Heavy security at Vatican as Pope Francis opens the Holy Door in Rome

• Pope Francis opens special Holy Year marked by unprecedented security over fears of Paris-style attack¹ at Vatican
• 5,000 extra police and soldiers deployed around Rome, with a no-fly zone imposed on its skies, for the celebration
• Mass capped with opening of basilica’s Holy Door through which 10million pilgrims will pass over course of the year

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Pope Francis declared today that mercy trumps moralising in the Catholic Church as he opened a special Holy Year marked by unprecedented security aimed at thwarting a Paris-style attack at the Vatican.

Francis celebrated a special Mass, attended by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, in a rain-soaked St Peter’s Square to formally open his ‘revolution of tenderness.’

The celebration was capped with the opening of the basilica’s big bronze Holy Door through which upward of 10 million pilgrims will pass over the course of the year.

Some 5,000 extra police, carabinieri and soldiers were deployed around Rome, and a no-fly zone imposed on its skies, to protect the pilgrims who are flocking to the city on foot, by car, train and plane to participate.

Taking no chances: Italian police scan a nun at the entrance of Saint Peter’s Square before a special Mass by Pope Francis to celebrate his ‘revolution of tenderness’ which was marked by unprecedented security aimed at thwarting a Paris-style attack at the Vatican

Religious routine: A nun is frisked by police as thousands of faithful followers enter St Peter’s Square . Pope Francis was expected later in the day to open the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica for the start of the Jubilee of Mercy

Some 5,000 extra police, carabinieri and soldiers were deployed around Rome to protect pilgrims flocking to the city for the mass

Italian police officers conduct security checks before Pope Francis opens a Catholic Holy Year in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican

Frisked: Faithful pass through security measures put in place to enter at Saint Peter’s square in the Vatican

Francis launched the 12-month jubilee to emphasise what has become the leitmotif of his papacy: showing the merciful and welcoming side of a Catholic Church more often known for its moralising and judgment.

‘How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy,’ Francis said in his homily in front of a crowd of an estimated 50,000.

‘We have to put mercy before judgment and in any event God’s judgment will always be in the light of his mercy.’

A frail-looking former Pope Benedict, 88, made one of his few appearances since his shock resignation in 2013 .

Benedict, who lives in seclusion in the Vatican, embraced Francis before the basilica’s Holy Door.

At the end of the Mass, Francis pushed open the door and walked through it to symbolise the pilgrimage of life’s journey and the sacrifices that must be endured to find God’s mercy.

On Tuesday night, the Vatican will lend itself to another one of Francis’s preoccupations environmental protection.

A coalition of humanitarian groups has banded together to screen images of nature by well-known photographers and filmmakers on the facade of St Peter’s.

Selfie fever: Priests take pictures of themselves before Pope Francis opens a Catholic Holy Year in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican

Anticipation: Priests wait for the start of a mass celebrated by Pope Francis on the occasion of the opening of the Holy Door, which formally starts the Jubilee of Mercy, in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican

Excitement: Priests take pictures of themselves before Pope Francis opens a Catholic Holy Year in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican

Pilgrims attend a papal mass in St Peter’s Square for the start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy . Pope Francis marks the start of an extraordinary Jubilee year for the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics by opening a Holy Door in the walls of St Peter’s Basilica

Security Tuesday was tight, with police and civil protection crews checking bags and passing metal-detecting wands over each of the tens of thousands of people attending the Mass.

‘We have to absorb the message that God always forgives us, which is the message that the pope gives to us,’ said Maria Sila, a pilgrim from Buenos Aires as she waited for the Mass to begin.

Holy Years are generally celebrated every 25-50 years and over the centuries they have been used to encourage the faithful to make pilgrimages to Rome to obtain an ‘indulgence’ the ancient church tradition related to the forgiveness of sins that roughly amounts to a ‘get out of Purgatory free’ card.

Unlike in Martin Luther’s time, these Holy Year indulgences are free and available to those who pass through the Holy Door.

