What is an Indulgence?
"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" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1471).
An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.
An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.
Who can gain an Indulgence?
To be capable of gaining an indulgence for oneself, it is required that one be baptized, not excommunicated, in the state of grace at least at the completion of the prescribed works, and a subject of the one granting the indulgence.
You can gain a Plenary Indulgence for yourself or for a deceased person. But not for another living person, they have to get it for themselves.
You can gain a Plenary Indulgence for yourself or for a deceased person. But not for another living person, they have to get it for themselves.
What steps do I need to take?
By special grant of the Apostolic Penitentiary, those individuals who undertake the Holy Thursday Pilgrimage this year can gain a plenary indulgence under the normal circumstances, namely, the individual:
- must be in the state of grace, at least at the time the pilgrimage is completed;
- participate in the pilgrimage, spending time at each location in prayer; (For those who are unable to undertake the pilgrimage due to illness, advanced age or circumstance, they may fulfill the work of the pilgrimage by piously reciting the verses of the Tantum ergo after the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday during the solemn reposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament.)
- must have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin;
- must have sacramentally confessed his/her sins, that is, receive the Sacrament of Penance (preferably one week before or after the pilgrimage);
- must receive the Holy Eucharist (preferably at Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper);
- must pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.