A Jubilee is a joyful time for Catholics, a special year for forgiveness, universal pardon, and remission of sins. The Jubilee is personally marked by physical passage through one of 7 Holy Doors in the world. It is a time of pilgrimage, for to pass through the Holy Door is to go through a rite of passage. The door is open to all persons of good will.

The interior of the Holy Door in Quebec City, featuring Mary. Note the red ribbon, a visible symbol of the door being sealed shut.

The first recorded Christian Jubilee was held by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, during the Year of Mercy, will be held from December 8, 2015 (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception) through November 20, 2016 (The Feast of Christ the King). The last Jubilee was in 2000. 

Pope Francis notes, "the Holy Door will become a Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instils hope." 

There are also various Doors of Mercy, throughout the world, for people unable to make a pilgrimage to the four Holy Doors in Rome, or to the three Holy Doors outside of Rome, located at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Galicia (Spain), the  Sanctuaire of the Curè of Ars in Ars sur Formans (France), and the Notre-Dame Basilica Cathedral in Quebec City (Canada, North America). 

The Holy Door in Quebec City is the only Holy Door outside of Europe. It is located in the Notre-Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral, in Old Quebec. 

Wandering the streets of Old Quebec, you take in the shops, alleyways, public parks, tourists, and then happen upon a large square, with an even larger cathedral at one end. This is the Notre-Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral, with a Neoclassical Facade and countless treasures inside. The Notre-Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral has many important features, including gorgeous architecture, a stunning interior, the tomb of St Francois de Laval, a crypt, many beautiful works of art, and, of course, a peaceful place to worship. You do not need to be Catholic (or religious) to enter Notre-Dame.

Built in 1647 on the site of the first chapel built by Quebec founder Samuel de Champlain, Notre-Dame de Quebec celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2014, at which time, the Holy Door was sealed.

The Notre-Dame de Québec is located within a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Old Quebec), and was the first Catholic parish north of Mexico. It is one of two patrimonial churches in Quebec City (the other one being the church of Notre-Dame des Victoires). The Holy Door in Quebec was created by Canadian artist Jules Lasalle, who sculpted this bronze door with images of Jesus on the outside and Mary on the inside. The door is sealed shut until the Pope orders it opened for a Jubilee.

To pass through the Holy Door in Quebec City, you enter the Cathedral from the outside on the left (as you're facing the church). You will enter the church and be in a side nave - head through to the main transept of the church and you can see the gorgeous altars; look up and you'll be amazed at the ceiling and gold everywhere! There are interesting things to see around every corner - even if you stand in one spot, you can look around for hours and keep seeing new things.

The exterior of the Holy Door, with a covered walkway for the line to wait before your turn to pass through

See how the door is symbolically sealed? That will be changed on December 8, 2015, when the Holy Door is opened for the Year of Mercy.

Quebec's National Shrines notes that "Notre-Dame de Québec stands out as the first cathedral, the cradle of French civilization and the Catholic faith to be founded north of Mexico. It is the ancestor of all the Catholic parishes that have spread across Canada and the United States. Notre-Dame de Québec was a key player in the development of Québec, Canada, and North America. It has become one of the pillars that has kept French alive in North America, and has been an active witness to all the cultural changes that have shaped our society during the development of our nation."

On Passing through the Holy Door, the Notre-Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral notes, 

"In daily life, all doors are passages. They are transitions from a place to another, a change in our environment. Sometimes, when we move from  what we have to leave  behind  to what we must aim to, they mark a rupture.

A strong symbol of a spriritual experience, the Holy Door also offers the opportunity to  re-collect in the sense of collecting once again parts of our personal life. By going through the various stages and transitions of their life, whether or not they have been succesful,  people  can find their  current yearnings and discover what they hunger for deep down. They commune with  persons who are in their heart specifically family members, those they are close to, and mostly those who are facing doors which are difficult to pass through.

We are invited to pass through the Holy Door from the outside to the inside as if we were getting in ourselves in search of our personal future to reach out to the essential. It is a quest for meaning."

Pope Francis wrote: 

"The practice of pilgrimage has a special place in the Holy Year, because it represents the journey each of us makes in this life. Life itself is a pilgrimage, and the human being is a viator, a pilgrim travelling along the road, making his way to the desired destination. Similarly, to reach the Holy Door in Rome or in any other place in the world, everyone, each according to his or her ability, will have to make a pilgrimage. This will be a sign that mercy is also a goal to reach and requires dedication and sacrifice. May pilgrimage be an impetus to conversion: by crossing the threshold of the Holy Door, we will find the strength to embrace God’s mercy and dedicate ourselves to being merciful with others as the Father has been with us."

Learn more about the Jubilee of Mercy:
http://www.im.va/content/gdm/en.html
http://www.im.va/content/gdm/en/giubileo/lettera.html

Learn more about the Holy Door in Quebec:

Planning your trip to the Holy Door at Notre-Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral in Quebec City:
http://www.notre-dame-de-quebec.org/#!tourism-and-pilgrimages/c24rm

http://www.quebecregion.com/en/

And the architecture of the Notre-Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral in Quebec City:
http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=17441&pid=0

Photos courtesy and copyright Wandering Educators and Notre-Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral