The link between cross and Holy Year reaches back to 1300, when Boniface VIII invited the faithful to “see and kiss” Rome’s great reliquary crosses. Two centuries later, Alexander VI struck the Holy Door with a silver hammer shaped like a cross to open the Jubilee of 1500. In 1950 Pius XII placed a luminous cross atop St Peter’s dome, visible across the city. The tradition continues: on Christmas Eve 2024 a large processional cross ushered in the new Holy Year.

Designer Giacomo Travisani set a gently curved cross at the centre of the emblem, its arms supporting the “sails” of the pilgrims—both axis of direction and open embrace. Beside it stands an anchor, Paul’s symbol of hope. Together they remind us that walking toward the cross is no defeat but a leap toward the future.

Carried by volunteers from the five continents, these highly symbolic crosses will form a visible bridge between cultures throughout the Holy Year.

In 2025 pilgrims are encouraged to wear a small olive-wood or metal cross while passing through the papal basilicas. After Confession the same cross is kissed in a centuries-old act of gratitude. Finally, in St Peter’s Square, visitors may lay down a paper cross bearing a prayer for those suffering war or poverty—Silent offerings that will join to create a vast mosaic of hope.

In Vicenza workshops like Cavinato Dino turn gold and silver into crosses that blend heritage and design—Latin forms, crucifixes, pierced silhouettes, gemstone-set or laser-engraved models. Each piece begins as fused sheets of metal, then is shaped, chiselled and polished entirely in-house, raising the craft to the highest artistic and technical standard.

The Dicastery for Evangelisation has invited artists, influencers and filmmakers to re-imagine the cross in digital terms: light installations, augmented-reality clips and podcasts will show how this ancient sign can engage today’s culture without losing theological depth.

The Jubilee cross does not impose impossible burdens; it urges us to turn every challenge into a bridge toward others: step through the Holy Door in confidence, weave faith into daily gestures, draw near to those left behind. From Renaissance silver hammers to today’s digital icons, the message endures: what once spoke of death now lights the path of life. May every cross—monumental or pocket-sized—guide Jubilee pilgrims toward a year of reconciliation, service and a shared tomorrow.