1 June is World Parents’ Day, a time to remember the importance of parents as the first and fundamental educators of children.

World Parents’ Day was established by the United Nations in 2012 with the resolution A/RES/66/292 to celebrate parents from all over the world, of every race, culture and profession of faith, remembering their sacrifices and commitment to cultivating the relationship with their children and to raise them better.

It may seem trivial, almost obvious that parents are the first educators of their children, the future adults of tomorrow’s world.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Whoever educates a child, whoever assumes the responsibility of the adult he will become, has to sustain a very heavy and delicate commitment, for the child himself, but also for the whole community. We are talking about biological parents, but also adoptive parents.

Yet the profound crisis that has swept modern society in recent decades has shaken the importance of the parental figure. After all, on closer inspection, it is the very concept of the family that has entered into crisis, due to a whole series of tensions and centrifugal forces that have increasingly alienated individuals from the real family nucleus. It is the fault if you can say so, of the economic boom, which has led to greater well-being, to the detriment of greater commitment of women in the world of work. As a result, less time to take care of children and less time to do so in the first place.

To this, we add social and thought changes, which have evolved.

The greater emancipation of women, for example, has led to a renewed desire for individual personal affirmation, outside the family to which they belong. The patriarchal family model, with pre-established roles imposed without the possibility of appeal from a generational legacy, is decidedly close to modern women. If a woman wants to get out of a family or sentimental situation that does not satisfy her, or, worse, harms her, she can almost always do so now, or at least she often has the economic tools to be independent.

Then we have to consider the change in male and female roles, which on the one hand has allowed a freer and more spontaneous expression of one’s interiority but has generated a certain confusion in our society that has been based for centuries on traditional patterns. The sexual liberation of the 60s led to a greater interference of pleasure in the context of couple relationships, unravelling a secular condition for which only men were granted certain freedoms.

But children also began to play a different role in relationships. Now relationships within the family are no longer tied to a hierarchy that presupposed blind obedience and due respect. Parents must know how to gain the trust of their children and create a relationship with them made of mutual love and respect, no longer being able to rely solely on the bond of blood.

Marital instability, the lack of trust between spouses, the ease with which men and women throw in the towel, surrendering to the first difficulties and resorting to divorce, rather than fighting to save a marriage that became too uncomfortable too soon, lead to a progressive and inexorable impoverishment of the concept of family.

What about the kids? Nervous, apathetic, demotivated and unable to recognise and appreciate the value of material things, because too often they have been used to buffer the lack of time or ability on the part of parents to face commitments and problems. The existential anguish that once seized adolescents now comes early, too early, and as birds pushed out of the nest early, without a place to return to, without firm points of reference, new men and new women enter the world full of uncertainty and fragility.

But when a child is born, a parent is also born.

I like this phrase, which is very true. Beyond the economic and social changes of our time, although the world is a difficult place to live, devoured by consumerism and superficiality, or dominated by the most desperate need, among the less fortunate people, we like to think that being parents can still mean something fundamental and unique.

This is why World Parents’ Day is celebrated every year, to remember and honour these people who have the future of our world in their hands, and who work every day for all of us. Yes, they work, because being a parent is like a job, often more tiring than many others, and never paid, perhaps because it is really invaluable.

We are talking about someone who has the task and duty to transmit the right values to children, to help them build future models of life respectful of human ethics, nourished by justice, respect, gratitude and love.

This is no small task.

Parents are like the roots of the tree of life, which we talked about in a previous article. Here, in addition to representing since ancient times a symbol of vitality and renewal, the tree of life also expresses a deep, inseparable bond, and, in the context of human relationships, the concept of the family, where parents constitute the solid roots and children the luxuriant branches full of flowers and new fruits. Giving a jewel or an object that recalls the Tree of Life is therefore a gesture of good wishes for any family.

Parents in the Bible

We have said that the role of family and parents has profoundly changed in recent decades. But how has the concept of parents and family evolved in the Bible? What has been God’s plan for Mother and Father from the beginning?

Wanting to dwell on the pairing “Bible parents”, that the concept of family has deep roots we understand it by going to read Genesis, where we find this phrase: “For this reason, a man will leave his mother and father and will join his wife, and the two will be one flesh” (Gen 2:24). This is what happens when a man and a woman get married: they leave their parents’ house to create a family of their own.

But let’s take a step back, to Adam and Eve, our forefathers.

From the beginning, God founded the development of humanity on the concept of the family. Whether we consider the priestly tradition, according to which man and woman were created at the same time (Gen 1:26-28), or whether we follow the Jahwist tradition, according to which woman was created by a rib of man (Gen 2:18-25), in both cases man and woman were created to complete each other, to be together, to be fruitful and to populate the earth. Something went wrong, as we know. Adam and Eve sinned, and to exonerate themselves before God they accused each other. Not a good start for the first family in history, especially if we think about what happened next to Abel and Cain, their first children! It is as if original sin had corrupted the idea of God, and it will be necessary to wait for Noah and his model family to witness a new possibility granted by the Almighty to man. Noah had a wife and three children, and for this reason, God judged him «just» and saved him from the flood “with the entire family” (Gen 7:1). Indeed, turning to Noah, he again encouraged him and his sons to fill the earth: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen 9:1; cf. 1.28).

