The Jubilee ceremony begins with Pope Francis opening the Holy Door at St Peter's Basilica. The ceremony includes prayers in Latin and Italian, symbolising forgiveness, as the Pope crosses the threshold to start the Holy Year.

After breaking open the special door on Christmas Eve, Francis stopped at the threshold to pray briefly in silence as the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica pealed out into the cool Rome night.

Pope Francis prayed that the Jubilee Year may become “a season of hope” and reconciliation in a world at war and suffering humanitarian crises as he opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve.