VATICAN CITY Pope John Paul II pulled shut the Holy Door of St. Peters Basilica Saturday, solemnly ending the Vaticans Jubilee Year of repentance that drew some 25 million pilgrims to Rome.
We know with certainty that the door of your clemency is never shut for those who believe in your love and proclaim your mercy, said the Pope.
The Holy Year, usually proclaimed every 25 years by pontiffs, this time coincided with both the change of centuries and millenniums. John Paul II had looked with anticipation toward the event for much of his 22-year-long pontificate as a chance to rejuvenate the Catholic Church and its billion members.
An aide held on to the left arm of the pope, who is 80 and ailing, to support him as he closed the right side of the bronze door in the atrium of St. Peters.
When he closed the left side of the door, applause thundered outside in St. Peters Square, where many of the faithful, estimated by Vatican officials at about 100,000, were watching the ceremony on TV screens.
On Friday, pilgrims passed through the door at the rate of about 100 a minute as part of a Holy Year ritual granting them remission from punishment for sin.
We know with certainty, prayed the pope, who knelt down with difficulty on the steps outside the door, that the door of your clemency is never shut for those who believe in your love and proclaim your mercy.
In comparison to Christmas Eve 1999, when the pope opened the door in a joyous ceremony of dance, song and colorful costumes, Saturdays closure was solemn and subdued. John Paul, who at the opening wore a shiny, multicolored wrap, this time donned elegant, gold-colored robes.
John Paul knelt in reflection for several minutes before the aide helped him up and he hobbled out to the square to lead a Mass. At one point during the door ceremony, his hands trembled as he clasped them together and sat in a chair.
The pope has long struggled to stay active despite a persistent hand tremor and difficulty in walking and delivering speeches. The symptoms are widely attributed to Parkinsons disease, a debilitating neurological disorder, but the Vatican has never said exactly what ails him.
