On Christmas Eve last year Pope Francis inaugurated the Holy Year or Jubilee Year when he opened the Holy Door in St Peter’s Basilica. This is a very ancient tradition which dates back to 1300 when Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed a Holy Year to mark the beginning of the century, when slaves and prisoners were freed, debts forgiven and the great mercies of God made particularly manifest. A Holy Year is also a special year of the forgiveness of sins and when we try to grow closer to God through prayer, pilgrimages and acts of charity. If you have been carrying a serious sin around with you for many years, this is a special time of grace to unburden yourself. The Holy Year will end on 6^th January 2026, the Solemnity of the Epiphany.

One of the great spiritual gifts of a Jubilee Year is the Plenary Indulgence. When we confess our sins with real sorrow and receive absolution from a priest, if we have committed mortal sin, God removes the eternal punishment due (ie. Hell) and restores our relationship with Him. But even after sins are forgiven, there may still be temporal punishment due to those sins, meaning we have to be purified, either on earth or in Purgatory, because even after sins have been forgiven, their effects remain. So the Church, through the authority given her by Christ, grants Indulgences to help us be purified in this life rather than in Purgatory. The Jubilee Indulgence may be gained in any of the following ways.

1. The traditional way is to make a pilgrimage to Rome and visit one or all of the four major basilicas there, which are St Peter’s, St John Lateran, St Paul’s outside the Walls and St Mary Major. You may also make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and gain the Indulgence by visiting one or all of the basilicas of the Holy Sepulchre, the Nativity and the Annunciation.

2. Not everyone is able to go to Rome or the Holy Land, so you may also gain the Jubilee Indulgence by visiting one of the nine Jubilee Churches in Nottingham Diocese of which St Mary’s
is one. How convenient is that! In all these churches, one must intend to make a pilgrimage and spend time in prayer. You may attend Mass or Eucharistic Adoration or Stations of the Cross there, and conclude with the Our Father, the Creed and any prayer to Our Lady.

3. Perform an extraordinary work of mercy. This could be visiting prisoners, the sick, the lonely or elderly. It can be helping those in need or giving a generous gift of your time or money to those in need. In this way we participate in God’s mercy and love.

4. Fasting for at least one day a week from futile distractions: for example, social media, video games, apps or the television, giving us more time for prayer and works of mercy.

In addition to performing one of the above acts, you need to make a sacramental confession twenty days before or after the prescribed work and be in a state of grace at the time of performing the indulgenced act. One confession will suffice for several Indulgences. You must receive Holy Communion in a state of grace on the same day as the prescribed act, and be free from all attachment to sin. Then pray an Our Father and Creed for the Pope’s intentions.

The sick, the elderly and housebound, or those who for any reason are unable to leave their homes, may gain the Indulgence by reciting the Our Father, the Creed and prayers for the Holy Year, and by offering their hardships and sufferings in union with Christ.

A Plenary Indulgence may be gained only once a day. However, if you perform an additional act and receive Holy Communion again at a separate Mass, you may obtain a second Indulgence on the same day, but this can only be applied to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC