Indulgences are available all the time for specific acts under specific conditions, but during a Jubilee Year, there are even more ways to obtain them, and more are available. (See “How many indulgences may I obtain?” in the FAQs below).
DECREE ON THE
GRANTING OF THE INDULGENCEDURING THE ORDINARY JUBILEE YEAR 2025
CALLED BY HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
“Now the time has come for a new Jubilee, when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God” (Spes non confundit, 6). In the Bull announcing the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, at a moment in history in which “heedless of the horrors of the past, humanity is confronting yet another ordeal, as many peoples are prey to brutality and violence” (Spes non confundit, 8), the Holy Father calls on all Christians to become pilgrims of hope…”
To find out how to obtain a Jubilee Indulgence, click here to continue reading the decree on the Vatican website.
The Decree on The Granting of the Indulgence During the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 is linked in the green panel above, and provides a comprehensive look at what is on offer and some of the rich theology behind it.
The FAQs below provide information about what indulgences are, and how they are usually obtained, and then provides a summary of the key take-aways from the Decree for the Jubilee Year.
The indulgence is a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy… an expression of the fullness of God’s forgiveness, which knows no bounds.
– Pope Francis, Spes non confundit, #23.
We know that, when we participate in the Sacrament of Penance, we can be assured that God reconciles us to himself through the ministry of the Church – he forgives us, and our sins are wiped away.
Even thought we’ve been forgiven, the actions of our past change us in ways we don’t always see:
Still, as we know from personal experience, every sin “leaves its mark”. Sin has consequences, not only outwardly in the effects of the wrong we do, but also inwardly, inasmuch as “every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death, in the state called Purgatory”. In our humanity, weak and attracted by evil, certain residual effects of sin remain. These are removed by the indulgence, always by the grace of Christ
– Pope Francis, Spes non confundit, #23.
And so what is an indulgence?
It is a special action of Christ’s grace that accomplishes the removal of the after-effects of sin on us, a deep healing. Where indulgences are attained, the healing that would otherwise need to have been brought about in purgatory is no longer required.
In both Canon Law, and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the specific words used are:
“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”
– Code of Canon Law, #992. Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1471.
There are 2 types of indulgences: Plenary Indulgences, and Partial Indulgences
An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due sin. A Plenary Indulgence is the type of indulgence that accomplishes complete remission of temporal punishment, for all sin ever committed.
The state of the person’s soul who has just obtained a Plenary Indulgence is as if they had just been baptised!
An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due sin. A Partial Indulgence does not accomplish complete remission, but partial.
Every little bit helps!
Yes… but only for deceased people – for the holy souls in purgatory.
Ordinarily, one indulgence is permitted each day, and this can be obtained either for oneself or for a deceased person.
During the ordinary Jubilee Year of 2025, a person is permitted to obtain a second indulgence for a deceased person as an exercise of mercy, under specific conditions – see Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025, “part III – works of mercy and penance” for the conditions under which this can be done
Ordinarily, a Plenary Indulgence is limited to only one per day, and there are no limits on the number of Partial Indulgences that can be obtained.
A special grace has been extended for the Jubilee Year where a second Plenary Indulgence can be obtained within a single day… but not for oneself. c.f. Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025, “part III – works of mercy and penance”. In brief, the first plenary indulgence obtained on a given day may be obtained either for yourself, or for one of the holy souls in purgatory. The second plenary indulgence obtained on that same day, through the course of the Holy Year, may be obtained for one of the holy souls in purgatory.
The conditions for obtaining this second plenary indulgence are:
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Purgatory is described as “the Final Purification.”
Purgatory is that stage after death, but before heaven, that is reserved for all who die in God’s grace and friendship, but are suffering from the after-effects of sins they have committed in the past. This final purification heals them of those after-effects, leaving the person perfectly disposed to receive the fullness of union with God in heaven. St Gregory the Great describes it as “a purifying fire” and the Scriptural basis of the teaching can be found in 2 Maccabees. The detailed teachings as they are now understood were formalised in the Councils of Florence and Trent.
Just as Pope Francis has explained in Spes non Confundit that every sin “leaves its mark” – these after-effects of sin, that endure even after the sin has been forgiven, need to be healed so that we are able to receive the fullness of God in heaven. We are taught that this time of purification involves a painful longing for heaven, but never without the hope of heaven.
Understanding this helps us to realise just what a special, merciful gift a Plenary Indulgence is!
Sure! During the Holy Year, in addition to all the existing ways of obtaining indulgences, there are provisions for a range of special Jubilee Indulgences that are available to the faithful. To obtain them, all the “usual conditions” apply, in addition to carrying out specific acts. To obtain a Jubilee Indulgence, carry out ONE act from the first list, also performing ALL items on the second list, below.
Acts to obtain a Jubilee Indulgence:
General Conditions for a Plenary Indulgence:
* This condition is very tricky one! Most of us are generally still attached in some way to sinful habits… but the good news is that even if in our weakness we still have some attachment, whilst we don’t merit the Plenary Indulgence, we still receive a Partial Indulgence. Our efforts to respond to God’s grace are NEVER wasted!
** One confession suffices for several indulgences on the days either before or after confession – typically you should aim to get to confession one week either side of the indulgence act. It is important that the Eucharist is received distinctly for each indulgence.