Pope Francis becomes the first pope in 728 years to open the Holy Door of a 13th-century basilica at L’Aquila, Italy

On Sunday, Pope Francis became the first pope in 728 years to open the Holy Door of a basilica built in the 13th century in L’Aquila, Italy.

During his August 28 visit to the Italian city situated around 110 kilometres northeast of Rome, the pope participated in a centuries-old custom known as the Perdonanza Celestiniana.

Pope Celestine V inaugurated an annual festival in 1294, and the opening of the Holy Door was a pivotal milestone.

“For centuries L’Aquila has kept alive the gift that Pope Celestine V left it. It is the privilege of reminding everyone that with mercy, and only with it, the life of every man and woman can be lived with joy,” Pope Francis said in his homily during Mass at L’Aquila’s Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio.

“To be forgiven is to experience here and now what comes closest to the resurrection. Forgiveness is passing from death to life, from the experience of anguish and guilt to that of freedom and joy. May this church always be a place where we can be reconciled, and experience that grace that puts us back on our feet and gives us another chance,” he said.

At 7:50 a.m., Pope Francis started his day journey by helicopter from the Vatican to L’Aquila. He visited the city’s cathedral, which is currently being restored after being severely destroyed in a 2019 earthquake that claimed over 300 lives.

While inspecting the damaged church’s restoration region, the pope donned a hard hat. In the town square in front of the cathedral, where local prisoners were also present, he addressed relatives of earthquake victims. As Pope Francis hailed the crowd from a wheelchair, they applauded and waved Vatican flags.

Pope Francis said: “First of all I thank you for your witness of faith: despite the pain and loss, which belong to our faith as pilgrims, you have fixed your gaze on Christ, crucified and risen, who with his love redeemed the nonsense of pain and death.”

“And Jesus has placed you back in the arms of the Father, who does not let a tear fall in vain, not even one, but gathers them all in his merciful heart,” he added.

Pope Francis proceeded in the popemobile to the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila, where he said an outdoor Mass, chanted the Angelus, and opened the Holy Door after visiting with the relatives of the victims.

In his short Angelus address, the pope prayed for the people of Pakistan, where devastating floods have killed over a thousand people and displaced tens of thousands more.

Pope Francis also requested the Virgin Mary’s intercession to gain “forgiveness and peace for the whole world,” including Ukraine and all other war-torn regions.

During his visit to L’Aquila, the pope said that he wanted the central Italian city to become a “capital of forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation.”

“This is how peace is built through forgiveness received and given,” he said.

Pope Celestine V, who commanded the Catholic Church for about five months until resigning on December 13, 1294, is buried at L’Aquila. The pope, who was canonised in 1313, is buried at the Santa Maria di Collemaggio Basilica in L’Aquila.

The Vatican’s announcement in the spring that Pope Francis will visit L’Aquila sparked unsubstantiated rumours that the trip may be the precursor to the 85-year-old pontiff’s retirement.

In 2013, when Benedict XVI became the first pope to retire in over 600 years, Vatican observers noted that he had previously visited the grave of Celestine V. During his journey on April 28, 2009, he left his pallium, the white wool vestment used by metropolitan archbishops, on the grave. Commentators speculated, in retrospect, that Benedict was expressing his plan to quit.

Pope Francis lauded Pope Celestine V for his humility and bravery during his sermon at L’Aquila.

Mentioning Dante Alighieri’s description of Celestine as the man of “the great refusal,” Pope Francis underlined that Celestine should not be remembered as a man of “no” — for resigning the papacy — but as a man of “yes.”

Pope Francis said: “Indeed, there is no other way to accomplish God’s will than by assuming the strength of the humble, there is no other way. Precisely because they are so, the humble appear weak and losers in the eyes of men, but in reality they are the true winners, for they are the only ones who trust completely in the Lord and know his will.”

At the conclusion of the Mass, the congregation recited the Litany of the Saints and watched as Pope Francis created history by opening the Holy Door of the basilica. Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi of L’Aquila asserts that Pope Francis is the first pope in 728 years to open the Holy Door.

In previous years, visiting cardinals have opened the Holy Door for the Celestinian Forgiveness after the local mayor has read the bull of forgiveness. The papal bull was presented by Celestine to L’Aquila, where it is stored in an armoured chapel in the town hall’s bell tower.

The bull of forgiveness drafted by Celestine V granted a plenary indulgence to anybody who visited the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio between Vespers on August 28 and sunset on August 29 after confessing and repenting their sins. A plenary indulgence is a gift offered by the Catholic Church in exchange for the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary, and all the saints in order to eliminate the temporal penalty due to sin.

At a period when indulgences were often related to almsgiving, Celestine’s indulgence was remarkable since it was accessible to anybody, regardless of class or riches, and required nothing but genuine contrition.

After opening the Holy Door, Pope Francis was carried across the basilica to Pope Celestine V’s grave, where he spent a minute in solitary prayer before the remains of his papal predecessor, who was made a saint in 1313.

“In the spirit of the world, which is dominated by pride, today’s Word of God invites us to be humble and meek. Humility does not consist in the devaluation of self, but rather in that healthy realism that makes us recognize our potential and also our miseries,” Pope Francis said.

“Starting precisely from our miseries, humility causes us to look away from ourselves and turn our gaze to God, the One who can do everything and also obtains for us what we cannot have on our own. ‘Everything is possible for those who believe (Mark 9:23).’”