STEUBENVILLE—“With eyes fixed on Jesus and his merciful face, the Holy Father, on this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, has inaugurated an extraordinary jubilee, thus opening to us and to all men and women the door for God’s mercy.”

Following these words and other prayers, Bishop Jeffrey Monforton of Steubenville opened the Holy Door in Christ the King Chapel at Franciscan University of Steubenville, ushering in the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Nearly 1,000 students in the midst of finals, along with faculty, staff, and visitors took part in the December 8 ceremonies that began with Mass in Finnegan Fieldhouse, followed by a solemn procession across the courtyard to Christ the King Chapel.

Following the unsealing of the Holy Door, which is the interior main door of Christ the King Chapel, hundreds of people filed through it to pray inside, seeking a plenary indulgence upon completing the usual conditions.

Video and photo coverage of the Opening of the Holy Door.

“Crossing the threshold of the Holy Door is not meant to be a bucket list item in someone’s life,” Bishop Monforton said after the ceremony. “It is meant to be a moment of metanoia, a moment of conversion. When we walk through that doorway we ask ourselves, how may we better exemplify the mercy of Jesus in our own lives. Each one of us is called to conversion daily, myself included. We are called to be more like Jesus, to allow him to enter the door of our hearts.”

Bishop Monforton suggested praying for someone in need, reaching out to help someone, and forgiving someone who has wronged us as practical ways to put mercy into action.

Franciscan University President Father Sean O. Sheridan, TOR, was the principal concelebrant at the Mass. He said he expects Christ the King Chapel to be a second pilgrimage site for many campus visitors during this liturgical year, joining the Portiuncula Chapel, which has been designated as a plenary indulgence site by the Vatican since 2009.

“Part of our Franciscan charism is the call to ongoing conversion,” Father Sheridan said. “We encourage people to cross through the Holy Door during this Year of Mercy not just as a rite of passage, but to also experience the power of conversion in their lives, being able to embrace God’s mercy and God’s forgiveness, not only following in the footsteps of St. Francis, but following in the footsteps of Christ as well.”

“We are not going to stamp your ‘Catholic card’ when you walk through this vestibule,” added Bishop Monforton, “Catholic, non-Catholic, non-Christian—all are welcome. This is here as a reminder that we are here as one family, and it is the Lord God who brings us together in his mercy and his compassion.”

Holy doors will be unsealed throughout the universal Church to mark the holy year, starting with Pope Francis walking through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on December 8.

In the Diocese Steubenville, the bishop has designated two holy door sites, one at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption in Marietta, Ohio, which serves the southern half of the diocese. Because the diocesan cathedral in Steubenville is closed for renovation, Christ the King Chapel at Franciscan University will serve as a holy door site for the northern half of the diocese.