(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 13.05.2024).- Pope Francis proclaimed the Ordinary Jubilee for the year 2025, inviting Christians to be pilgrims of hope in a world marked by adversity. Highlighted in his Bull of convocation is the opening of the Holy Door, to offer the
living experience of the love of God. In this context, the Indulgence associated with the Jubilee acquires special relevance, as expression of Divine Mercy, which frees the forgiven sinner from the consequences of sin.
The Apostolic Penitentiary published a Decree “about the concession of Indulgences during the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025,” in which the ways are established to obtain Indulgences during the Jubilee.
In pilgrimages to one of the following places:
1.To any Jubilee sacred place: participating devotedly in the Holy Mass (as long as the liturgical norms permit it, the Mass proper to the Jubilee itself can be used or a Votive Mass: for reconciliation, for the forgiveness of sins, to ask for charity and to foment concord); in a Ritual Mass to confer the Sacraments of Christian Initiation or the Anointing of the Sick; in the Celebration of the Word of God; in the Liturgy of the Hours (Office of Readings, Lauds, Vespers); in the Via Crucis; in the Marian Rosary; in the Akathistos Hymn; in a penitential celebration, which ends with the individual confession of penitents, as established in the Rite of Penance (Form II);
2.In Rome: in at least one of the four Major Papal Basilicas: Saint Peter’s in the Vatican, the Most Holy Saviour in the Lateran, Saint Mary Major, and Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls;
3.In the Holy Land: in at least one of the three Basilicas: of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, of the Nativity in Bethlehem, of the Annunciation in Nazareth;
4.In other ecclesiastical circumscriptions: in a Cathedral Church or other churches and sacred places designated by the Ordinary of the place. The Bishops will take into account the needs of the faithful, as well as the opportunity itself to keep intact the meaning of the pilgrimage with all its symbolic force, able to manifest the urgent need of conversion and reconciliation.
In pious visits (individual or in groups) to sacred places:
Conditions: an appropriate period of time, engaged in Eucharistic Adoration and meditation, ending with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form and invocations to Mary, Mother of God, so that in this Holy Year everyone “can experience the closeness of the most affectionate of mothers, who never abandons her children.”
5.In Rome: the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, the Basilica of Saint Lawrence al Verano, the Basilica of Saint Sebastian (highly recommended is the devout visit called “of the seven Churches,” so loved by Saint Philip Neri), the Shrine of Divine Love, the Church of the Holy Spirit in Sassia, the Church of Saint Paul alle Tre Fontane, the place of the martyrdom of the Apostle; the Christian Catacombs; the churches of Jubilee roads dedicated, respectively, to the Iter Europaeum and the churches dedicated Women Patronesses of Europe and Doctors of the Church (Basilica of Saint Mary sopra Minerva, the Church of Saint Bridget in Campo de’ Fiori, the Church of Saint Mary of Victory, the Church of Trinità dei Monti, the Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere, the Basilica of Saint Augustine in Campo Marzio)
6.In other places of the world: the two Minor Papal Basilicas of Assisi: of Saint Francis and of Saint Mary of the Angels; the Papal Basilicas of the Virgin of Loreto, of the Virgin of Pompeii, of Saint Anthony of Padua, any Minor Basilica, Cathedral Church, Co-Cathedral Church, Marian Shrines as well as — for the usefulness of the faithful –, any famous collegiate church or Shrine designated by every diocesan or eparchial Bishop, as well as national and international shrines, “holy places of welcome and privileged spaces to generate hope,” indicated by the Episcopal Conferences.
In works of mercy or penance:
- Popular Missions
- Spiritual Exercises
- Formation meetings on Vatican Council II documents or the Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Those who go “to visit, for an adecuate time, brothers who find themselves in need or in difficulty (the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly alone, people with different capacities . . . ), as though making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them”
11.Abstaining, in a spirit of penance, at least for one day from trivial distractions (real and also virtual, induced, for example, by the media and social networks) and superfluous consumption (for example, fasting or practicing abstinence in keeping with the general norms of the Church and the specifications of Bishops)
12.Giving a proportioned sum of money to the poor
13.Supporting works of a religious or social character, especially in favour of the defense and protection of life at every stage and the quality of the same, of abandoned children, of youth in difficulty, of needy or elderly alone, of migrants of different Countries “that leave their land in search of a better life for themselves and their families”
14.Dedicating an appropriate part of one’s free time to voluntary activities, which are of interest to the community or other similar ways of personal commitment.
In attention to those who cannot take part in solemn celebrations, in pilgrimages and in pious visits for serious reasons (especially all cloistered nuns and monks, the elderly, the sick, inmates, as well as those that give continuous service to the sick in hospitals or other places of care, these will obtain the Jubilee Indulgence, with the same conditions if, united in spirit to the faithful in presence, particularly in the moments in which the words of the Supreme Pontiff or of the diocesan Bishops are broadcast through the media, recite in their own home or where the impediment enables them (for example in the Chapel of the monastery, of the hospital, of the care home, of the prison . . .) the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form and other prayers in keeping with the ends of the Holy Year, offering the sufferings or difficulties of their life.
The Decree provides for a novel exception: to gain two Indulgences on the same day. The Decree states:
“the faithful that have emitted the act of charity in favour of the souls in Purgatory, if they approach legitimately the Sacrament of Communion a second time on the same day, will be able to gain the Plenary Indulgence twice on the same day, applicable only to the deceased.”
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