---
title: "St Peter's Basilica Holy Door and Jubilee Door Guide"
date: 2026-10-27
canonical: https://ticketssistinechapel.com/visit-sistine-chapel/st-peters-basilica-jubilee-door/
---
The **St. Peter's Basilica Jubilee Door** is one of those details a lot of visitors walk straight past without realizing what they're looking at. Here's what I'd actually do: learn the basic tradition before you go, so you recognize it on the facade rather than mistaking it for just another entrance, and so you're not confused about why it's sealed shut if you visit outside a Jubilee year.

I think this is a genuinely good example of a detail that costs nothing to learn and adds real context to a visit most people would otherwise walk through without noticing.

## What is the Holy Door, exactly?

The Holy Door, also called the Jubilee Door, is one of five entrance doors on St. Peter's Basilica's facade, positioned on the far right as you face the building from St. Peter's Square. Unlike the other four, it stays bricked up from the inside for most of its existence, opened only during a Jubilee year as part of a centuries-old Catholic tradition.

## Why does it stay sealed most of the time?

Because the act of opening it is the ritual itself, not just a practical entrance. **I'd think of it less as a door and more as a symbol**, one that's deliberately closed off so that opening it marks something significant: the start of a Jubilee, a designated period of pilgrimage, forgiveness, and renewal in Catholic tradition. Sealing it back up at the Jubilee's close is just as symbolic as opening it was.

## When does the Jubilee Door actually open?

Traditionally, the Pope ritually opens the Holy Door on Christmas Eve to mark the start of an Ordinary Jubilee Year, a cycle that's occurred roughly every 25 years historically, alongside occasional Extraordinary Jubilees called for a specific anniversary or occasion. The most recent Ordinary Jubilee was declared for 2025, with the door opened at the end of December 2024 and ceremonially sealed again around early January 2026. **I'd always confirm the current status before building a trip around seeing it opened**, since outside an active Jubilee window, the door is closed and non-functional as an entrance.

## Can I walk through the Holy Door if I visit during a Jubilee?

Yes, and that's actually the point of it during an active Jubilee year. Pilgrims and visitors alike are generally welcome to pass through it as part of the broader Jubilee pilgrimage tradition, often alongside specific prayers or conditions tied to the religious significance of the act. If you're visiting purely as a sightseer rather than for the religious tradition, I'd still say it's worth walking through if the opportunity is there during your trip, simply for the historical weight of the gesture.

![Simple diagram of St Peter's Basilica facade labeling all five entrance doors with the Holy Door highlighted on the far right](/images/blog/rome-st-peters-basilica-jubilee-door-2.webp)

## How do I find it if I'm visiting during a Jubilee year?

Face the Basilica from St. Peter's Square, and look at the far right of the five doors across the front colonnade. It's easy to miss if you're not looking for it specifically, since the facade doesn't dramatically mark it out beyond its position and the ceremonial framing around it during an open Jubilee. I'd point it out to anyone traveling with me rather than assume they'd spot it on their own.

## What happens to it outside a Jubilee year?

It's sealed from the inside and simply isn't used as a functional entrance. If you visit St. Peter's Basilica in a non-Jubilee year, which is most years, you'll walk in through one of the other four doors without ever needing to think about the Holy Door at all. I wouldn't expect to see it open on a typical visit, and I wouldn't plan a trip specifically hoping to catch it between Jubilee cycles.

## Is this the same thing people mean by "Holy Door" at other churches?

Mostly, yes. St. Peter's Basilica has the most famous Holy Door, but three other major Roman basilicas, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls, each have their own Holy Door that opens on the same Jubilee cycle. I'd treat St. Peter's as the headline version most visitors mean when they ask about it, but worth knowing the tradition isn't unique to just one building.

