In the Vitebsk region, during the Year of Mercy, the Holy Gates of two Catholic churches will be opened

In commemoration of the Year of Mercy, on December 13, the Holy Doors will be opened in two Catholic churches in the Vitebsk region. This was announced today by Vitebsk Bishop Oleg Butkevich at a press conference dedicated to the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.

The ceremonies for opening the Holy Doors will take place next Sunday in the Cathedral of Jesus the Merciful in Vitebsk and the diocesan sanctuary of Our Lady Queen of the Lakes in Braslav.

Oleg Butkevich recalled that the Catholic Church proclaimed 2016 the jubilee Year of Mercy, and it began on December 8 with the ceremony of opening the Holy Doors in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The ceremony of opening the Holy Doors symbolically illustrates the idea that believers of the Catholic Church are offered an "extraordinary path" to salvation throughout the jubilee period. Each of the four major basilicas in Rome has Holy Doors that are usually sealed from the inside. They can only be opened during the Year of Mercy so that pilgrims can enter through them to receive a plenary indulgence associated with the jubilee.

One of the novelties of the upcoming Year of Mercy is that for the first time, Holy Doors will also be opened in each diocese of the Catholic Church worldwide. They will be located either in the cathedral, or in a church specially designated for this purpose, or a sanctuary of particular importance for pilgrimage.

The Holy Year of Mercy in the Roman Catholic Church began on December 8 and will end on November 20, 2016.

Alena Tikhonova, BELTA.