What are indulgences?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints” (No. 1471).
Through indulgences, the infinite merits of Christ, as well as the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints, are applied to our purification in this life or the life to come (in purgatory).
A plenary indulgence removes all of the temporal punishment due to sins (“plenary” means full or complete). Other indulgences are known simply as partial indulgences.
Those obtaining a plenary or partial indulgence can choose to apply it either to themselves or to the souls of deceased persons.
What conditions must be met to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence?
To obtain any indulgence, one must intend to gain the indulgence via the prescribed work.
One must also be baptized, be in a state of grace, and not be excommunicated.
In order to obtain the Jubilee plenary indulgences, all the following conditions must also be met:
1.) Being truly repentant and receiving sacramental absolution in the Sacrament of Penance
2.) Reception of holy Communion
3.) Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father on the same day as the indulgenced work, either through the recitation of one Our Father and one Hail Mary or through the recitation of another appropriate prayer for the pope’s intentions (such as Pope Francis’ Jubilee Prayer)
4.) The exclusion of all attachment to sin, even venial sin. (If this condition is not met, one can still receive a partial indulgence from the prescribed work.)
The first two actions (confession and Communion) may be fulfilled within 20 days before or after the indulgence opportunity. However, it is most appropriate if they are done on the same day as the prescribed work.
A single sacramental confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but separately receiving Communion is required for each indulgence. Only one plenary indulgence can be obtained each day, however, Pope Francis has made a special exception for the Jubilee Year. The Holy Father has decreed that during the Jubilee Year the faithful who carry out an act of charity on behalf of the souls in purgatory and receive holy Communion during Mass a second time on that day may receive the plenary indulgence a second time, though the second indulgence can be applied only to the deceased.
What opportunities will there be to obtain a plenary indulgence during the Jubilee Year?
A. Pilgrimages and Visits to Churches
During the Jubilee Year, in addition to the aforementioned places of pilgrimage, the following sacred places may also be visited under the same conditions:
In Rome:
- The Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican
- The Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran
- The Basilica of Saint Mary Major
- The Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls
- The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem
- The Basilica of St Lawrence at the Verano
- The Basilica of St Sebastian
- The Sanctuary of Divine Love (the ‘Divino Amore’)
- The Church of the Holy Spirit in Sassia
- The Church of St Paul at the Tre Fontane, (the site of the Martyrdom of the Apostle)
- The Roman Catacombs
- The churches of the Jubilee Pathways dedicated respectively to the Iter Europaeum and to the Female Patrons of Europe and Doctors of the Church (the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and the churches of St Brigid at Campo de’ Fiori, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Trinità dei Monti, the Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere, and the Basilica of Sant’Augustine in Campo Marzio).
In the Holy Land:
- The Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
- The Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem
- The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth
Other places in the world:
- The Basilica of of St Francis in Assisi, Italy
- The Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi, Italy
- The Basilica of Our Lady of Loreto in Loreto, Italy
- The Basilica of Our Lady of Pompeii in Pompeii, Italy
- The Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy
- Any minor basilica
- Any cathedral church
- Any co-cathedral church
- Any Marian sanctuary
- Any churches or shrines designated by the diocesan bishop or eparch for the benefit of the faithful
- Any national or international sanctuaries, “sacred places of welcome and privileged spaces for the rebirth of hope” (Spes non confundit, 24), as indicated by episcopal conferences.
The faithful who undertake a “pious pilgrimage” to any of the above specially designated Jubilee churches can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence by devoutly participating in any of the following:
• Holy Mass
• A celebration of the Word of God
• The Liturgy of the Hours (Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, or Evening Prayer)
• The Way of the Cross
• The Rosary
• The recitation of the Akathist hymn (an Eastern Catholic hymn)
• A penance service, which ends with the individual confessions of the penitents.
The faithful can also obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if, individually or in a group, they devoutly visit any of the Jubilee churches and there spend time in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with all the following:
• The Our Father
• The Profession of Faith in any approved form (e.g., Nicene or Apostles’ Creed)
And invocations to Mary, the Mother of God (e.g., the Hail Mary).
B. For the Sick, Imprisoned, Homebound, etc.
The faithful who are truly repentant of sin but who cannot participate in the various solemn celebrations, pilgrimages, or pious visits for serious reasons (including the elderly, the sick, prisoners, and those who, through their work in hospitals or other care facilities, provide continuous service to the sick), can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence under the same conditions, united in spirit with the faithful taking part in person, if they offer up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives, and also recite all the following:
• The Our Father
• The Profession of Faith in any approved form (e.g., Nicene or Apostles’ Creed)
• And other prayers in conformity with the objectives of the Holy Year (e.g., Pope Francis’ Jubilee Prayer).
C. Works of Mercy and Penance
In addition, the faithful will be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence in any of the following ways:
• If, with a devout spirit, they participate in popular missions, spiritual exercises, or formation activities on the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, held in a church or other suitable place.
• If the faithful carry out corporal or spiritual works of mercy by visiting, for an appropriate amount of time, their brothers and sisters who are in need or in difficulty (the sick, prisoners, lonely elderly people, disabled people, etc.), in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them (cf. Mt 25:34-36).
• Through initiatives that put into practice, in a concrete and generous way, the spirit of penance:
1. In particular, the penitential nature of Friday can be rediscovered through abstaining for at least one day of the week from:
– Futile distractions (real but also virtual distractions, for example, the use of the media and/or social networks)
– Or superfluous consumption (for example by fasting or practicing abstinence according to the general norms of the Church and the indications of the bishops), as well as by donating a proportionate sum of money to the poor.
2. By supporting works of a religious or social nature, especially in support of the defense and protection of life in all its phases, but also by supporting the quality of life of abandoned children, young people in difficulty, the needy or lonely elderly people, or migrants from various countries “who leave their homelands behind in search of a better life for themselves and for their families” (Spes Non Confundit, No. 13)
3. By dedicating a reasonable portion of one’s free time to voluntary activities that are of service to the community or to other similar forms of personal commitment.
This text, reprinted with permission, has been modified from an original publication by Today’s Catholic newspaper of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
