Pope ends year of events which drew millions
Pope John Paul II has pulled shut the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica to end the Vatican's Jubilee Year of repentance and renewal, which drew some 25 million pilgrims to Rome.
The Holy Year, usually proclaimed every 25 years by pontiffs, this time coincided with both the change of centuries and millennia. The Pope had looked forward to the event for much of his 22-year-long pontificate as a chance to rejuvenate the Catholic Church and its billion members.
An aide held on to the left arm of the Pope, who is 80 and has long appeared to be ailing, as he pulled first the right side of the bronze door closed in the atrium of St Peter's and then the left.
Applause thundered outside in St Peter's Square, where a crowd estimated by Vatican officials at about 100,000 people watched the ceremony on TV screens.
Hours earlier, some 100 people a minute were passing through the door as part of a Holy Year ritual in which they could gain remission from punishment for sin. So many people wanted to do so in the last few days that the Vatican kept the door opened late each evening.
The Pope, who knelt down with difficulty on the steps outside the door, delivered a message to God stating: "We know with certainly that the door of your clemency is never shut for those who believe in your love and proclaim your mercy."
In comparison to Christmas Eve, 1999, when the Pope opened the door in a ceremony featuring dance, song and colourful costumes, today's closure was solemn and subdued.
The Pope knelt in reflection for several minutes before the aide helped him up and he hobbled out to the square to lead a Mass.
The leader of the Catholic Church has long struggled to stay active despite a persistent hand tremor and difficulty in walking and delivering speeches. The symptoms are widely attributed to Parkinson's disease, but the Vatican has never said what condition the Pope is suffering from.
Later today, the Vatican is due to make public a letter from the Pope to his church around the world reflecting on the challenges of the new Millennium.
