Pope to open the church's 'holy doors'

When Pope Francis opens the holy doors of St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday, he will be performing a ritual that has been part of the Catholic Church since the 1500s.

Holy Doors are only opened during a special year designated by a Pope, called

a Jubilee Year. The last Jubilee Year was in 2000. Traditionally, there are holy doors only in the four Basilicas of Rome: St. Peter's, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls.

But Pope Francis has re-written the rules and said that every Catholic Cathedral in the world may designate a holy door to be opened for a year, so that even those who can't come to Rome, can participate in the the church's Jubilee Year of Mercy by walking through the doors

Until 1975 the Holy Doors in Rome were enclosed by a cement wall which the Pope broke down using a hammer. When cement fragments fell too close to Pope Paul VI during the opening of the Holy Door on Christmas Eve, 1974, this practice was abandoned and now bronze doors have replaced the wall.

Holy Doors symbolically represent Jesus, who said, "I am the door." (Jn 10:7