{UAH} Pope inaugurates the Holy Jubilee Year of Mercy in Rome

It was today Tuesday ( 08/12/2015 ) on the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a public holiday in Italy, that Pope Francis officially opened the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica to formally declare open the Holy jubilee Year of Mercy which  will help Christians to reflect on the sense of God's wonderful gift of mercy towards every individual being through His justice and pardon for any wrong done... The holy period will run through September next year and is expected to bring to Rome some 40 million pilgrims from all over the world!

The ceremony began with Holy Mass which the Pope concelebrated with dozens of cardinals and hundreds of bishops and priests in a packed St Peter's Square which welcomed some 200,000 pilgrims from all over the globe among whom the Italian President and the government, diplomats,  high eminent personalities, and hundreds of international media personnel who played a big role in relaying the event to the entire world.

The theme for the year will be, " Be merciful as your Father ! "

In his homily the Pope expressed joy in the eventual ceremony of opening the Holy Door as he did a few days ago in Bangui ( Central African Republic ) where he opened the Holy Door of the Cathedral. He noted that entering through the Holy Door engages a Christian to live a life full of confidence in God's mercy which englobes His very merciful judgement without which humanity would be living a lost life without any good hope. He appealed to the faithful to have trust in the Holy Virgin Mary who is the privileged witness of  God's eternal mercy.

Immediately after Mass a priest read a special message which defined the nature of the Holy Year. and the full meaning attached to the Holy Door which pilgrims will use to enter St Peter's Basilica in the course of the Holy Year.  this is the great door found on the extreme right as one enters the Basilica.

All concelebrants proceeded to this Door while the Pope remained behind in his place for a short while. When he joined them he first embraced retired Pope Benedict XVI who happened to be around following an invitation from Pope Francis. Then Pope Francis recited the following formula:

" Here's the Lord's door, the gate of justice! Lord open for me the gate of   
   justice! "

He then opened the Holy Door  amid applauses and flashes from all world press cameras. And the first pilgrim to enter through this Holy Door was Pope Benedict XVI whose movement was aided by his secretary and a walking stick! He was applauded and was again kissed by pope Francis. The all concelebrants entered and followed the Pope up to the Main Altar  of the Basilica from where he delivered his final Blessing. It was at this solemn moment that the rest of the public was requested to enter the Basilica using the Holy Door. And the first faithful to enter was the Italian President followed by the the Speaker of the Senate and the Italian cabinet.

Half an hour later the Pope appeared in the window of his private study to recite the Angelus prayer with the very huge multitudes of faithful around.

He reminded the vast audience that God's mercy was available to all. That God was the real forgiveness to all and for all as Christ showed it on the Cross. The Pope after having reminded the meaning of the Immaculate Conception as being appartinent to Mary as the first being to be saved through God's mercy which made her an icon full of God's graces and thus a mother of the new creation, the Pope recited the Angelus prayer and gave the Blessing amidst deafening cheers from the several hundred thousand faithful present.

He then greeted all pilgrims on the Square and requested them to cheer Pope Benedict XVI for having been the first person to pass through the Holy Door. And the crowds applauded with mighty cheers!

Later in the evening the Pope went to the famous Spanish Square in central rome to pay tribute to the holy statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and pray there in line with tradition. He was driven in his small car preceeded by the police vehicles and patrol cars. Hundreds of thousands of people had already lined the streets to cheer the motorcade. On his arrival at the Square he was greeted by the Roman civil and Church authorities. He read a short prayer and a priest read the text referring to the scriptural passage of the day. The the Pope invoked the Holy Virgin in a prayer stating that he had come to her on behalf of the poor, the suffering, the prisoners, the handicapped, the sick, etc.. Then a choir intoned the Litanies of the Holy Virgin in Italian. And they also sang the Hail Mary in Italian. The Pope gave his blessing amid cheers! He then greeted most of the notable people present. He also made a tour among the many sick and disabled present. While the crowds cheered and shouted very loudly his name. There was deep emotion when many cameramen, among whom a group of African pressmen, tried to photograph the Pope on each one of his movements.

He finally left the place and was driven in a long motorcade to the famous Mary the Major Basilica  to pray there. Again streets were jammed by hundreds of thousands of cheering people.

Last Wednesday ( 01/12/2015 ) was the first weekly audience the pope presided after his visit to Africa. He told the tens of thousands of people present in St Peter's Square many good things about the Africa trip. Turning to Uganda he said he went to Kampala to celebrate the 50 years golden jubilee of the canonization of the Holy Martyrs. He addressed the catechists, visited the unprivileged at Nnalukolongo, received the testimony of the youth,

and met priests and religious / seminarists who live in Christ's grace daily, and he appreciated the country for the struggle against AIDS and the welcome given to refugees.

The Pope's visit to Africa continues to strongly mark an impalpable impact  on the masses all over the globe! Press articles, video recordings, very impressive TV images, stories on internet and other social medias continue to circulate everywhere. And they are an indicator of the Pope's very tremendous popularity in Africa. The welcome given to him on the continent was virtually something unprecedented in joy and colourful emotion. And Uganda continues to come out top-flight and top-gallant with the best attributes the country is now enjoying and drawing from the Pope's visit. Uganda's records in the warmth given to the holy visitor, in the enthusiasm of the very huge crowds present everywhere he passed and he went, and in the resolution to see the great visitor, rain or bad weather etc..notwithstanding, are something that will stand for years inn history. Kampala is a small place compared to all those megalopolis the Pope has already visited yet the welcome accorded to him in Uganda is more or less unmatched.... in greatness! Medias now report on a Kampala as a city which went very  wild with jubilation on welcoming the people's Pope. Many are appreciative of the welcome given to the Pope in Uganda! 

Dr G.H. Kkolokolo ( Paris / France )

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