Church grants plenary indulgence
for year of St. Joseph
The Apostolic Penitentiary issues a Decree granting plenary
indulgences for the year of St. Joseph proclaimed by Pope Francis on Tuesday.
The special year will last from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021.
By Vatican News staff writer
Pope Francis on Tuesday announced a special year dedicated
to St. Joseph starting from 8 December 2020 until 8 December 2021, on the
occasion of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as the
Patron of the Universal Church, as well as the Solemnity of the Immaculate
Conception of Our Lady.
The Apostolic Penitentiary also issued a decree granting
special indulgences for the duration of the special year to celebrate the
anniversary and “to perpetuate the entrustment of the whole Church to the
powerful patronage of the Custodian of Jesus.”
During this period, the faithful will have the opportunity
to commit themselves “with prayer and good works, to obtain, with the help of
St. Joseph, head of the heavenly Family of Nazareth, comfort and relief from
the serious human and social tribulations that besiege the contemporary world
today.”
Devotion to St. Joseph
The decree signed by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, the Major
Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, and the Regent, Fr. Krzysztof
Nykiel, notes that devotion to St. Joseph has grown extensively throughout the
history of the Church, “which not only attributes to him high reverence after
that of the Mother of God his spouse but has also given him multiple
patronages.”
At the same time, the Magisterium of the Church continues to
discover “old and new greatness in this treasure which is St. Joseph, like the
master in the Gospel of Matthew who brings from his storeroom both the new and
the old.”
Therefore, the gift of indulgences granted through a decree
of the Apostolic Penitentiary by mandate of the Holy Father “will be of great
benefit to the perfect attainment of the appointed purpose.”
Conditions for the plenary indulgence
The plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful under the
usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for
the Pope’s intentions) to Christians who, with a spirit detached from any sin,
participate in the Year of St. Joseph on these occasions and manners indicated
by the Apostolic Penitentiary:
- The plenary indulgence
is granted to those who will meditate for at least 30 minutes on the Lord’s
Prayer, or take part in a Spiritual Retreat of at least one day that includes a
meditation on St. Joseph. “St. Joseph, an authentic man of faith, invites us”,
the decree reads, “to rediscover our filial relationship with the Father, to renew
fidelity to prayer, to listen and correspond with profound discernment to God’s
will.”
- The indulgence can
also be obtained by those who, following St. Joseph’s example, will perform a
spiritual or corporal work of mercy. St. Joseph “encourages us to rediscover
the value of silence, prudence and loyalty in carrying out our duties,” the
decree notes.
- The recitation of the
Holy Rosary in families and among engaged couples is another way of obtaining
indulgences, in order that “all Christian families may be stimulated to
recreate the same atmosphere of intimate communion, love and prayer that was in
the Holy Family.”
- Everyone who entrusts
their daily activity to the protection of St. Joseph, and every faithful who
invokes the intercession of St. Joseph so that those seeking work can find
dignifying work can also obtain the plenary indulgence. On 1 May 1955, Pope
Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph “with the intent that the dignity
of work be recognized by all, and that it inspires social life and laws, based
on the fair distribution of rights and duties.”
- The plenary indulgence
is also granted to the faithful who will recite the Litany to St. Joseph (for
the Latin tradition), or the Akathistos to St. Joseph (for the
Byzantine tradition), or any other prayer to St. Joseph proper to the other
liturgical traditions, for the persecuted Church ad intra and ad
extra, and for the relief of all Christians suffering all forms of
persecution. Because, the decree notes, “the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt
shows us that God is there where man is in danger, where man suffers, where he
runs away, where he experiences rejection and abandonment.”
A universal saint
In addition to these, the Apostolic Penitentiary grants a
plenary indulgence to the faithful who will recite any legitimately approved
prayer or act of piety in honor of St. Joseph, for example, “To you, O blessed
Joseph” especially on “19 March, on 1 May, the Feast of the Holy Family of
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, on St. Joseph’s Sunday (according to the Byzantine
tradition) on the 19th of each month and every Wednesday, a day dedicated
to the memory of the saint according to the Latin tradition.”
The decree recalls the universality of St. Joseph’s
patronage of the Church, noting that St. Teresa of Ávila recognized him as
"a protector for all the circumstances of life". Pope St. John Paul
II also said that St. Joseph has “a renewed relevance for the Church of our
time, in relation to the new Christian millennium.”
For the sick
Amid the ongoing Covid-19 health crisis, the gift of the
plenary indulgence is also extended to the sick, the elderly, the dying and all
those who for legitimate reasons are unable to leave their homes.
They too can obtain the plenary indulgences if they are
detached from any sin and have the intention of fulfilling, as soon as
possible, the three usual conditions and recite an act of piety in honor of St.
Joseph, offering to God the pains and hardships of their lives.
The role of priests
The Apostolic Penitentiary encourages priests to pastorally
facilitate the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance and the administration
of Holy Communion to the sick with a willing and generous spirit.
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