Special Plenary Indulgence Issued by the Vatican
The Holy See has issued a plenary indulgence available to all pilgrims who venerate Saint Jude’s relics. The Apostolic Penitentiary published the decree, Protocol Number 00471/2023-190/23/I.
Special Plenary Indulgence Issued by the Vatican
What is a Plenary Indulgence?
Explaining a plenary indulgence requires clarifying what sin is and what it does. Two things occur when we sin:
Sacramental Confession removes the guilt (#1). However, the deformity (#2) remains. A person’s heart is changed when it sins: sin deforms it. A deformed heart must be reformed in God’s image and likeness before entering Heaven. Heaven is, by definition, the realm of the saints. No non-saints exist in Heaven; every soul in Heaven is a saint.
Herein is the difficulty. Of those people you have known who have already died, how many were you certain left the world as saints? Most know very few, if any. Yet we are told in the Letter to the Hebrews that no one can see the Lord without possessing holiness (Hebrews 12:14). That is why Purgatory exists: it is a state of purgation whereby a soul is purified through suffering so that it may enter God’s presence in Heaven. That the saved may need purification—and are aided by the prayers of the living—is confirmed in 2 Maccabees 12:45: “He made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.”
A plenary indulgence is an act by the Pope whereby he uses his authority as the successor of Saint Peter to declare the removal of one’s accrued purgation to be spent in Purgatory (an instance of the papal “power of the keys” described in Matthew 16:18-19). A Catholic who gains a plenary indulgence receives a blank slate in terms of Purgatory up to the moment of attaining it.
The Conditions to Receive the Plenary Indulgence
1. Venerate the relics of St. Jude.
2. Pray for the Pope.
3. Receive the Sacrament of Confession within twenty days of visiting the relics.
4. Receive Holy Communion within the same twenty days while free from grave sin.
5. Resolve to end all relationships with sin, both mortal and venial sin.
6. For Those for Whom Visiting the Relic is Not Possible Due to Serious Inconvenience
May One Obtain a Plenary Indulgence on Behalf of Someone Else?
A plenary indulgence may be obtained for oneself or offered for the soul of someone already deceased (or for the dead in general), but it cannot be applied to another who is still living.
How Often May One Obtain a Plenary Indulgence?
Food donations can be delivered to the St. Jude Food Pantry on Wednesday and Saturdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. A link for necessary pantry food items can be found on the parish website page: https://www.stjudemansfieldtx.org/st--vincent-de-paul
Thank you for your consideration!
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