The family plays a fundamental role in the whole Bible.
Consider Sarah and Abraham, who at first try to overcome the fruitlessness of their marriage by looking outside of it for a son, and then return to trust in God.

Take Jacob, from whose descendants the twelve tribes of Israel were born. An exemplary family? Not, considering what the brothers did to Joseph, Jacob’s beloved son, although even this misfortune is part of God’s plan.

What about King David? A great king, but certainly not an exemplary husband and father…

But in the Bible, there are also examples of families without blemish, dominated by love, fidelity and above all by devotion to their children and their upbringing. In the book of Tobiah, a model of marriage and family life is affirmed in the name of honesty and respect. This is how he and Sarah turn to God asking him to bless their union: “You made Adam and Eve his wife so that she might help and support him. From these two all mankind was born. You said: It is not good for man to be alone; let us help him like him. Now not for lust I take this relative of mine, but with rectitude of intention. Deign to have mercy on me and her and to bring us together in old age». And she said with him, «Amen, amen!»” (Tb 8:6-8)

Or again Tobiah’s exhortation to his son to honour him and his mother, as well as God: “He called his son and said to him: «If I die, give me a decent burial; honour your mother and do not abandon her all the days of her life; do what is pleasing to her and do not give her any cause for sadness. Remember, my son, that she saw many dangers for thee when thou was in her womb: and when she is dead, bury her by me in one grave. When he dies, give him a burial with me in the same tomb.” (Tb 4:3-4)

Coming to the New Testament, Jesus continued to carry forward the fundamental values of marriage and the family constituted by the indissoluble union of man and woman, as it was in God’s plan from the beginning. To this is added the elevation of marriage to a sacrament.

It is also evident the importance of the family example provided by the Holy Family, consisting of St. Joseph, Our Lady and the Child Jesus. A family that embodies a daily life made of respect, love and care for children, who must grow up loved and in harmony, facing together with parents’ joys and hardships, worries and expectations, and above all respect for the Law of God.

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Holy Family with halo, fire clay

This stylised composition is entirely hand made in Italy using white fire clay.

Over time, this fundamental family model will be united in the sacred texts with the concept of love between Christ and the Church, as the culmination and vindication of God’s plan to which every other human relationship is subjected: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord because this is right… And you, fathers, do not exasperate your children, but raise in the discipline and teachings of the Lord.”(Eph 6:1-4).

The Ten Commandments

Of course, in a discourse on the family and the relationship with parents in the Bible, we cannot ignore the 10 commandments and, in particular, the Fourth: honour your mother and father.

It is the Commandment that opens the second Tablet of the Law, that is, the first of the commandments that deal with charity towards others.

What God imposes on those who want to follow the Way is clear: those who have begotten us must be loved, first of all, because they are closer to us than anyone else. It is useless to love others, distant people, if we cannot love those who are so close to us.

Parents are not only to be loved, but they are also to be ‘honoured’, that is to say, elevated to an even greater depth of love and devotion. This is precisely because of all they have done for us since they gave us life. It is not enough to love them, we must respect them and obey them, not as we obey those we fear, but always out of love.

And of course, the children must take care of them when old or sick, they need it, closing a perfect circle of love willed by God and by the nature of life itself.

Parenting Phrases

Many sentences have been written about the family, about the need to love and respect parents. We have chosen some that we particularly like around the Internet, to celebrate World Parents’ Day in our way.

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Holy Family, inlayed backdrop

A hand-painted icon depicting the Holy Family.

“Honour your mother and father, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you”. (Exodus 20:12)

The Apostle teaches: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and your mother”: this is the first commandment associated with a promise: “that you may be happy and enjoy a long life on earth” (Eph 6:1-3).

Anyone who attacks his father or his mother shall be surely put to death. (Exodus 21:15)

“Dear parents, help your children to discover the love of Jesus! This will make them strong and courageous”. (Pope Francis to mark World Parents’ Day 2019)

Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother. (Proverbs 1:8-9)

“The most important thing parents can teach their children is how to move forward without them.” (F. A. Clark)

The Seven Churches Tour is an ancient devotional itinerary still undertaken by believers today. A pilgrimage to plan ahead of the 2025 Jubilee

The Seven Churches Tour is a fascinating route of devotion that stretches for about 20 kilometres, touching the seven most significant basilicas in Rome.

The sacred route begins from the majestic Basilica of St. Peter, the heart and symbol of Christianity, and continues along the Tiber River until it intersects with Viale Guglielmo Marconi, where stands St. Paul Outside the Walls, another of the major basilicas, which houses the tomb of St. Paul. From here, it continues along Via delle Sette Chiese to reach the Basilica of St. Sebastian Outside the Walls, in the Ardeatino district, along the Appian Way and then arrives on the Caelian Hill at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome, the principal place of worship of its diocese and the oldest and most important basilica in the West. Then you arrive at the Lateran, where stands the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, built starting in the 4th century to house the relics of the Passion of Jesus, in particular part of the Cross, brought to Rome by St. Helena, Mother of Constantine. At the beginning of the extra-urban stretch of the Via Tiburtina, you encounter St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, next to which the municipal cemetery of Verano was built, and the pilgrimage concludes atop the Esquiline, where stands the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the only one to have maintained its original paleochristian structure. After the Jubilee of 2000, the Basilica of St. Sebastian was replaced by a visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love.