The last jubilee was in 2000, when St John Paul II ushered in the church’s third millennium and some 25 million pilgrims flocked to a Rome that had undergone a multi-million-dollar facelift for the occasion.

Pope Francis declared that mercy trumps moralising in the Catholic Church as he opened a special Holy Year at the Vatican

Francis launched the 12-month jubilee to emphasise what has become the leitmotif of his papacy: showing the merciful and welcoming side of a Catholic Church more often known for its moralising and judgment

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Francis spreads incense (left) as he celebrates Mass (right, bottom centre) ahead of the opening of the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI is helped out of the car as he arrives for Pope Francis’s mass to mark opening of the Catholic Holy Year

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (right) hugs Pope Francis in St Peter’s basilica before the opening of the Holy Door at the Vatican

A frail-looking Benedict, who lives in seclusion in the Vatican, embraced Francis before the basilica’s Holy Door

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI sits in St Peter’s Basilica as he attends the ceremony marking the start of the Holy Year at the Vatican

Pope Francis pushes open the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica, formally launching the Holy Year of Mercy at the Vatican

Francis pushed open the Holy Door and walked through it to symbolise the pilgrimage of life’s journey and the sacrifices that must be endured to find God’s mercy

In typical Francis fashion, the pope made clear from the start that he wanted this Holy Year to be a more sober occasion.

For the first time, the pope instructed all cathedrals around the world to open their Holy Doors to pilgrims to encourage the faithful to mark the jubilee at home rather than coming to Rome.

Nevertheless, Italian officials seized on the excuse of the jubilee to allocate millions of euros for dozens of public works projects around the capital, practically none of which has been completed.

The Vatican’s lead organizer for the jubilee, Archbishop Renato Fisichella, lamented last week that the Vatican had essentially wasted four months of planning time thanks to a local political scandal that resulted in Rome’s mayor being ousted midway through the jubilee preparations.

Fisichella said all the Vatican wanted were refurbished sidewalks leading to St .

Peter’s to make sure pilgrims don’t trip on potholes or crooked cobblestones .

Several of those streets remain closed as construction work continues.

Braving the rain: Nuns wait for the start of a mass celebrated by Pope Francis on the occasion of the opening of the Holy Door

Pope Francis celebrated a special Mass in a rain-soaked St Peter’s Square to formally open his ‘revolution of tenderness’

Bishops waits under umbrellas before Pope Francis opens a Catholic Holy Year, or Jubilee, in St Peter’s Square, at the Vatican

Faithful wait for the mass celebrated by Pope Francis in a rain-soaked St Peter’s Square on the occasion of the opening of the Holy Door

Faithful wait to pass through security measures put in place to enter at the St Peter’s Square

Priests take shelter from the rain as they make some final adjustments near the altar ahead of a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis

Faithful and pilgrims wait to enter St Peter’s Square for the start of a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at the Vatican

Francis announced his Holy Year on the second anniversary of his papacy, saying his aim was ‘to give comfort to every man and every woman of our time.’

It was in keeping with his priority to make the church a ‘field hospital’ for injured souls, where the wounded are welcomed and loved, not judged.

The jubilee year will feature a host of special Masses and extra general audiences to accommodate the throngs of pilgrims, while Francis himself has set aside one Friday each month to slip out of the Vatican to perform an act of mercy himself, in private.

For all the pomp of Tuesday’s ceremony, Francis technically launched the Holy Year of Mercy last week in Central African Republic, when he pushed open the Holy Door of the Bangui cathedral.

His aim was to give the conflict-weary Christians there a spiritual boost, and show the universality of his message of mercy.

Elsewhere around the world, Holy Doors will be opening at cathedrals starting this Sunday.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (centre) and his wife Agnese arrive before Pope Francis opens a Catholic Holy Year in St Peter’s Square

(Pictured starting third from right) Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, his wife Agnese Landini, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano and Infrastructure and Transport Minister Graziano Delrio, attend a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis prior to the opening of the Holy Door of Peter’s Basilica

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References

1. ^{^} Paris-style attack (www.dailymail.co.uk)

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