Jubilee 2025, how to obtain the plenary indulgence

The indulgence, a priceless gift of divine mercy, is one of the special ‘signs’ of the Jubilee Year. On Monday 13 May the Apostolic Penitentiary published the Norms on the granting of Indulgences during the Jubilee of 2025. The indulgence, they state, (quoting Pope Francis in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, Spes non confundit), is ‘a Jubilee grace’ which ‘allows us to discover how limitless God's mercy is.’ For the next Jubilee, at the express wish of the Holy Father, the Penitentiary intends to ‘nourish the pious desire to obtain the indulgence’ and for this reason it has established norms and guidelines for pilgrims.

All the ‘truly repentant’ faithful, ’moved by a spirit of charity, who, purified through the sacrament of penance and refreshed by Holy Communion, will be able to receive the indulgence, with the remission and forgiveness of sins’ say the Norms adding that they should also pray according to the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Following the provisions of the Penitentiary, signed by the Major Penitentiary, His Eminence, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the indulgence can be applied ‘in the form of suffrage to the souls in Purgatory’.

The faithful, ‘pilgrims of hope’, will be able to obtain the Indulgence by undertaking a pilgrimage to any sacred Jubilee site, to at least one of the four Major Papal Basilicas of Rome, to the Holy Land or to other designated ecclesiastical sites, and taking part in a moment of prayer, a liturgical celebration or celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation. The indulgence can also be obtained by ‘devoutly visiting any Jubilee site’ and taking part in Eucharistic adoration or meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith, and appropriate invocations to Mary. Furthermore, on the occasion of the Jubilee, it will be possible to obtain the indulgence, under the same conditions, by traveling to other sacred places in the city of Rome, such as the designated Basilicas and Sanctuaries, the churches of the Jubilee Pathway of the Iter Europaeum and certain churches dedicated to the Women Patrons of Europe and Doctors of the Church (details on the churches and Jubilee pathways can be consulted on this site).

The indulgence can also be gained by visiting other places in the world, such as - among others - the two minor Papal Basilicas in Assisi, St Francis’ Basilica and that of Santa Maria degli Angeli, and the Pontifical Basilicas of the Madonna di Loreto, the Madonna of Pompeii, and Sant Anthony of Padua. In the event of serious impediments, the truly repentant faithful unable to participate in the celebrations, pilgrimages or visits will be able to obtain the Jubilee indulgence under the same conditions if they recite in their own home or from wherever they are impeded from travelling, the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form and other prayers compliant with the purposes of the Holy Year, offering up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives.

Another way to obtain indulgence will be through ‘works of mercy and penance’, with which a person’s conversion is manifested. The faithful ‘following the example and mandate of Christ’, are encouraged to carry out works of charity or mercy more frequently, mainly in the service of those brothers and sisters who are burdened by various needs. Likewise, they may obtain the indulgence by visiting those ‘who are in need or difficulty (the sick, prisoners, the lonely elderly, the disabled...), ‘in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them.’

The ‘penitential spirit’, notes the Norms, is ‘the soul of the Jubilee’ and therefore the indulgence can also 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), from superfluous consumption as well as 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.’

The full text of the Norms can be consulted at the following link: https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/tribunals/apost_penit/documents/rc_penitenzieria-ap_20240513_norme-indulgenza-giubileo2025_en.html