With the opening of the Holy Door on December 24, 2024, the Jubilee of 2025 will begin, which, as tradition dictates, will take place mainly in Rome. The highlights and celebrations will take place mainly in Vatican City and in the papal basilicas of Rome. As in the past, believers will be able to obtain plenary indulgence by crossing the threshold of the four Major Basilicas: St. Peter’s Basilica, where the Holy Door will be opened, a symbol of welcome and forgiveness; the Basilica of St. John Lateran, considered the cathedral of Rome and the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope; St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica: one of the four papal basilicas of Rome, dedicated to the apostle Paul; Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore: one of the oldest and most important Marian churches in the world.

In addition to these, other churches and minor basilicas will likely be involved in the Jubilee route. This could be a splendid opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the ancient pilgrims along the Seven Churches route and appreciate the wonders of the capital.

Seven Churches Pilgrimage

The Seven Churches Tour is a pilgrimage tradition that dates back to the 4th century. On the occasion of the Jubilee, the pilgrimage took on an even more special meaning. In fact, in ancient times, to obtain plenary indulgence on the occasion of the Jubilee, it was necessary to fulfil four fundamental requirements:

• be in Rome;
• receive the sacrament of confession;
• visit the main basilicas of Rome, which on the occasion of the first Jubilee, proclaimed in 1300, were St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, to which St. John Lateran was added in the Jubilee of 1350 and that of St. Mary Major in the Jubilee of 1390;
• pray for personal spiritual health and for that of all Christians.

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Pilgrim’s backpack complete Jubilee 2025 kit

Pilgrim’s backpack, 2025 Jubilee full kit.

The churches had to be visited by Roman residents for 30 days, while for foreign pilgrims the required period was 15 days.

The Seven Churches Tour was completed on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1550 in response to the unrestrained secular celebrations of Carnival. On that occasion, in addition to the four major basilicas already mentioned, the minor basilicas were added: St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, St. Sebastian Outside the Walls, and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.

It was St. Philip Neri who gave great impetus to this tradition, in response to the unrestrained dissoluteness of the Roman Carnival, and this is one of the reasons why today the Seven Churches Tour is organized to coincide with the feast dedicated to him on May 26 (but is repeated in September). The tour takes place at night and is led by a Father of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.

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Jubilee 2025 Pilgrims of Hope

Articles designed to celebrate the upcoming Jubilee 2025 in Rome.

Via delle Sette Chiese takes its name from the pilgrimage practice invented by St. Philip Neri and still connects the Basilica of St. Sebastian on the Appian Way with the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The route wanted by the Saint and shared with the pilgrims of his time also included, in addition to stopping and praying at the seven Jubilee basilicas, a visit to the tombs of the first Christian martyrs. In fact, through the city, one reached the Roman countryside, where the Catacombs were located.

The Via delle Sette Chiese, also known as Via Paradisi, was a route that wound through the countryside outside the city walls. Along this route, one could admire the distant panorama of Rome, surrounded by the majestic Aurelian Walls, and find oneself near the Almone River, which bordered the hills of the Ostiense estates. This rural and suggestive scenery gave the road a particular, almost paradisiacal atmosphere, characterized by the tranquillity of the countryside and the panoramic view of the eternal city.

In the time of St. Philip Neri, the pilgrimage lasted two days and involved various devotional practices related to the number seven, one of the most significant for the Christian faith. Pilgrims recited seven penitential psalms, asking forgiveness for the seven deadly sins. They then gathered to meditate on the seven stages of the Passion of Jesus, the seven effusions of his blood, the seven words spoken by Christ on the cross, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments, and the seven works of mercy.

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Ivory stole, St Philip Neri, decoration of gilt thread

Stole dedicated to Saint Philip Neri, embroidered praying Our Lady.

The Seven Churches Tour is still today an act of traditional devotion practised especially during the Easter Triduum, or Time of Passion, between the evening of Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, and in this case, the visit also includes a prayer near the Blessed Sacrament preserved on the Altar of Reposition, the designated place for the conservation of the Eucharist from the end of the Messa in Coena Domini on Holy Thursday until the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday.

The Seven Churches of Rome

Below are listed the seven Churches touched by the pilgrimage:

Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican – Located in Vatican City, it is the heart of Christianity and one of the most important churches in the world.

Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls – The Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls is one of the four papal basilicas of Rome, the largest after St. Peter’s in the Vatican. It stands on the Via Ostiense, where, according to tradition, the apostle Paul was buried after his martyrdom.

Basilica of St. John Lateran – It is the cathedral of the bishop of Rome, the Pope, and the oldest and most important of the four papal basilicas of Rome.

Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls – Located outside the city walls, it was built by Constantine near the tomb of the martyr Lawrence.

Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme – One of the seven churches built by Constantine, it is known for housing the relics of the Passion of Christ.

Basilica of St. Sebastian Outside the Walls – Located on the Appian Way, it is dedicated to the Christian martyr St. Sebastian.

Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore – One of the four papal basilicas of Rome, it is one of the oldest Marian churches in the world.

