“At the Holy Door”, the new Rai Vaticano weekly TV program for the 2025 Jubilee ‘Pilgrims of Hope’

"Perhaps today, more than ever, we need the Jubilee Year." Thus begins the first episode of the Rai Vaticano weekly TV series dedicated to the 2025 Jubilee entitled "At the Holy Door", broadcast on Sunday 25 February at 00.45. The documentary opens with this statement which the Pope made on January 8th, in the Vatican’s Hall of Blessings, during the audience with the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.

“In the face of so much suffering, which causes desperation not only for those directly affected, but in all of our societies,” continued the Holy Father, “and faced with our young people, who instead of dreaming of a better future often feel helpless and frustrated; and in the face of the darkness of this world, which seems to be spreading rather than receding, the Jubilee is the announcement that God never abandons his people and always keeps the doors of his Kingdom open."

The weekly magazine program will tell the story of the preparations for the Holy Year with reports from Italy and across the world. Broadcast from the new studios of Rai Vaticano, it will offer a historical, social, cultural, religious and theological perspective on the preparation happening in local churches and associations, bringing into sharper focus insights gleaned from the most diverse and far-flung corners of the earth.

The main guest for the first episode was Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, who has been entrusted by the Pope with the organization of the Jubilee.

“When faced with the many situations of suffering that we experience in this world, from war to illness, from misunderstanding to loneliness and poverty, the Jubilee stands as a reference point to restore that Hope that we all desperately need” he said.

The new series was presented at a press conference organized by Rai Vaticano on Friday 23 February.

The Director of the channel, Stefano Ziantoni presented the series, saying: “It will be a way of bringing us closer to the Jubilee with stories from Italy but also from around the world. To do this, we immediately put ourselves in the shoes of the pilgrim. For Rai [Italy’s state broadcaster] it is a historic undertaking because an entire program has never been filmed in front of the Holy Door, and that’s something which also has a profound meaning from a religious point of view."

Archbishop Fisichella commented: “There is a need to recover a profound sense of humanity, dignity, and respect and I hope that proclamation of Hope that is at the core of this Jubilee can put people in a position to discover a new anthropological dimension to life – one that puts dignity and respect for every person at the center of things. For this I want to thank you for the creativity and originality that has gone into the making of this new program."