SPES NON CONFUNDIT. “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). In the spirit of hope, the Apostle Paul addressed these words of encouragement to the Christian community of Rome. [...] My thoughts turn to all those pilgrims of hope who will travel to Rome in order to experience the Holy Year and to all those others who, though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their local Churches. For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7,9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1)
— Pope Francis, Spes Non Confundit, Bull of Indiction of The Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025
JUBILEE GRACE:
PLENARY INDULGENCE
On May 13, 2024, the Apostolic Penitentiary issued a decree on the plenary indulgence which may be obtained during the Jubilee Year by making a pilgrimage, piously visiting a sacred place, or performing a work of mercy and penance.
"'The Holy Father declares that the gift of the Indulgence is a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy. Not by chance, for the ancients, the terms "mercy" and "indulgence" were interchangeable, as expressions of the fullness of God’s forgiveness, which knows no bounds' (Spes non confundit, 23). The Indulgence, therefore, is a Jubilee grace." (Decree on the Granting of the Indulgence During the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 Called by His Holiness Pope Francis)
The Decree states that the Jubilee indulgence may be obtained by “visiting the Cathedral or other church or sacred place designated by the local Ordinary.” In addition to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the city of Denver, the following sites in the Archdiocese of Denver are designated as pilgrimage sites in the Jubilee Year 2025.
St. Stephen Church in Glenwood Springs
Holy Name Church in Steamboat Springs
Our Lady of Peace Church in Silverthorne
St. John the Evangelist Church in Loveland
St. Francis of Assisi Church in Longmont
St. Helena Church in Fort Morgan
St. Anthony Church in Sterling
The Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden
A summary of the different ways to obtain the Jubilee indulgence as specified by the decree:
PILGRIMAGES
An indulgence may be received by those who travel to any sacred Jubilee site and participate in a Mass, a Liturgy of the Word, one of the major hours from the Liturgy of the Hours (Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, or Evening Prayer), devotional prayers such as the Way of the Cross, the Rosary, the Akathist hymn, or a penance service that ends with sacramental confession.
PIOUS VISITS
In addition to pilgrimages, the Jubilee indulgence may also be obtained by piously visiting a Jubilee site and engaging in Eucharistic adoration and meditation for a suitable period of time, concluding with an Our Father, a Profession of Faith, and invocations to Mary. It should be noted that adoration can either be done in the context of Eucharistic Exposition with a monstrance, but adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle also suffices for the indulgence.
FOR THOSE UNABLE TO TRAVEL
Those who are unable to take part in pilgrimages or pious visits for serious reasons, such as cloistered religious, the elderly, the sick and those who care for them, or the imprisoned, may obtain the indulgence by uniting themselves in spirit with those making pilgrimages or pious visits, reciting an Our Father, a Profession of Faith, and other prayers in harmony with the purpose of the Jubilee year, and offering up their sufferings and hardships to the Lord.
WORKS OF MERCY AND PENANCE
The section of the decree on the performance of works of mercy and penance provide the most varied opportunities to obtain the Jubilee indulgence. Among these, the performance of the corporal works of mercy (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) and spiritual works of mercy (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) are encouraged. Additionally, while a plenary indulgence may normally be obtained only once a day, during the Jubilee year a second plenary indulgence can be received in a day if the faithful carry out an act of charity on behalf of the souls in Purgatory and receive Holy Communion a second time in the context of Mass on that same day.
The decree also gives two other ways that the Jubilee indulgence may be obtained under this section. The first is attending certain formational events, such as participating in popular missions, spiritual exercises, or formation activities on the documents of Vatican II or the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The other is participating in certain penitential practices. Some examples that the decree gives for penitential practices includes: abstaining at least for one day of the week from futile distractions (e.g. the use of the media and/or social networks), from superfluous consumption, donating a proportionate sum of money to the poor or supporting works of a religious or social nature, especially in support of the defense and protection of life in all its phases, supporting the quality of life of marginalized peoples (abandoned children, young people in difficulty, the needy or lonely elderly people, or migrants). Another penitential practice can also be to dedicate a portion of one’s free time to voluntary activities that are of service to the community.
GENERAL NORMS ON A PLENARY INDULGENCE
For the most part, the norms of the church regarding plenary indulgences is to be followed. In order to obtain a plenary indulgence, in addition to the work done to obtain the indulgence, the person must be in a state of grace and fulfill the following conditions (Manual of Indulgences, Norm 20):
Detachment from all sin, even venial
Sacramental confession
Reception of Holy Communion
Prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father
These three conditions of sacramental confession, reception of Holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father can be fulfilled up to 20 days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is recommended that Communion and the prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father take place on the same day that the work is completed.
A single sacramental confession is sufficient for multiple plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father are required for each plenary indulgence. If only some of the conditions are fulfilled, the indulgence is only a partial one.
A plenary indulgence may be applied to oneself or to a soul in Purgatory. Usually, only one plenary indulgence may be obtained in a day, but for the Jubilee year, a second plenary indulgence a day may be obtained and applied to a soul in Purgatory if an act of charity has been carried out on behalf of said souls. To obtain this second indulgence, the faithful must receive Holy Communion twice on the same day the two acts are done to obtain the indulgences.
Source: Plenary Indulgence available during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025. Office of Liturgy, Archdiocese of Denver.
