In the Bull of Indiction entitled "The face of mercy", Pope Francis states that mercy is "the architrave that supports the life of the Church". The Pope desired to open the door of mercy, so that no one is excluded from the merciful embrace of Jesus. The compassionate heart of Jesus is the bridge, the way that unites God and man, opening the heart to the hope of being loved and for always, despite the limit of our sin. The opening of the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica, we read in the Bull, will take place on 8 December, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council.

An event, as the Pope wrote, which «broke down the walls that for too long had closed the Church in a privileged citadel», inviting her to announce the Gospel in a new way. The Year of Mercy lasts just under a calendar year, in fact it will close on the solemnity of Christ the King on 20 November 2016. To broaden the possibility that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy plenary indulgence, Pope Francis has established that even in every cathedral church and, according to the indications of the diocesan bishop, even in the most significant Sanctuaries, a "Door of Mercy" should be opened throughout the Holy Year, so that the Jubilee can also be celebrated at a local level, "as a sign of communion of the whole Church". Mercy, as the architrave that supports the Church's path, becomes an "ideal of life and a criterion of credibility for our faith". This architrave has sometimes been underestimated or forgotten, but it is the main road that leads to living the soul and pastoral intuitions of the Second Vatican Council.

Indulgence cannot be considered a kind of pardon, but it is a concrete manifestation of the quality of the Lord's omnipotence, it is the unit of measurement, the criterion for understanding who the true children of God are, capable of being themselves merciful, since this mercy was shown to them. Justice and mercy are not two aspects in conflict with each other, but two dimensions of a single reality. The Pope recalls that: "It is not the observance of the law that saves, but it is faith in Jesus Christ." This does not mean «making justice superfluous, on the contrary: whoever makes mistakes will have to serve the sentence. Only this is not the end, but the beginning of conversion, because one experiences the tenderness of forgiveness." The experience of forgiveness commits us to live with mercy because "mercy was shown to us first". Being revitalized by forgiveness "is an imperative that Christians cannot ignore" if they want to build a future of justice, peace and brotherhood. We know from experience how difficult it is to forgive, however it is an obligatory step since "forgiveness is the instrument placed in the fragile hands of man to achieve serenity of the heart to live happily".

Paul VI spoke of the "civilization of love" which is not a utopia, but God's dream for our humanity; the path of love, in fact, will be the obligatory path, the frontier where we will meet the Judge who will grant us the full right of citizenship. «The credibility of the Church passes through the path of merciful and compassionate love [...] Perhaps for a long time we have forgotten to indicate and live the path of mercy. The temptation to always and only demand justice has made us forget that this is the first, necessary and indispensable step... Therefore, where the Church is present, the mercy of the Father must be evident." Justice cannot be absent in the role of mercy.

The compassion of the heart manages to break the barrier of indifference that envelops the existential peripheries of our society. In the second part of the Bull, Pope Francis offers some practical indications for living the extraordinary Jubilee in spiritual fullness: making a pilgrimage, because «mercy is a goal to be achieved which requires commitment and sacrifice; do not judge and do not condemn, staying away from jealousy and envy" thus becoming instruments of forgiveness; open our hearts to the existential periphery, bringing consolation and solidarity to those who, in today's world, live precariously, in indifference, deprived of dignity, in solitary suffering and without any rights. Among the goals of the Year of Mercy there is also the encounter with religions and other noble religious traditions; so that «it makes us more open to dialogue to better know and understand each other; eliminate all forms of closure and contempt and expel all forms of violence and discrimination."

Pope Francis wished to begin the Year of Mercy on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Bull of Indiction ends with a reference to Mary, "Mother of Mercy", "Ark of the Covenant between God and men", She who "attests that the mercy of the Son of God knows no boundaries and reaches everyone", without exclusions and that the future of humanity "is imbued with mercy".