Pope To Close Holy Door
Tens of thousands of faithful waited for hours Friday in St. Peter's Square for their last chance for another 25 years to pass through the basilica's Holy Door.
Pope John Paul II closes the door in a ceremony Saturday.
Friday's faithful were far luckier than the thousands who stood the night before in a pouring, cold rain to reach the door in the waning hours of the Vatican's Holy Year marking the start of Christianity's third millennium.
Many doffed their coats in the brilliant morning as they waited as long as four hours. Some people snapped photos of each other or munched snacks. At noon John Paul made an unscheduled appearance at his window overlooking the square to say a prayer and offer good wishes.
Vatican officials have said they would keep the door open beyond the 6 p.m. closing time Friday to let the last person in line pass through.
The line, seven or eight people across, zigzagged across the broad, cobblestone square and up the basilica's steps, where faithful were going through the door at the rate of about 100 per minute.
Giampiero Pierobon and wife, along with their 9-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son, joined the back of the line shortly before the pope's appearance at noon.
"We're here because we're practicing believers," said Pierobon.
He said his family, which is from Cittadella in northern Italy, arranged its Christmas vacation to be in Rome just before the closing of the door.
"To wait another 25 years perhaps is too much," he said.
Popes usually declare Holy Years each quarter century as a way for Catholics to renew their faith, although occasionally they came sooner.
Pilgrims can gain an indulgence, or remission from punishment for their sins, by passing through St. Peter's Holy Door, as well as the doors of several other major basilicas. The passage must be accompanied by prayer and other actions such as confession and receiving Communion.
As the Christmas season approached, the Vatican said nearly 25 million people had come to Rome for the Holy Year since it began on Christmas Eve 1999.
Many of those in the last lines were Romans, among them Rosella Billato, with her 5-month-old daughter, Marica, in her arms and two more little children clutching her. Vatican ushers took pity on her and let her move up to near the front of the line.
After the last pilgrim leaves the basilica, Vatican security officials will check the atrium, where John Paul will lead the solemn, door-closing ceremony. The Vatican is also releasing a special letter Saturday morning from the pope reflecting on the new millennium.
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