Pope Francis launches Year of Mercy at Bangui cathedral

Pope Francis has declared Bangui the “spiritual capital of the world” as he opened his Jubilee Year of Mercy early and in Africa to give the war-torn Central African Republic a spiritual boost.

The Jubilee Year was supposed to have started in St Peter’s Basilica on December 8, and some 33 million pilgrims are expected in Rome over the course of the year to participate. But Francis announced a few weeks ago that he would officially open the Holy Door of Bangui’s cathedral during his visit to begin the year-long celebration.

Francis ceremoniously pushed open the cathedral doors at the start of Mass on Sunday. He said: “The Holy Year of Mercy is coming early to this land, a land that has suffered too long from war, hatred, incomprehension, a lack of peace.”

Holy Years are usually declared every 25 to 50 years nd are times for the faithful to receive indulgences. They traditionally begin with the ceremonial opening of the Holy Door in St Peter’s and the other major basilicas in Rome and usually involve the faithful embarking on pilgrimages. The last Holy Year was St John Paul II’s 2000 Jubilee to usher in the Catholic Church’s third millennium.

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