## Does this affect how I should plan a Basilica visit?

Only if your trip happens to overlap with an active Jubilee year. During one, I'd expect noticeably larger crowds around St. Peter's Basilica generally, not just at the Holy Door itself, since Jubilee pilgrimage draws visitors specifically for the occasion on top of the usual tourist traffic. That's worth factoring into your timing regardless of whether the Holy Door itself matters to you personally. Our **[St. Peter's Basilica hours and Mass times guide](/visit-sistine-chapel/st-peters-basilica-hours-mass-times/)** covers how the regular schedule gets affected by major liturgical events, which a Jubilee year amplifies, and our **[best time to visit guide](/visit-sistine-chapel/best-time-visit-sistine-chapel/)** ranks the quieter slots worth chasing even during a busier-than-usual year.

## Should I still visit St. Peter's Basilica if there's no active Jubilee?

Absolutely, and I'd say the Holy Door is a small part of what makes the Basilica worth seeing, not the main event for most visitors. Michelangelo's Pieta, Bernini's Baldachin, and the sheer scale of the interior are worth the visit on their own, Jubilee or not. Our **[visit Sistine Chapel planning guide](/visit-sistine-chapel/)** covers how to plan the Basilica alongside the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums regardless of the liturgical calendar.

## What should I wear if I'm visiting during a Jubilee?

The same dress code applies as always: shoulders and knees covered, no exceptions, Jubilee or not. If anything, I'd expect enforcement to be stricter during a high-traffic Jubilee period simply because of the volume of visitors passing through. Our **[Sistine Chapel dress code guide](/visit-sistine-chapel/sistine-chapel-dress-code/)** has the full breakdown with practical fixes.

## How long should I budget for a Basilica visit during a Jubilee year?

Longer than usual, in my experience reasoning through how crowds compound around a major religious event. Our **[Vatican Museums tour duration guide](/visit-sistine-chapel/vatican-museums-tour-duration/)** gives realistic time budgets for a normal visit, and I'd add a meaningful buffer on top of that figure for a Jubilee-year trip specifically.

## What's the best way to see the Basilica without worrying about any of this myself?

Honestly, a **guided Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and Basilica tour** takes the guesswork out of all of it. A good guide already knows the current Jubilee status, the Mass schedule, and the fastest route through crowds, which matters even more during a high-traffic Jubilee period than on an ordinary day. For everything else sold around Basilica access, our **[St. Peter's Basilica tickets guide](/st-peters-basilica-tickets/)** covers the dome climb, guided interior tours, and skip-the-line options in more depth.

According to [the Holy Door's history on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_door), the tradition of a sealed door opened only for a Jubilee dates back centuries, with St. Peter's version among the most recognized examples of the practice anywhere in the Catholic world.

## Frequently asked questions

**Where exactly is the Holy Door on St. Peter's Basilica?**
On the far right of the five entrance doors on the facade, as you face the building from St. Peter's Square.

**Can I walk through the Holy Door any time I visit?**
No, it's sealed outside an active Jubilee year. It only opens, and functions as an entrance, during the designated Jubilee period.

**How often does a Jubilee year happen?**
An Ordinary Jubilee has historically occurred roughly every 25 years, with occasional Extraordinary Jubilees called for specific anniversaries in between.

**Is St. Peter's Basilica the only church with a Holy Door?**
No. Three other major Roman basilicas each have their own Holy Door that opens on the same Jubilee cycle, though St. Peter's is the most well known.

**Should I plan my trip around seeing the Holy Door open?**
Only if your travel dates happen to fall within an active Jubilee year. I'd check the current status before building any part of a trip around it specifically.

My bottom line: the Jubilee Door is a small but genuinely interesting detail that rewards knowing about ahead of time, even if it doesn't change how most visitors plan a Basilica trip. If you happen to be in Rome during an active Jubilee, I'd make a point of seeking it out; outside one, I wouldn't lose any sleep over a sealed door you were never going to walk through anyway.

[compare every Sistine Chapel ticket and tour on this site →](/)