Vintage Pope Pius XII Holy Year 1950 Jubilee Medal | Holy Door (Porta Santa) | Catholic Pendant
Vintage Pope Pius XII Holy Year 1950 Jubilee Medal | Holy Door (Porta Santa) | Catholic Pendant
Vintage Pope Pius XII Holy Year 1950 Jubilee Medal – Holy Door (Porta Santa)
A vintage Catholic jubilee medal of Pope Pius XII (pontificate 1939–1958), struck for the Holy Year of 1950, the Great Jubilee proclaimed by Pius XII.
The obverse shows the Pope in profile wearing the camauro and mozzetta, with the Latin legend “PIVS XII ROMANVS PONTIFEX MAXIMVS”.
The reverse depicts the Holy Door (Porta Santa) of St Peter's Basilica, opened only during Holy Years, with the inscription “ANNO IVBILAEI” (Jubilee Year) and the words of Christ from the Gospel of John (10:9), “Ego sum ostium: per me si quis introierit, salvabitur” – “I am the door: by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.”
Medals like this were brought home by the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who travelled to Rome for the 1950 Jubilee, the year in which Pius XII also defined the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Details
- Subject: Pope Pius XII / Holy Door (Porta Santa)
- Occasion: Holy Year (Jubilee) 1950, Rome
- Obverse legend: PIVS XII ROMANVS PONTIFEX MAXIMVS
- Reverse legend: EGO SVM OSTIVM PER ME SI QVIS INTROIERIT SALVABITVR · ANNO IVBILAEI
- Material: Bronze-toned metal
- Approx. diameter: 2.5 cm
- Suspension: Original loop
- Condition: Vintage condition with natural patina, surface wear and small marks consistent with age and devotional use. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form part of the description.
Note: this medal depicts Pope Pius XII (not Pope St Pius X, as previously listed).