These seven basilicas offer an extraordinary opportunity to explore the rich history and artistic beauty of Rome, as well as representing places of significant spiritual importance for Catholic believers.

Basilicas of Rome

The Basilicas of Rome are traditionally divided between Major Basilicas and Minor Basilicas. The former are:

Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or Vatican Basilica;

Basilica of St. John Lateran, Cathedral of Rome, or Lateran Archbasilica;

Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, or Ostian Basilica;

Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, or Liberian Basilica.

Each Major Basilica houses a papal altar and a Holy Door, which is opened on the occasion of the Jubilee, or Holy Year, and by crossing it is possible to obtain a plenary indulgence. The Lateran Basilica also houses the Pope’s cathedra, while the other three basilicas have a papal throne.

With its circular route of about 20 kilometres, the Seven Churches Tour touches the four major papal basilicas and three of the most important Minor Basilicas: the Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, the Basilica of St. Sebastian Outside the Walls (replaced since 2000 by the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love).

Jubilee Churches are those equipped with a Holy Door, through which, during the Jubilee, one can obtain plenary indulgence. Here’s which ones they are and when they will be opened.

In anticipation of the upcoming Jubilee, which will begin in Rome on December 24, 2024, and will last throughout 2025, with a calendar rich in ceremonies and events involving Christians from around the world, it seems useful to recall which and how many are the Jubilee Churches. These are the churches designated as special pilgrimage sites during a Holy Year, where the faithful can obtain jubilee indulgence, namely the remission of sins and the associated temporal penalties.

The Jubilee is a time of great grace and fervour for the church. It is an opportunity for the faithful to renew their faith and start anew, and jubilee indulgence is an excellent starting point for Christians to clarify their existence and embark on the path of spiritual growth and improvement. Jubilee Churches, therefore, are an important symbol of the Jubilee because they offer the faithful the opportunity to reconcile with God and the Church and to receive the grace of forgiveness.

But what makes a church a Jubilee Church? Here’s what you need to know to organize a pilgrimage to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee.

What are the Jubilee Churches

The main Jubilee Churches are the 4 basilicas of Rome:

– St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican

– St. John Lateran

– Santa Maria Maggiore

– St. Paul Outside the Walls

These are the so-called Papal Basilicas, namely those churches that hold a prominent place within the Catholic Church and enjoy a particularly high rank and special privileges. Papal Basilicas indeed house a papal altar, where only the Pope or a few other high-ranking priests can celebrate the Eucharist. In addition to the aforementioned Major Basilicas of Rome, the minor Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls is also designated as a Papal Basilica, as it has its papal altar, and there are two others located in Assisi, places of primary importance and pilgrimage destinations from around the world: the Basilica of St. Francis and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels.

Each of the Papal Basilicas has a Holy Door that is opened during the Jubilee. The opening of the Holy Door is a fundamental moment of the Jubilee because it marks its beginning. In particular, the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, which for the 2025 Jubilee will take place on December 24, 2024, decrees the beginning of the Holy Year and the time of grace and mercy it represents. The faithful who pass through the Holy Door are invited to convert and receive the grace of forgiveness.

The Basilicas of Rome and those of Assisi are not the only Jubilee Churches in the world. The Basilicas of the Holy Land are also counted as such. These include the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

But other churches can be designated by the Pope as Jubilee Churches. It is he who can grant the privilege of a Holy Door to any church in the world. On the occasion of the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016, Pope Francis gave individual dioceses, cathedrals, and churches of particular significance, and recognized shrines as pilgrimage sites the faculty to open a Door of Mercy. In practice, each diocese had the opportunity to establish its Holy Doors, thus allowing the faithful to participate in the jubilee pilgrimage and receive indulgence on site, without having to travel to Rome. This made the Jubilee more accessible and meaningful for local communities around the world.

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Pilgrim’s backpack, 2025 Jubilee full kit

Pilgrim’s backpack, 2025 Jubilee full kit.

The Seven Churches Pilgrimage

In addition to passing through a Holy Door, another way to celebrate the Jubilee can be to undertake the Seven Churches Pilgrimage, a devotional practice already widespread in Rome in the Middle Ages but which reached its current form in 1550 thanks to the work of St. Philip Neri, who encouraged the practice in response to the excesses of Roman Carnival. Even today it is possible to take this suggestive walk, which takes place at night, with a guide belonging to the Order of St. Philip, and which through a route of over 20 km touches the Seven Churches of Rome (in order):

– St. Peter’s

– St. Paul Outside the Walls

– St. Sebastian Outside the Walls (after the Jubilee of 2000, the basilica of St. Sebastian was replaced by a visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love)

– St. John Lateran

– Santa Croce in Gerusalemme

– St. Lawrence Outside the Walls

– Santa Maria Maggiore

Opening of the Holy Doors

The Holy Door is a fundamental symbol of Jubilees in the Catholic Church. Traditionally, it is the door of a Basilica that is opened only on the occasion of the Jubilee. The most famous of these is the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, but as we have seen, each Papal Basilica has one, and the Pope has the power to grant the privilege of a Holy Door to any church in the world. This symbolic act represents an invitation to conversion and divine grace, extending the opportunity to participate in the Jubilee globally.

