How to obtain Indulgences

A Summary of the Decree of May 13, 2024

 

The Jubilee Year invites everyone to an intense experience of God's love. One of the special signs of the Jubilee Year is the granting of indulgences to the faithful - a priceless gift of God's mercy. On May 13, 2024, Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, issued a decree providing Catholics with the opportunity to gain indulgences. One could gain indulgences by making pilgrimages, prayerful visits to specific churches, or by practising works of mercy during the Jubilee Year 2025.

 

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 baptised. 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 (this must take place within the Eucharistic celebration).

 

Conditions for gaining an indulgence

To obtain an indulgence, the usual conditions are: 1) detachment from all sin; 2) sacramental confession and Holy Communion; and 3) 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. Here are some of the many ways one can obtain indulgences during the Jubilee Year 2025:

 

1. Pilgrimages

The faithful, pilgrims of hope, will be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence granted by the Holy Father if they undertake a pious pilgrimage to any sacred Jubilee site by devoutly participating in Holy Mass; or the Anointing of the Sick; or any of the following: a celebration of the Word of God; the Liturgy of the Hours (Office of readings, Lauds, Vespers); the Way of the Cross; the Marian Rosary; a penitential celebration which ends with the individual confessions of the penitents.

 

A. 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 designated churches in Rome. The Apostolic Penitentiary also grants a plenary indulgence specifically for making pilgrimage to certain churches in Rome connected to great female saints.

 

B. In the Archdiocese of Bombay:

Catholics can also gain a plenary indulgence by making a pious pilgrimage to the following

pilgrimage centres designated by Oswald Cardinal Gracias:

1) The Cathedral of the Holy Name, Fort, Mumbai;

2) Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Bandra, Mumbai;

3) Our Lady of Vailankanni Shrine, Bhate-Bunder, Uttan; and

4) Our Lady of Fatima Church, Karjat.

 

II. Pious visits to sacred places

The faithful can also obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if, individually or in a group, they devoutly visit any Jubilee site, as mentioned above, and there, for a suitable period of time, engage in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith, and invocations to Mary, the Mother of God.

 

III. Perform works of mercy and penance

a) In addition, the faithful will be able to obtain the 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.

 

b) Indulgence is also linked to certain corporal works of mercy, such as: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. It is also linked to the spiritual works of mercy, i.e. to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead.

 

c) The faithful will also be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if they visit, for an appropriate amount of time, their brothers and sisters who are in need or in difficulty, i.e. the sick, prisoners, lonely elderly people, disabled people, etc. ("as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" Mt 25:40). The faithful can repeat these visits throughout the Holy Year, even daily, acquiring a plenary indulgence each time.

 

d) Acts of penance can also obtain a plenary indulgence. The Vatican lists several options, such as: i) abstaining for at least one day a week from "futile distractions," such as social media or television;

ii) by fasting from foods or practising abstinence according to the general norms of the Church, as well as almsgiving;

iii) by supporting works of a religious or social nature, i.e. protection of life in all its phases; bolstering the quality of life of abandoned children; helping young people in difficulty, the needy or lonely elderly people, or migrants "who leave their homelands behind in search of a better life for themselves and for their families." It can also be obtained by dedicating a reasonable portion of one's free time to voluntary activities that are of service to the community.

 

✠ Dominic Savio Fernandes

Archdiocesan Coordinator for Jubilee 2025