ROME, OCT. 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Next year's jubilee for the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth will offer pilgrims the opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence.
Father Oliviero Plichon, the coordinator of the Pauline Year who works in close collaboration with Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls, said this when speaking with ZENIT about the events planned for next year's jubilee.
"We don't know exactly which year St. Paul was born," explained Father Plichon, "but the experts say that they date is between A.D. 5 and 10."
Father Plichon said that when Cardinal Lanza di Montezemolo presented the idea to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Pope's secretary of state at the time, and then to Benedict XVI, the Holy Father welcomed the idea with interest and gave permission for the dates of the Pauline Year to be set.
The Pauline Year, beginning on June 28, 2008, and ending on June 29, 2009, will include a myriad of events in areas of ecumenism, liturgy, prayer, art, history, archaeology, pastoral initiatives and pilgrimages.
The Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls, which welcomes between 2,500 and 4,000 pilgrims a day, will open its jubilee door and will host a special liturgy each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.
Pilgrims will be able to pass through the Pauline Door, pray at St. Paul's tomb and at the chains of St. Paul, go to confession, participate in Mass and vespers in order to receive a plenary indulgence.
The left nave of the basilica will be reserved for exhibits, including depictions of St. Paul's voyages, excavations, letters, the building's history, and commemorative stamps and medals made for the jubilee year.
Two concerts will be performed for the event. Handel's "Messiah" will be performed and directed by Lorin Maazel for the opening of the Pauline Year.
For Easter Sunday, 2009, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "The Resurrection," will be preformed and directed by Zubin Mehta.
For pilgrims visiting Rome, there will be a Pauline "pilgrimage" within the city to places connected with St. Paul's life, including the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls, the Church of St. Paul of the Rule, where he was said to have lived and the Basilica of the Three Fountains, where tradition says he was beheaded.
ZE07100905 - 2007-10-09