The symbolic significance of the Holy Door is profound and rich in spirituality in the Scriptures. In Ezekiel (Ezekiel 43:1-4), we find a reference to the door as a gateway through which the glory of God can enter the house and soul of the individual. This concept emphasizes the idea that through the door, one can access the presence and divine grace.

However, it is in the Gospel of John (John 10, 7) that we find a direct interpretation of the door about Jesus himself. Here, Jesus describes himself as a door, emphasizing that He is the only compulsory passage for those who wish to follow Him. In this context, the Holy Door becomes a symbol of the passage to Christ, who represents redemption from sins and salvation: “Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.'”

This image of the Holy Door as a passage to Jesus emphasizes the importance of faith in Christ as a means to obtain grace and eternal salvation. Through the Holy Door, the faithful are invited to embark on a journey of conversion and return to God, finding in Christ the way to eternal life.

The Holy Door of St. Peter’s is the first door to be opened, and its opening marks the beginning of the Holy Year. The rite of opening the Holy Door for St. Peter’s Basilica dates back to 1500, with Pope Alexander VI Borgia. In the days leading up to the opening date, the wall sealing the door is dismantled, and a box walled up inside at the end of the previous Jubilee is recovered. It contains the key to open the Holy Door, which, once opened, remains accessible to pilgrims throughout the year.

Santa Caterina da Siena, from a woman of the people to an advisor to Popes and princes. Courageous, wise, and completely devoted to Christ. Let’s get to know better the patroness of Italy.

Thinking of Caterina da Siena, the first reflection that arises is how faith can truly lift us from our condition, make us better day after day, until allowing us to achieve truly surprising feats in our lives. But what is so incredible about the story of this saint, who lived in the mid-14th century in Tuscany, in a land torn apart by fratricidal conflicts and profound political and religious upheavals, yet also traversed by a spiritual, cultural, and artistic impulse that has no equal? We remember her symbols, the book and the lily: doctrine on one side, and purity on the other. A dichotomy that is perhaps also the key to understanding the greatness of this woman, who offered her life to God and His neediest children, who divided her time between caring for the sick—those afflicted by illnesses so unpleasant and dangerous that no one else wanted to treat—and writing theological texts that earned her the title of Doctor of the Church in 1970, never before conferred on a woman. A model of life that still resonates today with extraordinary relevance. It’s no wonder we mentioned her in our article dedicated to Saints who changed the world.

Author of the Dialogue of Divine Providence, one of the masterpieces of medieval mystical literature, Santa Caterina was a religious, theologian, and philosopher.

‘Married’ in mystical union to Jesus, she trusted in the salvation represented by the Pope (whom she called the “sweet Christ on earth“) and the Church for all Christians.

Her Letters of comfort, advice, and exhortation, addressed to sovereigns, leaders, and literati, had an incredible effect on many events and controversies. They were later compiled by her disciples into a precious Epistolary still considered a reference for all religious.

We can confidently say that her writings and fervor gave a great impetus to the Church’s reform.

Among the saints and blessed, Caterina is also among those considered healing saints and those to turn to in case of illness. Not only because she is, among other things, the patroness of nurses, but precisely because she cared for the sick and seriously ill, especially victims of terrible epidemics.

Her absolute and total love for Jesus, capable of plunging her into mystical ecstasies of rare spiritual power, is considered a bridge between heaven and earth, an example of devotion and complete trust in God that has few equals.

But who was Santa Caterina da Siena?

Her Story

When Caterina was born, the twenty-fourth of twenty-five children of Jacopo Benincasa, a dyer, and his wife Donna Lapa Piacenti, no one could imagine what her extraordinary destiny would be. It was the mid-14th century, and for a girl like her, born in the Fontebranda district, in the Oca contrada, from a humble family, there were no other prospects than marriage and creating her own family. But Caterina was not an ordinary girl. Since childhood, she claimed to ‘see’ things, like when at six, she recounted that Jesus appeared to her dressed like the Pope, accompanied by Saint Peter, Saint John, and Saint Paul.

Christ himself would appear to her at twenty, accompanied by the Virgin Mary, His mother, to make her His bride with a ring symbolizing the mystical marriage.

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Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Hand-painted Greek icon on an aged wood plate decorated with golden leaf

But even as a child, Caterina seems to foreshadow her own destiny because at seven, she made a vow of chastity, and at twelve, she rejected the marriage her parents wanted for her, expressing the intention of taking vows. Too poor to afford the substantial dowry that women had to present to enter a monastery and opposed by her family for her ideas, she shut herself in, dedicating her life to prayer, penance, and fasting. She renounced meat, ate very little, only bitter herbs and fruit, and used the cilice. In the end, impressed by her determination, her father changed his mind and decided to help her fulfill her dream. Legend has it that the sight of a dove hovering over his daughter praying convinced him. But to be admitted to the Mantellate, the lay Dominican Tertiaries known as Sisters of Penance of St. Dominic, Caterina had to face new obstacles. Because she was denied entry to the order due to her youth and beauty, she fell victim to a fever that disfigured her face and made her appear older than her age.

At just sixteen, she entered the order, but for three years, she lived profoundly isolated from the other sisters. The reason is simple: not knowing Latin, she could not participate in common prayer. However, the Mantellate, who usually accepted only widows and older women, allowed her to live in the world while maintaining the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. And so, in the world, Caterina lived, dedicating herself entirely to the neediest, the sick, those abandoned by their own relatives for the severity of their condition.

