DECREE
Plenary Indulgence during the Year of Faith
Following upon the Decree given in Rome at the Seat of the Apostolic Penitentiary on September 14, 2012, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and valid solely for the Year of Faith (October 11, 2012 to November 24, 2013), it is hereby established within the Archdiocese of Louisville:
Throughout the Year of Faith all individual members of the faithful; who are truly repentant, have duly received the Sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion and who pray for the intentions of the Holy Father may receive the Plenary Indulgence in one of the ways listed below, in remission of the temporal punishment for their sins, imparted through God’s mercy and for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed:
a) Every time they take part in at least three homilies preached or attend at least three lectures on the Proceedings of the Second Vatican Council and on the Articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in any church or suitable place;
b) Every time they go as pilgrims to a Papal Basilica, a Christian catacomb, a cathedral church, a sacred place designated by the local bishop for the Year of Faith and take part there in some sacred function or at least pause in recollection for a suitable length of time with devout meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, the Profession of Faith (Nicene Creed, Apostles Creed or Baptismal Promises), invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary or, depending on the case, to the Holy Apostles or Patrons Saints;
c) Every time when, on the days determined by the local Ordinary for the Year of Faith, in any sacred place, they take part in a solemn Eucharistic celebration or in the Liturgy of the Hours, adding the Profession of Faith (Nicene Creed, Apostles Creed or Baptismal Promises),
d) Every time they make a devout visit to the baptistery or other place in which they received the Sacrament of Baptism on a day freely chosen during the Year of Faith, if they renew their baptismal promises in the prescribed form.
Faithful who are truly repentant and are unable to take part in the solemn celebrations for serious reasons will gain the Plenary Indulgence on the same conditions, if, united in mind and spirit with the faithful present, especially at a moment when the words of the pope or the archbishop are broadcast via the television or radio, they recite at home or wherever they have to be, the Lord’s Prayer, the Profession of Faith (Nicene Creed, Apostles Creed or Baptismal Promises) and other prayers in conformity with the objectives of the Year of Faith, offering up their suffering or the hardship in their lives (Excepts from the Decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary, September 14, 2012).
Decree rendered by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz for the Archdiocese of Louisville, on January 25, 2013 Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.
Signature of Archbishop Kurtz
Locations in the Archdiocese of Louisville designated by Archbishop Kurtz as the pilgrimage sites:
Cathedral of the Assumption, Louisville
Basilica of St. Joseph, Bardstown
Church of the Annunciation, Shelbyville
St. Augustine Church, Lebanon
St. James Church, Elizabethtown
St. Helen Church, Glasgow
Dates for attendance at Mass or Liturgy of the Hours:
March 19 St. Joseph April 25 St. Mark, Evangelist
May 14 St. Mathias, Apostle
June 3 St. Charles Lwanga and martyrs
July 14 St. Kateri Tekawitha
August 8 St. Dominic
September 9 St. Peter Claver
October 1 St. Therese of the Child Jesus
November 13 St. Frances Cabrini
Frequently- Asked Questions Regarding Indulgences
What is an indulgence?
An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven (Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1471).
What must I do to receive an indulgence?
First, a faithful Christian must fulfill certain conditions --- be truly repentant, receive the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. Then other, particular conditions may apply, for example, visiting a holy pilgrimage site, making a novena, attending Mass for nine First Fridays, etc.
Are there different types of indulgences? A “partial indulgence” removes some temporal punishment due to sin. It is granted three ways – 1) anytime we raise our minds in humble trust to God and make some pious invocation or recite a certain prayer; 2) when, prompted by a spirit of faith, we devote ourselves or our goods in compassionate service to those in need; or 3) when, in a spirit of penitence, we voluntarily abstain from something which is licit for and pleasing to us.
A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment due to sin. The Church has a long list of prayers and activities which provide opportunities to receive a plenary indulgence (cf. The Handbook of Indulgences: Norms and Grants, 1988). And, in this Year of Faith, the Church has published even more opportunities!
Can I get an indulgence for someone else?
Indulgences may be applied to a deceased person (Norms for Indulgences, 3).
Why do we need indulgences?
To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life. One would call this “eternal punishment.” On the other hand every sin, even venial, is unhealthy, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the “temporal punishment” of sin. (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC, 1472).
Why does the Church grant indulgences?
In the communion of saints, a “perennial link of charity” exists between the faithful who already reached their heavenly home, those in purgatory, and those on earth. In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others (1475). We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints “the Church’s treasury.” This does not refer to material goods, but to a treasury of infinite value, which can never be exhausted --- Christ’s merits before God, offered so that the whole of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father (CCC 1476).
This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints. They . . . have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them. In this way they attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving others in the unity of the Mystical Body (Norms for Indulgences, 5).
An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtues of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishment due for their sins (CCC, 1478).