Holy Door

To mark the 1,500th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Arethas and his companions at Najran, during the Jubilee Year of the Martyrs, the Holy Door at the Cathedral of St. Joseph will remain open throughout the year.

During this Jubilee Year, pilgrims are invited to make a journey (pilgrimage) to the Holy Door. Those who pass through the Holy Door and visit the Shrine of the Martyrs can receive a plenary indulgence. 

The Holy Year Pilgrimage


The Holy Year indulgence


This journey is a symbol of one’s own pilgrimage of faith. The Holy Door marks that point of change on our spiritual journey from one environment to another. Courage is needed to walk through a door, not knowing what is on the other side.

Our encounter with the Lord is a similar defining moment, a “door”, on our journey of faith. Jesus himself is the door, the only way to friendship with God, to holiness, and to eternal life. As Pope St. John Paul II wrote “To pass through that door means to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; it is to strengthen faith in him in order to live the new life which he has given us. It is a decision which presumes freedom to choose and also the courage to leave something behind, in the knowledge that what is gained is divine life.” (Incarnationis Mysterium) The disciple of Christ must leave behind vices, sins, habits or even the good things of life to embrace Christ’s life of grace and love. The martyrs felt the deep joy of Christ so deeply that they were willing to sacrifice everything - homes, family, riches and even life.

The church building is an image of the Body of Christ and the dwelling of God. By passing through the Holy Door into the church, the pilgrim symbolically expresses his/her being a part of Christ’s Body, and more closely united to the Lord. To follow in the footsteps of the Crucified Lord is to journey with him through an unknown future, through the Cross of pain, trials, hardships and suffering to the life and glory of the Resurrection. This was the path travelled by the martyrs, who witnessed the joy that friendship with Jesus brings – a joy even greater than life itself. 

The believer who enters the Holy Door with a spirit of repentance and the desire to follow Christ with complete dedication after the example of the holy martyrs receives an indulgence. The indulgence reminds us that we share in spiritual gifts as members of the Body of Christ. 

The Holy Door is a symbol not only of our personal conversion but of the conversion of our community. We make our journey to the Lord together with the martyrs, saints and faithful believers who have gone before us. Courage and humility are required to be able to acknowledge the failures, divisions, mistakes, distrust and even violence that often plagues our lives and relations with those around us. This was tragically true also of the times of the martyrs - times often marked by mistrust and antagonism. 

In embarking on this Holy Year, we commit to humbly seeking peace, unity and reconciliation in our societies. We open the doors and remove the obstacles that block the Lord’s entry into our lives so that, as a Church, we may truly become a holy sign - a light that shows Christ’s love and mercy within a dark world. 

Open to me the gate of holiness, I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the Lord’s own house where the just may enter. I will thank you for you have answered and you are my Saviour.