At the end of the Carnival of 1367, her mystical marriage to Jesus took place, a marriage lived in a sweet ecstasy in which her deep and enduring bond with Christ was sealed.

Meanwhile, she also committed to learning to read and write, although a good part of her letters and works were written for her by the so-called “Bella brigade,” a kind of spiritual family of disciples who loved and followed her everywhere.

Thus, her extraordinary texts were born, such as the Dialogue of Divine Providence, her Prayers, and above all, the Letters, addressed to common people, military personnel, religious, women, and even prisoners, but also to eminent personalities of the politics and religious world of the time. To the latter, in particular, she submitted civil and political issues, from the pacification of Italy to the need for a new crusade, to the return of the papal seat from Avignon to Rome, to the reform of the Church. High, complicated topics that this woman of the people managed to face with truly miraculous mastery and impressive fervor, validating the voices that claim she was directly inspired by God.

On April 1, 1375, Palm Sunday, while praying in front of the crucifix in the church of Santa Cristina, she received the stigmata, but they remained visible only to her at first. She continued her political and social activity, attempting to stop the anti-papal league that arose around Florence and making a trip to Avignon to persuade Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. The pontiff was persuaded and returned, but upon his death, a schism occurred, and the Church found itself with two Popes, Urban VI and Clement VII, who returned to Avignon.

Caterina died on April 29, 1380, commending herself to God: “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit and soul.”

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Patroness of Italy

Therefore, Santa Caterina da Siena is celebrated on April 29, the day of her death. She is often depicted in the typical attire of the order to which she belonged, that of the Mantellate: a white dress with a black mantle. Her emblems are the white lily, a symbol of her purity and chastity, the ring symbolizing the mystical marriage with Jesus, a book and a pen, recalling her wisdom and her activity as a writer and theologian, and also the stigmata, the crown of thorns, the cross, the heart.

Since 1939, she has been the patroness of Italy, along with Saint Francis of Assisi. In 1999, Pope John Paul II also proclaimed her co-patroness of Europe.

Novena to Santa Caterina da Siena

The Novena to Santa Caterina can be recited in preparation for her feast on April 29, for nine days starting from April 20 to April 28, or whenever the need is felt, to seek support and comfort in difficult times.

First Day

For that spirit of prayer that you had since childhood, in which you placed all your delights, and with the angelic salutation repeatedly uttered by you as many times as the steps of the stairs you climbed, continuously paid homage to the holy Virgin Mary, obtain for us, we pray, the grace to love, like you, the exercise of prayer and to always perform it in such a way that it is worthy of being heard.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Second Day

For that particular affection that you, great Saint, had for the virtue of purity, by consecrating yourself to the Lord with an irrevocable vow at the age of eight and, by shaving your head, sighing, and moaning, you rejected the most honorable offers of highly advantageous marriage. Obtain for us, we pray, the grace to always be firm in mind, heart, and conduct or to abhor with the utmost hatred everything that even slightly offends such a sublime virtue that elevates men to the level of angels and makes them dearer objects of divine pleasure.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Third Day

For that spirit of seclusion that you had, great Saint, by never desiring to be seen by others except by your Jesus, and being distracted by continuous occupations in your family, you knew how to build such solitude in your heart as to always have the mountain occupied by thoughts of paradise. Obtain for us, we pray, the grace to love solitude and withdrawal like you, despite all the invitations that the world will make to participate in its spectacles, in its pomp, and to always direct our thoughts to God amid all the most distracting occupations of our state.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fourth Day

For that spirit of penance that you had, great Saint, from your childhood, when you punished your indulgence of a single time with the most ingenious or afflictive mortifications. Therefore, associated with the Third Order of Saint Dominic, you edified the whole world by abstaining perpetually from wine and meat, and almost even from sleep, nourishing yourself only with raw herbs, sleeping very little and on bare boards, spending all hours in prayer, always carrying around your body a painful cilice, mortifying your flesh with three disciplines every day. Obtain for us, we pray, the grace to faithfully observe those abstinences and fasts commanded by the Church, to bear with patience everything that God will deign to ordain for our good or to mortify spontaneously all the perverse inclinations of our heart and the excessive desires of our senses so that we may also have the necessary resemblance to our exemplary crucified one.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fifth Day

For that heroic charity that moved you, great Saint, to serve spontaneously and personally heal the poor sick abandoned by all for the loathsomeness and then the stench of their gangrenous wounds, and from whom you were not relieved except with the most dishonorable insults, slanders, and calumnies. Obtain from the Lord the grace for us to always be equally ready to help our neighbour in every need and to generously forgive, rather to reciprocate with benefits, all the insults that may be done to us, so that we may deserve in this life and the next the beatitude promised to the true meek and merciful.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Sixth Day

For that admirable fortitude that, with the doubling of prayers, austerities, and fervour, you demonstrated, great Saint, against all the powers of the interior that unleashed against you persecuted you for so long with the most unworthy images in the most violent temptations. For this, you received as a reward from your divine Spouse, beyond the familiarity of speaking and dealing with His Saints and His mother Mary, the raptures, ecstasies, revelations, and the most intimate communications with Him, until being declared His spouse with the sensible gift of a rich ring. Obtain for us, we pray, the grace to be equally strong against the assaults of our spiritual enemies so that the reward of our fidelity may always increase every day in divine love until we deserve with certainty the inseparable union with the supreme Good.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Seventh Day

