On the occasion of the closing of the Holy Door, at the end of the Jubilee Year, the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major commissioned the creation of a commemorative medal, reviving an ancient tradition.
The medal is intended to preserve the memory of an exceptional Holy Year: proclaimed by Pope Francis with the Papal Bull Spes non confundit, it was opened by the Pope himself but concluded by Pope Leo XIV, elected in Conclave on May, 8th 2025.
The extraordinary event of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Holy Year under two different pontificates has only one precedent in the Jubilee of 1700, opened by Innocent XII and closed by Clement XI.
The obverse of the medal depicts the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, created by sculptor Luigi Enzo Mattei and opened for the first time by Pope Francis on January, 1st 2016 on the occasion of the Jubilee of Mercy. The reverse side features a Latin inscription commemorating the exceptional nature of the Holy Year 2025: 'FRANCISCO PONT. MAX. PORTAM SANCTAM PAP. LIBERIANÆ BAS. ROLANDVS CARD. MAKRICKAS APERVIT IPSEQVE ARCHIPRESBYTER LEONE XIV PONT. MAX. EANDEM CLAVSIT (During the pontificate of Pope Francis, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas opened the Holy Door of the Liberian Basilica, and the Archpriest himself closed it during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV). Finally, at the bottom, is the name of the artist who created the medal, Amalia Mistichelli.
The medal was produced in a limited series, with 2,000 copies in bronze and 1,000 in silver.
