Opportunities for plenary indulgences continue in 2025 Jubilee Year

Criterion staff report

During the Jubilee Year of Hope, which concludes on Jan. 6, 2026, the Church is offering the opportunity to receive plenary indulgences—the remission “of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1471).

The “Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee” explains that these jubilee indulgences are a “grace [which] allows us to discover how limitless God’s mercy is.”

Only one plenary indulgence may be received per day and can be applied to the person or the soul of a deceased person, but not toward those who are living.

Following is a reminder of the ways and requirements for obtaining plenary indulgences as the jubilee year continues.

Spiritual, prayer and sacramental requirements for each indulgence sought

Spiritual: Have no attachment to sin. In other words, desire not just to avoid sin but to love what is good and pleasing to God and to detest what is evil and sinful.

Prayer: Make a profession of faith (either the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed) and pray an Our Father for the pope’s intentions and for the pope himself.

Sacramental: Participate in the sacrament of penance during a period either 20 days before or after the plenary indulgence act (see below). A single participation in the sacrament of penance can apply to any plenary indulgence act 20 days before or after going to confession. (Note: This particular requirement does not apply to those who are confined at home or elsewhere, as described below.)

Ways to obtain a jubilee plenary indulgence, per May 2024 Vatican decree

1) Visit a designated pilgrimage site

Pilgrimage sites have been designated in Rome and in dioceses around the world. A plenary indulgence can be obtained by visiting one of these sites and participating in Mass or any other public prayer, a time of adoration or a rosary while there, in addition to the spiritual, prayer and sacramental requirements listed above.

In the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, three locations have been designated as jubilee pilgrimage sites:

• SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral and chapel, 1347 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis
• The Shrine of St. Theodora Guérin and the Church of the Immaculate Conception, 1 Sisters of Providence Road, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, St. Mary of the Woods
• Saint Meinrad Archabbey Church, 200 Hill Dr., St. Meinrad.
   

2) Alternative for those unable to visit a pilgrimage site.

Those “who are truly repentant of sin” but unable to visit a jubilee pilgrimage site—“especially cloistered nuns and monks, but also the elderly, the sick, prisoners and those who, through their work in hospitals or other care facilities, provide continuous service to the sick”—can obtain the jubilee indulgence “in their homes or wherever they are confined” by making a profession of faith [the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed] and praying the Our Father for the pope’s intentions and for the pope himself, “offering up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives.”
 

3) Visiting those in need

A jubilee plenary indulgence can be obtained by visiting “for an appropriate amount of time, brothers and sisters who are in need or in difficulty [the sick, prisoners, lonely elderly people, disabled people ...], in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them.” The spiritual, prayer and sacramental requirements listed above apply to each visit.
 

4) Performing acts of penance

The decree states that penance is, “in a sense, the soul of the jubilee.”

Therefore, with each act accompanied by the spiritual, prayer and sacramental requirements listed above, a jubilee plenary indulgence can be obtained by:

—“abstaining, in a spirit of penance, at least for one day of the week from futile distractions [real but also virtual distractions, for example, the use of the media and/or social networks], from superfluous consumption [for example by fasting or practicing abstinence according to the general norms of the Church and the indications of the Bishops];

—“by donating a proportionate sum of money to the poor;

—“by supporting works of a religious or social nature, especially in support of the defense and protection of life in all its phases, but also by supporting the quality of life of abandoned children, young people in difficulty, the needy or lonely elderly people, or migrants from various countries ‘who leave their homelands behind in search of a better life for themselves and for their families’ [“Spes non confundit,” #13];” or

—“by dedicating a reasonable portion of one’s free time to voluntary activities that are of service to the community or to other similar forms of personal commitment.” †