For that supernatural light with which you were miraculously endowed, great Saint, by which you could serve as a counsellor to the Roman Pontiffs with many letters, being personally consulted by them, and reveal to them what they had resolved in their own hearts, and obtain from them the long-awaited restoration of the Holy See in Rome, which had been deprived of it for seventy years. Obtain for us from the Lord the grace to always know in our doubts what is most in conformity with God’s will and most suitable for the salvation of our souls so that from our resolutions may derive the increase both of our fervour before God and our edification concerning our neighbour.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Eighth Day

For that singular devotion that you had, great Saint, to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, by which you were more than once communicated by His hand and refreshed at His side with His divine Blood. Then, having lost the taste for food, you endured for eight years from the beginning of Lent until the day of the Ascension without nourishing yourself with anything other than the most holy Eucharist. Obtain for us, we pray, the grace to bring to the Most Holy Sacrament a love like yours, so that we make it our delight to linger long in His presence, to frequently receive Him into our hearts, and to give Him the greatest possible glorification in every circumstance.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Ninth Day

For that extraordinary love, you had for suffering, by which you ascribed to great fortune the suffering of all the pains of a crucified body in the invisible stigmata. Surprised by the last illness, you became a spectacle of admiration to the whole world for the serenity and glory with which you endured the most terrifying torments. Obtain from the Lord the grace for us to receive with Christian resignation, indeed with holy joy, all the crosses with which God will deign to visit us, so that after having borne the mortification of Christ in our members, we may, with you, participate in the fullness of His beatitude in the house of eternity.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The opening of the Holy Door marks the beginning of the Jubilee, but it also represents a spiritually evocative symbol for Christians. Here’s what it entails.

The door has always held fundamental importance throughout human history. As a protective and defensive element for villages, cities, and palaces, it also assumed strong spiritual symbolism in the Greek and Roman worlds as a passage between worlds, a point of transition, and a boundary between life and death. This strong spiritual significance is confirmed in the Christian context with the so-called Holy Door.

What is it, and what does it signify? And why is it called the Holy Door?

From a strictly material point of view, we can define the Holy Door as the door of a Christian church or basilica that the Pope has proclaimed as such. This door is kept walled up and is only opened on the occasion of a Jubilee when it can be crossed to obtain plenary indulgence from all sins. Indeed, the Jubilee is a period lasting a year during which the Church grants special indulgences to those who undertake pilgrimages, engage in acts of charity, devote themselves to prayer and penance, or, in this case, pass through one of the Holy Doors proclaimed by the Pope.

Regarding the symbolic meaning of the Holy Door, we find the door mentioned in Ezekiel as the gateway through which the glory of God enters the house but also the soul: “Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. His voice was like the sound of many glasses of water, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and the visions were like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. And the glory of the Lord entered the house by the gate facing east.” (Ezekiel 43:1-4).

However, we can better understand the significance of the Holy Door in the Gospel of John, where it is written: “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7). Thus, Jesus speaks of Himself as a door, and so the Holy Door becomes the necessary passage for those who want to follow Him, finding in Him redemption from every sin and salvation.

The tradition of the Holy Door is ancient. The first to proclaim one was Pope Celestine V, who in 1294 declared the door of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila as such, still today the site of the annual Jubilee wanted by Celestine himself through the Bull of Pardon of September 29, 1294, known as the Celestinian Pardon and classified by UNESCO as an oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

Today, there are many Jubilee doors, among which, in addition to that of St. Peter and the Holy Door in St. John Lateran in Rome, we can remember those of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the Cathedral of Atri, and the Basilica-Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Québec. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in New Delhi, India, opened its Holy Door on December 12, 2015, on the occasion of the beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy.

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The Holy Door of St. Peter

The earliest references to the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome date back to the pontificate of Pope Alexander VI Borgia.

It is one of the five doors of St. Peter‘s Basilica and is located at the far right of the atrium. It remained closed until 1950 and is surrounded by a carved marble frame made at the behest of Pope Gregory XIII on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1575. The original bronze shutters were donated in 1949 by the Swiss bishop Francesco Von Streng as an ex-voto for preserving Switzerland from war. The current door was made for the Jubilee of 1950 by Vico Consorti, the “master of doors.” The Holy Door of St. Peter is made up of 16 rectangular tiles that tell the human story from dawn to the present day, placed in 4 orders, among which are 36 coats of arms. At the base of the two leaves, among the various inscriptions, it reads: “From here let the sources of divine Grace flow abundantly, and let them purify the souls of all those who enter, restore them with holy peace, adorn them with Christian virtues. Jubilee Year 1950.”

Opening of the Holy Door

The Jubilee begins with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter and concludes with its closure.

The rite of opening the Holy Door recalls the symbolism we have already discussed, of the door as a necessary passage for salvation. The opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter, in particular, marks the beginning of the Jubilee. In the following days, the doors of the other Jubilee basilicas will be opened worldwide.

