CLOSING OF HOLY DOOR IN THE VATICAN BASILICA

VATICAN CITY, JAN 6, 2001 (VIS) - In a simple ceremony this morning, John Paul II closed the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica. He paused on his knees in prayer in front of the Door, then arose and closed the two panels, thus bringing to an end, after 379 days, the Great Jubilee of the year 2000.

The Holy Father then moved in procession to St. Peter's Square where he presided at a Eucharistic celebration in the presence of 100,000 people, marking the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priest-members of the Central Committee of the Great Jubilee 2000 concelebrated with the Holy Father.

At the start of his homily, the Pope asked: "Was not the Great Jubilee a kind of epiphany? By coming here to Rome or by going on pilgrimage elsewhere in the many Jubilee Churches, countless individuals, in a sense set, out in the footsteps of the wise men in search of Jesus."

"While today we close the Holy Door, a 'symbol of Christ,' the Heart of Jesus remains more open than ever. ... Apart from the numerous celebrations and initiatives which have marked it, the great legacy which the Jubilee leaves us is the living and consoling experience of 'meeting Christ'."

John Paul II said that the Church "rejoices" today, but that the sense of joy "contains no vain triumphalism. How could we possibly succumb to this temptation, precisely at the end of such an intensely penitential year? The Great Jubilee has offered us an extraordinary opportunity to carry out 'the purification of memories,' seeking God's forgiveness for the infidelities of the Church's children during these two thousand years. ... No self-exaltation therefore but a deep sense of our limitations and weaknesses."

The Pope affirmed that "we need to 'set out anew from Christ' ... in a daily commitment to holiness, ... in order to testify to His love by living a Christian life marked by communion, charity and witness before the world."

"At the very beginning of my pontificate, and countless times since, I have exclaimed to the sons and daughters of the Church and to the world: 'Open wide the doors to Christ.' I wish to do so yet again, at the conclusion of this Jubilee, at the beginning of this new millennium."

Following Mass, John Paul II introduced the "Te Deum," rendering thanks to God "for the inestimable gift that the Holy Year has been for the Church and for humanity." He then greeted the faithful present in various languages.

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