Plan a pilgrimageHoly Years & indulgences · YOUR QUESTION, ANSWERED
Times, dates and prices on this page were checked against the official source on 2026-10-03 (Jubilee 2025: the Holy Door). They change; confirm before you travel. Reviewed quarterly.
A Holy Door (Porta Santa) is an entrance to a papal basilica or a designated cathedral that is walled shut except during a Jubilee year, when the Pope or a bishop opens it and pilgrims pass through as a sign of conversion, recalling John 10:9, where Jesus calls himself the door. Rome's four Holy Doors, at St. Peter's, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls, were open from December 24, 2024 to January 6, 2026 and are now sealed until the next Jubilee; the next ordinary Jubilee is 2050.
After the closing rite the door is bricked up from inside about ten days later, with a capsule of records and its keys set into the wall.
The nearest open Holy Door for most pilgrims will be at Santiago de Compostela: its Puerta Santa opens at noon on December 31, 2026 for the 2027 Compostela Holy Year and closes on December 31, 2027. Passing through is an indulgenced work.
Official sources cover institutional information. Suggested pacing and itinerary choices are planning guidance. Check current arrangements for your travel dates.