The Great Jubilee Year began on Christmas Eve, December 24th, with the opening of the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The very next day, on December 25, Our Lady said, through Marija:
“…Little children, today in a special way with little Jesus, whom I hold in my embrace, I am giving you the possibility to decide for peace. Through your ‘yes’ for peace and your decision for God, a new possibility for peace is opened. Only in this way, little chidren, this century will be for you a time of peace and well-being…â€
The Church had prepared for three years for this Jubilee Year. The year 1997 was dedicated to Jesus, the Son of God; 1998 was dedicated to the Holy Spirit; and 1999 was dedicated to God the Father. The presence of Our Lady was remembered throughout the three years. Pope John Paul II believed this Great Jubilee was the culmination of his Pontificate—that it was his calling to lead the Church into the New Millennium. The Holy Year would lead to a singular date in October of 2000, in which he, with all the fathers of the Church, would entrust the New Millennium, the next 1,000 years to the Blessed Virgin Mary.