Pope Francis on Tuesday is set to preside at Mass in the Vatican on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with the opening of the "holy door" for the inauguration of the Holy Year of Mercy.
In a letter in September to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Vatican's key person in the promotion of the "new evagelization," the pope expressed his hope that the new jubilee will be "for all believers a true moment of encounter with the mercy of God."
Continuous LIVE stream from the Vatican. Inauguration to start at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 (Philippine Standard Time)
Holy Mass presided by Pope Francis for the opening of the holy door at Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. LIVE STREAM to start at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 (Philippine Standard Time)
The Roman Pontiff granted an indulgence to pilgrims and faithful who will visit a holy door open in every cathedral or in designated churches around the world. The pope also encouraged Catholics to practice any of the 14 traditional "works of mercy," which include feeding the hungry and bearing wrongs patiently.
This will be the first time the holy door, a symbol for an "extraordinary path" to salvation, has been opened since the Great Jubilee in the 2000 called for by Saint John Paul II.
The Vatican also announced that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will take part in the inauguration, marking one of his rare public appearances since his retirement in 2013.
Mercy is as a topic is reflected in Pope Francis's episcopal motto "miserando atque eligendo," chosen when he was ordained a bishop in 1992.