Year of Mercy doors – known as “doors of mercy” – opened throughout the country earlier this month as dioceses marked the start of the Year. The Holy Doors at Westminster Cathedral were opened by Cardinal Vincent Nichols during Vespers on Sunday, December 13. The cardinal was joined by the cathedral chapters and the chaplains of the cathedral for the opening, with the congregation invited to follow them through the Holy Door. Pope Francis launched the Jubilee Year of Mercy by opening a Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica on December 8. In his homily Archbishop Nichols invited people to bring someone with them through the Holy Door who “may have moved away from the practice of their faith and yet may well be ready, with our encouragement and gentleness, to make this simple journey home”. In the Diocese of East Anglia Bishop Alan Hopes opened the Holy Door at St John the Baptist Cathedral in Norwich and invited the 400-strong congregation, which included representatives from every parish in the diocese, to walk through the doors with him. A second Holy Door was also opened at the Slipper Chapel at the National Shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham by shrine rector, Mgr John Armitage. Speaking in a bishops’ conference Advent podcast, Bishop Hopes said: “The Year of Mercy is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the whole idea of mercy, both in the scriptures and in the liturgy of the Church. And particularly the way in which compassion, love and mercy should be part of the Church’s pastoral care of the people of God and those on the margins.” Bishop Hopes also said that during the Year of Mercy he will be visiting each of the 11 prisons across his diocese to celebrate Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation with prisoners. Bishop Richard Moth opened a Holy Door at Arundel Cathedral on December 13, with hundreds of people from the diocese in attendance. The Anglican Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Rev Martin Warner, was present for the opening. Two other Holy Doors were opened in the diocese on the same day, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, West Grinstead, and at the parish of Christ the Prince of Peace, Weybridge. A third door was opened at the start of the new term in January in the chapel at Mayfield School in East Sussex. In his homily at the Mass for the opening of the Holy Door, Bishop Moth called for a renewal of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and asked the people of the diocese “to reach out to those who are estranged from the Church or who, for whatever reason, have not heard the message of the Gospel”. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin opened the Holy Door at Armagh Cathedral. In a pastoral letter he urged the faithful to mark “in a renewed way” the first Fridays and Saturdays of each month by spending time in Eucharistic Adoration and by reciting the rosary.