to hundreds of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square despite the rain, the pope said the foundation of Christian hope is “God’s Incarnation,” pointing to the day’s Gospel reading from the Prologue of St. John: “The Word became flesh and lived among us” (Jn 1:14).
On the second Sunday after Christmas, before reciting the Angelus, Leo urged believers to rethink their faith and avoid an abstract or distant spirituality. “He is not a distant deity in a perfect heaven above us, but a God who is nearby and inhabits our fragile earth, who becomes present in the faces of our brothers and sisters, and reveals himself in the circumstances of daily life,” he said.
The pope also underscored that the Incarnation calls for a concrete and consistent commitment, including examining whether one’s spirituality and the ways faith is expressed are “truly incarnate.”
“God has become flesh; therefore, there is no authentic worship of God without care for humanity,” he said, linking Christian faith to solidarity with those who suffer.
After the Angelus, Leo reiterated his closeness to those affected by the New Year’s Eve fire in a bar in the Alpine town of Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where young people had been celebrating. Swiss authorities have confirmed at least 40 dead and about 115 injured, many of them seriously.
“I wish to express once again my closeness to those suffering as a result of the tragedy in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and to assure them of my prayers for the young people who died, for the injured, and for their families,” the pope said.
He also said he was following developments in Venezuela “with deep concern” and that “the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration.” His remarks came a day after news of the U.S. capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The pope urged that the country’s sovereignty and rule of law be guaranteed.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Leo XIV calls for respect for Venezuelan sovereignty after U.S. capture of Maduro
Vatican City, Jan 4, 2026 / 01:51 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern over the situation in Venezuela and called for the country’s national sovereignty to be fully respected one day after a U.S. operation ended with the capture and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“With a heart full of concern I follow the evolution of the situation in Venezuela,” the pope said, underscoring that “the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail above any other consideration.”
At the end of the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the situation in Venezuela, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the United States under President Donald Trump. “With a heart full of concern I follow the developments… the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must… pic.twitter.com/81BlY0Sv4A
— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) January 4, 2026Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the recitation of the Angelus, Leo XIV insisted on the need to “overcome violence” and called for “embarking on paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the country’s sovereignty.”
The Holy Father also pointed to the importance of “ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the constitution” and of “respecting the human and civil rights of each and every person.”
He further urged working together to “build a serene future of collaboration, stability, and concordia.”
The pontiff emphasized that this effort must be carried out “with special attention to the poorest, who suffer because of the difficult economic situation.”
Finally, the pope invited Catholics to unite in prayer for Venezuela, entrusting this intention “to the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto and of Sts. José Gregorio Hernández and Sister Carmen Rendiles,” canonized last year.
The pope’s remarks come at a moment of maximum political and international tension for Venezuela following the capture of Maduro and his wife, and Maduro’s imminent prosecution on U.S. soil on drug trafficking charges.
Hours earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said a second wave of attacks was planned if forces in the country offered resistance. “We are going to govern Venezuela until there is a safe transition,” he said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice has ordered that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assume the presidency due to Maduro’s “forced absence.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.