Published in The Tablet *
February 8, 2025
by Paula Katinas, Senior Reporter
MASPETH — Megan O’Connell, an eighth grader at St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy in Maspeth, does not plan to travel to Rome for Jubilee 2025. However, thanks to one teacher at her school, she feels she is still getting the chance to experience the spirit of the Jubilee.
Third grade teacher Sarah Gallagher has the entire school excited over the carefully crafted replicas she made of the Holy Doors of the four unique Basilicas in Rome.
Gallagher drew various Biblical scenes that are depicted on the actual Holy Doors and taped the drawings to four sets of doors in the school. She also printed museum-type signs to place next to each door explaining where the actual doors are located in Rome, along with details of who opened the doors to signal the start of the Jubilee Year.
The St. Stanislaus Kostka version of the Holy Doors, which were unveiled on Jan. 21, are located at different points inside the school, including one at the top of the stairs just inside the front entrance.
“I feel like they bring Rome into our school,” Megan said. “It is just very nice, and anytime we walk around our school, we get educated on the Jubilee.”
The four Basilicas are: St. Peter’s Basilica, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, which Gallagher recreated. Pope Francis also designated a ‘Holy Door’ at the Rebibbia prison chapel for the Jubilee Year to show that “hope does not disappoint.”
Gallagher said the idea was to create a homegrown version of the church’s Holy Doors so students could pass through them every day and gain some insight into their meaning while on their way to and from class.
“It brings it more to life for the students, rather than just sitting in a classroom and hearing Jubilee this, Jubilee that,” Gallagher explained. “They’re able to have a piece of Rome right here in St. Stans in Maspeth.”
Holy Doors are a significant part of a Jubilee Year celebration. Millions of the faithful are expected to pass through them this year. Under Catholic teachings, those who walk through the Holy Doors may receive plenary indulgences, meaning full forgiveness of their sins.
The doors are also important for another reason. In his declaration of 2025 as a Jubilee Year, Pope Francis explained that the Holy Door “represents the passage to salvation – the path to a new and eternal life, which was opened to humanity by Jesus.”
Eighth grader Matteo Berardi said he finds the doors interesting because “they symbolize us entering our faith.” He also said he appreciates the chance to take part in celebrating the Jubilee Year from Queens.
“It’s nice. You can learn just by walking or going to your school, where you go every day, instead of having to go to a far-off place,” Matteo said. “You can learn right here,”
Principal Cathy Mangone said the replicas serve as a good educational tool.
“The more you read about it, it talks about reconciliation and forgiveness and deepening your faith,” she said. “What’s a better message to our students?”
Gallagher, who is a graduate of St. Stanislaus Kostka, worked on the replicas over the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. To prepare, she studied photos of the real Holy Doors and recreated details such as the Nativity and the faces of Jesus and Mary.
“The goal was to find a way to make a tangible piece of the Jubilee come to St. Stans,” she said. “It’s more of a community project, rather than just each class learning about a certain depiction.”
The project also has Gallagher contemplate the meaning and the beauty of the Holy Doors.
“I would say that the doors represent the aspect of God’s mercy on us all as human beings because through different depictions on the doors, we’re able to see the frailty of man, and through the frailty of man, God’s mercy has come down on us,” she said, adding that the faithful can reconnect “and come home to the church as better Catholics and be more focused on our faith.”
