Quebec archbishop hopes Holy Door will draw Americans closer to faith
Toronto, 18 December 2013: Quebec Archbishop Gerald Lacroix hopes the Holy Door being
installed at the Basilica-Cathedral Notre Dame de Quebec will draw more than a million
North Americans closer to their roots and faith.
"The idea is not to just come
to the door," the archbishop told the Canadian weekly The Catholic Register. "People
love to go to the roots of their faith. We get over a million visitors already a year
in our cathedral, (and) we'll certainly get a lot more."
At a special Mass
marking the opening of the Holy Door and a jubilee year for the 350th anniversary
of Notre Dame de Quebec, the oldest parish in French-speaking North America, Archbishop
Lacroix told the congregation that "passing through the Holy Door is a great sign
of hope."
"When people decide to embark on this journey toward encountering
and following Christ, anything becomes possible. A New World can be achieved," he
said.
The Holy Door is in the wall of the Chapel of the Sacred Heart on the
north side of the basilica. It will remain unlocked for visitors to pass through until
Dec. 28, 2014.
The special door was authorized by the Vatican and is a symbol
of communion with the universal church. It is the first Holy Door outside Europe and
only the seventh in the world: Four can be found at the major basilicas in Rome, one
is in France and the other in Spain.
Sculpted by Quebec artist Jules Lasalle,
the door depicts an open-armed Jesus on the exterior with an image of Mary on the
interior side.
"The open arms say a lot; that is what the church is called
to be, open arms to humanity, to everyone," Archbishop Lacroix told The Catholic Register.
"Pope Francis is inviting us so much to come back to Jesus, to re-center our lives
and found our lives on the Gospel and Jesus Christ, so I think this is very prophetic
in the history of the church. Maybe in some other time we would have had a crucified
Christ or we would have some other image of Jesus, but this time he's got open arms,
and he is welcoming, and he is joyful. That is beautiful."
The archbishop said
the door would offer not only opportunities for devout Catholics to deepen their faith,
but also a means of re-inviting those who may have fallen away from the faith over
the years.
It is estimated that 18 million North Americans can trace the baptism
or marriage of their ancestors back to the basilica.Source: CNS