Traditionally, the Holy Door was started to be unblocked in preparation for the Jubilee. It was the Pope’s task to symbolically break the last barrier with a hammer, and then let the masons complete the work. The tradition of walling up the Holy Door of St. Peter and opening it only on the occasion of the Jubilee remained in force until 1975. Subsequently, in 2000, Pope John Paul II, who risked being hit by falling debris while performing the rite, decided to change the custom, and since then, the Holy Door has simply been closed at the end of the Jubilee and reopened for the next Jubilee.

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How many Holy Doors are there

The Pope has the authority to proclaim any door of any church in the world as a Holy Door. In Rome, in addition to St. Peter‘s, there is a Holy Door in the basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. On the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (December 8, 2015, to November 20, 2016), Pope Francis asked for the collaboration of bishops to identify the most significant places for the faithful and granted the opening of the Holy Door also in the cathedral churches, in addition to the basilicas. Thus, many churches that are habitual pilgrimage destinations have had their Holy Door granted by the Pope and have been able to grant plenary indulgence to their faithful.

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Pope Francis

Department entirely dedicated to Pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio

What became of Our Lady after the Resurrection of Jesus? Let’s investigate Mary’s life through the Gospels, up to the day of her Assumption into Heaven

What happened to Mary the mother of Jesus after the death and Resurrection of Her Son? The Gospels do not tell us much about this, only a few hints that allow us to partially reconstruct Mary’s life after the tragic events in Jerusalem. Subsequent tradition has tried to reconstruct her movements in more or less imaginative ways. If we stick to the Holy Scriptures, we must infer that Our Lady remained in Jerusalem with the Apostles, and in particular with St. John the Apostle, to whom Jesus had entrusted her before dying. In the Gospel of John we read, “Jesus then, seeing his mother beside the disciple whom he loved, said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that time the disciple took her into his house.” (Jn. 19:26-27).

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From this passage we have two indications: Mary stayed with Jesus’ favorite disciple, that apostle John, brother of the apostles Simon Peter and Andrew, author of the Fourth Gospel, and presumably they went to live in the city of Ephesus, where John settled. In fact, according to the accounts of Irenaeus of Lyons and Polycrates of Ephesus, St. John, after sojourning for a short time on the island of Patmos, moved to Ephesus, in present-day Turkey, and went to live in a house on an uninhabited hillside. When the time came for him to die, the Lord warned him, and John dug a tomb in the shape of a cross and lay down in it. In that hole he disappeared shrouded in great light and sweetest perfume. His disciples buried him, but they related that in the following days the earth placed on the tomb kept rising, as if moved by a breath. Hence the name given to the hill: aya soluk, “holy breath.”

But before reaching Ephesus we know that Mary and John remained in Jerusalem with the other apostles until the day of Pentecost. In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-11) we read the episode: Mary and all the Apostles were in the same place when “Suddenly there came a roaring from heaven, as of a gusty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were. There appeared to them tongues like tongues of fire dividing and resting on each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves.” We can say that Mary is the very heart of Pentecost, she who has always interceded with God for menkind, and who participates in the descent of the Holy Spirit, almost a catalyst, who made possible by his grace the investiture of the Apostles and the promise of hope for all men.

Mary’s home in Ephesus

The house of Our Lady was in Ephesus. Or so it is presumable to believe, if indeed Mary Mother of God went to live in this city in her later years. In fact, there is a place of worship in Ephesus, The House of Mary, in Turkish Meryem Ana Evi, visited annually by at least 1 million pilgrims, both Christian and Muslim. It was discovered in the late 19th century by a research team of religious and lay people led by Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey, a French nun devoted to Mary and obsessed with finding the place where she lived. It was she who started from the directions left by the German mystic Anna Katerina Emmerick, who had had visions about Mary and St. John and their lives after Jesus’ Resurrection. In one of her books published in Munich in 1852 the mystic had related that she had seen the house, and that it was made of rectangular stones, with large windows, formed of two parts, with the hearth in the center. Anna Katerina Emmerick had also told where the house stood: “Mary did not live exactly in Ephesus, but in a nearby village. Mary’s dwelling was on a hill to the left of the road in the direction of Jerusalem, about three and a half hours from Ephesus. This hill thins out steeply as you turn toward Ephesus; approaching from the southeast, the city seems to lie on raised ground… Narrow paths in a southerly direction lead to a hill, at the summit of which there is an irregular plateau, about half an hour’s journey away.”

The mystic Maria Valtorta also claimed to have had detailed visions and conversations with Mary and Jesus. Sister Marie compared the writings of the two women and following the indications in them discovered the place where Mary’s house stood, on a hill outside the city. A few years earlier the French priest Julien Gouyet had already found here the remains of a building that he linked back to Mary’s story. Excavation uncovered the remains of a house dating from the first century, on which the first basilica dedicated to Mary had been erected in the fifth century. Locals called those ruins Panaya Kapulu, “Gate of the Virgin.” The nun purchased the land, which immediately became a destination for pilgrimages and even plenary indulgences at the behest of Pope St. John XXIII and other pontiffs after him.

Meta description: Where did Our Lady live after the Resurrection of Jesus? The Gospels offer brief insights into Mary’s life in her later years. Her home is located in Ephesus