The 731st Celestinian Pardon Commemoration took place in L’Aquila on 28 August 2025, with the historical procession of the Papal Bull and then the Eucharistic Celebration, followed by the Rite of the Opening of the Holy Door of Celestine in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio. This was presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness. The event, linked to the plenary indulgence instituted via Papal Bull by Pope Celestine V in 1294 for the first Jubilee in the history of the Church, drew thousands of faithful. In his homily, Cardinal Parolin emphasized the value of forgiveness and peace, placing the Mass within the framework of the Holy Year 2025, and conveyed the greeting of Pope Leo XIV. He also warned against considering the passage through the Holy Door a superstitious or magical gesture. The celebration was preceded by the reading of Pope Celestine V’s Bull of Pardon, now kept in the Town Hall Tower, and an excerpt from Pope Francis’s Bull Spes non confundit. Representing the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, the Delegate for Abruzzo and Molise, Nob. Baron Emanuele Muzj di Fontecchio, Knight of Jure Sanguinis, participated. The Holy Door was subsequently closed at sunset on August 29, after being passed through by thousands of pilgrims.
The Celestinian Pardon is not only a religious celebration, but a message of peace, solidarity, and reconciliation that continues to unite generations and communities. L’Aquila, guardian of this heritage, annually renews its connection with history and the world. The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, long linked to the Sacred Rite of the Celestinian Pardon and historically rooted in the region and its traditions since the time of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, participated in the celebration with a representation from the Abruzzo and Molise Delegation, led by the Delegate, Nob. Baron Emanuele Muzj di Fontecchio, Knight of Jure Sanguinis, who met with His Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of State, conveying greetings from the President of the Constantinian Order’s Royal Commission for Italy, H.E. Prince Flavio Borghese of the Princes of Sulmona and Montecompatri, Roman Noble, Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice, and from the Lieutenant for Peninsular Southern Italy, H.E. the Marquis Pierluigi Sanfelice di Bagnoli, Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice. Furthermore, the Delegate greeted and thanked the Metropolitan Archbishop of L’Aquila, His Grace the Most Reverend Antonio D’Angelo, and the Archbishop Emeritus, His Eminence Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi.
