How to obtain a plenary indulgence during the 2025
Jubilee
Pope Francis opens the
Holy Doors at St. Peter's Basilica to begin the Year of Mercy, Dec. 8, 2015. |
Credit: L'Osservatore Romano
Rome Newsroom, May 13, 2024 / 14:43 pm
The Vatican issued a decree on Monday outlining the many
ways that Catholics can obtain a plenary indulgence during the 2025 Jubilee
Year.
The decree signed on May 13 by Cardinal Angelo
De Donatis, the new head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, provides Catholics with
the opportunity to gain indulgences by making pilgrimages, prayerful visits to
specific churches, or by practicing works of mercy during the holy year.
A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic
Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due
to sin.
The indulgence applies to sins already forgiven. A plenary
indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized. Plenary
indulgences obtained during the Jubilee Year can also be applied to souls in
purgatory with the possibility of obtaining two plenary indulgences for the
deceased in one day, according to the Apostolic Penitentiary.
To obtain an indulgence, the usual conditions of detachment
from all sin, sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the
intentions of the pope must be met. (See end of article for more on this.)
Here are some of the many ways one can obtain indulgences
during the 2025 Jubilee Year:
Make a pilgrimage to Rome
Catholics who make a pilgrimage to Rome during the 2025
Jubilee Year can obtain a plenary indulgence by visiting at least one of the
four major papal basilicas: St. Peter’s Basilica, the Archbasilica of St. John
Lateran, St. Mary Major, or St. Paul Outside the Walls.
In addition, an indulgence can be obtained by spending time
in prayer in several other churches in Rome:
- Rome’s
Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem
- Basilica
of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls
- Basilica
of St. Sebastian
- Sanctuary
of Divine Love (the “Divino Amore”)
- Church
of the Holy Spirit in Sassia
- Church
of St. Paul at Tre Fontane (the site of St. Paul’s martyrdom)
- The
Roman Catacombs
The Apostolic Penitentiary also grants a plenary indulgences
specifically for making pilgrimage to churches in Rome connected to great
female saints:
- Basilica
of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva (tomb of St. Catherine of Siena)
- St.
Brigid at Campo de’ Fiori (St. Brigid of Sweden)
- Santa
Maria della Vittoria (St. Teresa of Ávila)
- Trinità
dei Monti (St. Thérèse of Liseux)
- Basilica
of St. Cecilia in Trastevere (St. Cecilia)
- Basilica
of Sant’Augustino in Campo Marzio (St. Monica)
Perform works of
mercy
The jubilee year is a time when Catholics are especially
encouraged to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Apostolic
Penitentiary lists visiting prisoners, spending time with lonely elderly
people, aiding the sick or disabled, and helping those who are in need as
instances to obtain an indulgence. Practicing the works of mercy, it says, is
“in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them.”
Indulgences for works of mercy can be received multiple
times throughout the jubilee year, even daily, according to the decree.
If the indulgence is being applied to the deceased, two
plenary indulgences can be obtained on the same day.
The decree says: “Despite the rule that only one plenary
indulgence can be obtained per day, the faithful who have carried out an act of
charity on behalf of the souls in purgatory, if they receive holy Communion a
second time that day, can obtain the plenary indulgence twice on the same day,
applicable only to the deceased.”
Fast from social media, defend life, volunteer
Acts of penance can also obtain a plenary indulgence. The
Vatican lists several options, including:
- Abstaining
for at least one day a week from “futile distractions,” such as social
media or television
- Fasting
- Donating
“a proportionate sum of money to the poor”
- Supporting
religious or social works, especially in the defense of life in all phases
- Offering
support to migrants, the elderly, the poor, young people in difficulty,
and abandoned children
- Volunteering
in service to your community
“The jubilee plenary indulgence can also be obtained through
initiatives that put into practice, in a concrete and generous way, the spirit
of penance which is, in a sense, the soul of the jubilee,” the decree states.
Visit your local
cathedral
Catholics can also gain a plenary indulgence by making a
pious pilgrimage to their cathedral or to another church or shrine selected by
the local bishop.
The Apostolic Penitentiary asks bishops to “take into
account the needs of the faithful as well as the opportunity to reinforce the
concept of pilgrimage with all its symbolic significance, so as to manifest the
great need for conversion and reconciliation.”
Vatican II formation
The Vatican decree also says that Catholics can get a
jubilee indulgence “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, according to the mind of the Holy Father.”
Pray in these basilicas
In addition to the churches already listed, other sacred
places around the world have also been designated as places of pilgrimage where
one can obtain a plenary indulgence:
In Italy:
- Basilica
of St. Francis of Assisi
- Basilica
of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi
- Basilica
of Our Lady of Loreto
- Basilica
of Our Lady of Pompeii
- Basilica
in St. Anthony in Padua
In the Holy Land:
- Basilica
of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
- Basilica
of the Nativity in Bethlehem
- Basilica
of the Annunciation in Nazareth
The decree further indicates that “any minor basilica,
cathedral church, co-cathedral church, Marian sanctuary, any distinguished
collegiate church or sanctuary designated by the diocesan bishop or Eparchy for
the benefit of the faithful” can be designated. Bishops’ conferences can also
indicate national or international sanctuaries as sacred sites for a jubilee
indulgence.
Conditions in all cases
In order to obtain any of the plenary indulgences listed
above, the following conditions must be fulfilled:
1. Detachment from all sin, even venial.
2. Sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for
the intentions of the pope. These three conditions can be fulfilled a few days
before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is
appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the
work is completed.
A single sacramental confession is sufficient for several
plenary indulgences, but frequent sacramental confession is encouraged in order
to obtain the grace of deeper conversion and purity of heart.
For each plenary indulgence that is sought, however, a
separate holy Communion and a separate prayer for the intentions of the Holy
Father are required.
The prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father is left up
to the choice of the individual, but an Our Father and Hail Mary are suggested.
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