Is the Pope Actually Opening 5 Portals to Other Worlds on Christmas Eve?

Spoiler alert: Not everything you hear on TikTok is true.

Ahead of the Christmas holidays, some TikTok users have worked themselves into a mini frenzy about the ritualistic celebrations taking place at the Vatican.

One TikToker gained plenty of views and comments claiming that Pope Francis is planning to celebrate Christmas Eve by “[opening] five spiritual portals that have never been opened before” and “[livestreaming] the tomb of Lucifer that is underneath the Vatican.”

Understandably, this caused some concern and confusion. Luckily for us, though, Snopes.com went through a lengthy breakdown about why that’s just not happening.

Firstly, the “spiritual portals” are actually just doors.

The tradition of the Pope opening five “Holy Doors” is in accordance with the Roman Catholic tradition known as a Jubilee, which takes place every 25 years. One door will be opened on Dec. 24, with subsequent doors opened on Dec. 26, Dec. 29, Jan. 1, and Jan. 5.

The detail about the portals having “never been opened before” seems to stem from a New York Post article titled “Pope Francis to open 5 sacred portals on Christmas Eve — for a ritual that’s never been done before.”

Though not quite false, this headline could be categorized as “carefully worded clickbait.” The part about opening 5 sacred portals is not new to Catholicism. The “never been done before” part refers to the fact that one of the Holy Doors is located in the Roman prison of Rebibbia.

According to the Roman Catholic church’s Dicastery for Evangelization, it will be “the first time that — in addition to the Holy Doors opened in the four Roman Papal Basilicas — one will also be opened in a penal institution too.”

No, the vatican does not have a tomb dedicated to Lucifer

Now, on to the Lucifer of it all.

Bible scholar Dan McClellan made a YouTube video debunking multiple TikToks about the “Tomb of Lucifer.” He noted that the claims could stem from Michele Basso’s “Guide to the Vatican Necropolis.” 

The guide features a map of the Vatican Necropolis which includes a tomb marked “Lucifer,” which was constructed in the pre-Constantine era. McClellan points out that, at the time the tomb was likely identified, the term “Lucifer” was not a reference to Satan. It was “just a generic title,” with several prominent Christian figures having the name themselves.

Moreover, McClellan explains that on the Necropolis map, many tombs are named for families as “The Tomb of [Name].” However, the Lucifer tomb is noted as just that: “The Lucifer Tomb.” Not “The Tomb of Lucifer.”

“This is probably associated with some graffiti that was found in the tomb, or because it was connected in some way with one of the prominent Lucifers from the 4th century CE, like Lucifer of Cagliari, who was a prominent defender of Athanasius and the Trinity,” McClellan notes.

So rest assured, TikTokers. While there will plenty of ritualistic religious symbolism happening at the Vatican on Christmas, Lucifer will not be part of it.

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