Plenary Indulgences

An Indulgence during the Jubilee Year is meant to grant the faithful a special opportunity for spiritual renewal and the remission of temporal punishment due to sin.

In Catholic teaching, indulgences do not forgive sins themselves (that is done through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Repentance) but help lessen the consequences of sin in this life or in Purgatory.

The purpose of these indulgences is to encourage deeper conversion, a renewed commitment to faith, and a more profound experience of God’s mercy. Father Ivano Millico in a CTS booklet “Words of Hope” says the following:

“What an indulgence says is that we are not alone along our journey and we cannot be saved on our own! The Church is a body, the Body of Christ; his suffering, death and resurrection and ascension make up, so to speak, a “treasury” of mercy, graces and hope. An indulgence opens this treasury for us”.

A Spiritual Gift

A common misconception is that plenary indulgences are a “get out of jail free card” or a way to buy forgiveness, when they are actually a spiritual gift from the Church that helps atone for temporal punishment due to sin.

What Plenary Indulgences ARE NOT:

  • A permission to sin: Indulgences do not grant permission to commit sin or pardon future sins.
  • A purchase of salvation: They are not a way to buy forgiveness or escape eternal punishment.
  • A reduction in time spent in purgatory: While they can remit temporal punishment due to sin, they do not guarantee a specific reduction in time spent in purgatory.
  • A financial transaction: The Church has made it clear that there should never be fees or financial transactions involved in obtaining an indulgence.

Open this Treasury

What Plenary Indulgences ARE:

  • A spiritual gift from the Church: Indulgences are a special spiritual favour granted by the Church to help believers atone for temporal punishment due to sin.
  • A way to apply the merits of Christ and the saints: Indulgences are granted through the merits of Christ and the saints, helping believers to make amends for their sins.
  • A means of spiritual purification: They encourage believers to deepen their faith and draw closer to God through prayer, penance, and good works.
  • A way to help the souls in purgatory: Plenary indulgences can be obtained for oneself or for the deceased, helping to alleviate the temporal punishment they may still be undergoing.
  • A way to participate in the Church’s mission: By seeking indulgences, believers can actively participate in the Church’s mission of reconciliation and salvation.

Obtain a Plenary Indulgence

You can obtain your Plenary Indulgence by:

  • Going on a Pilgrimage: Visit one of the Jubilee 2025 churches.
  • Confess your sins: Make a sacramental confession within 20 days before or after the act for which the indulgence is sought.
  • Receive Holy Communion: Participate in Holy Communion within 20 days before or after the act.
  • Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father: Pray for the pope’s intentions.
  • Perform a specific pious act: This could include visiting a church, praying for the dead, or participating in a pilgrimage.
  • Have a contrite heart: Approach the indulgence with a sincere desire to please God and make amends for your sins

General Conditions

The General Conditions for Plenary Indulgences are as follows:

  1. This is how an indulgence is defined in the Code of Canon Law (can. 992) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471):
    “An indulgence is 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”
  2. In general, the gaining of indulgences requires certain prescribed conditions (see below), and the performance of certain prescribed works ….. [in this case, those granted for the Jubilee Year of Hope]
  3. To gain indulgences, whether plenary or partial, it is necessary that the faithful be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed.  [i.e. one must be a Catholic, not excommunicated or in schism.]
  4. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. In order to obtain it, the faithful must, in addition to being in the state of grace:
    • have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin;
    • have sacramentally confessed their sins;
    • receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required);
    • pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.
  5. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary” are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions are required for each plenary indulgence
  6. For the sake of those legitimately impeded, confessors can commute both the work prescribed and the conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even venial sin).
  7. Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.