Indulgences for the Year of the Priest

By Fr Brad Peterson, O.Carm

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has generously granted to priests and the faithful a special opportunity to obtain indulgences, both plenary and partial, during the Year of the Priest, which begins on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 19, 2009). It is a timely moment, then, to reflect on the meaning of indulgences, their connection to the Priesthood, and ways in which we can promote and benefit from these indulgences during the Year of the Priest.

An indulgence is a special gift offered by God through the Church to help us attain purity of heart and holiness of life. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1471), an indulgence is the “remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sin whose guilt has already been forgiven.”

A Plenary Indulgence removes all such punishment. It is best understood in light of Jesus’ promise to be with His Church always and His readiness to provide all we need, including our deep need for full restoration to loving union with God and each other in Christ’s own Mystical Body. As Jesus said (Jn15:5), “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who lives in me and I in him will produce abundantly, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

The Plenary Indulgence is granted to all the faithful who, in a spirit of true repentance, (1) devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of Mass in a church or chapel, and (2) offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest for the priests of the Church, and (3) offer any other good work which they have done on that day, so that Our Lord may sanctify them and form them in accordance with His Heart.

The Plenary Indulgence will likewise be granted to the elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are confined to their homes who, with a mind detached from any sin and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the usual conditions, at home or wherever their impediment detains them, provided that on the below-mentioned days they recite prayers for the sanctification of priests and confidently offer the illnesses and hardships of their lives to God through Mary Queen of Apostles.

The normal conditions for the Plenary Indulgence are necessary for the faithful: a spirit of total detachment from sin, the prior reception of sacramental confession, and the offering of prayers for the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions.

The Holy Father has established these specific days on which the faithful may obtain the Plenary Indulgence:

June 19, Feast of the Sacred Heart: the first day of the Year of the Priest
August 4, 2009 The 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney
June 19, 2010 Feast of the Sacred Heart: the last day of the Year of the Priest
Every first Thursday during the Year of the Priest

The local Ordinary may, for the benefit of the faithful, establish additional days on which the Indulgence may be obtained. In view of this, the following days will be established in the Diocese of Phoenix:

July 1 Blessed Junipero Serra
August 4 St. John Vianney
September 23 St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
October 28 Sts. Simon and Jude
November 23 Blessed Miguel Pro
December 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
January 5 St. John Neumann
February 22 Chair of St. Peter
March 17 St. Patrick
April 28 St. Louis Marie de Montfort
May 21 St. Cristobal Magallanes and companions