The Holy Door of the Cathedral of Santiago and the Holy Year 2027

The Holy Door of Santiago Cathedral is only opened during Holy Years in Compostela, the years in which July 25, the feast day of the Apostle, falls on a Sunday. 2027 is one of these years, and the traditional opening takes place on December 31 of the preceding year.

Where is it and what is it like?

It is located on the Quintana façade, at the head of the cathedral. Outside, it is protected by a portal decorated with figures of apostles, prophets, and patriarchs; inside, it provides direct access to the ambulatory, next to the Apostle's tomb. Outside of Holy Years, it remains walled up.

The opening rite

At the beginning of the Holy Year, the archbishop strikes the wall that seals it with a silver hammer, and the door remains open for the entire year. At the end of the year, it is closed again. Crossing through it is one of the gestures that accompany the jubilee for pilgrims.

The origin: the Jacobean jubilee and the Codex Calixtinus

Tradition attributes to the pope Calixtus II The granting of the Jubilee privilege, by the same pope after whom the Codex Calixtinus is known. This 12th-century manuscript brings together the liturgy, miracles, and the pilgrim's guide which shaped the Jacobean cult. We tell it in detail in our Guide to the Holy Year 2027.

A memory from the Holy Year

To learn about the book that started the tradition, see the facsimile edition of the Iacobus Codex Calixtinus or, if he prepares the Way, the translation of Book V.