A Call to Complete Redemption – Understanding the Gift of the 2025 Holy Year Indulgence
This guide explains the Jubilee Plenary Indulgence, a precious gift offered by the Catholic Church during the Holy Year declared by Pope Francis (May 2024–January 2026). Learn what a plenary indulgence is – the removal of all temporal punishment due to sin – and how it restores the soul to its baptismal innocence. Here we detail the essential spiritual and sacramental conditions required to gain indulgence, along with the prescribed actions which include making a pilgrimage, performing a work of mercy, and completing an act of penance. It serves as an urgent Advent and Christmas call to seek this extraordinary moment of grace.
Do you hear what I hear? The sound of God calling you this Advent and Christmas Season to Redemption.
Emmanuel, God with us.
On May 9, 2024, Pope Francis declared this a Jubilee Year, effective from May 13, 2024 through January 6, 2026.
What does that mean for you?
It means you are offered a precious gift for your immortal soul – an opportunity for a plenary indulgence.
“The celebration of the Jubilee Year is not only an extraordinary occasion for benefiting from the great gift of indulgences which the Lord gives us through the Church, but it is also a fitting opportunity to recall the catechism on indulgences to the attention of the faithful.”
A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church – through the merits of Jesus Christ – that removes the temporal punishment due to sin.
When we sin, we commit an offense against God, and while we receive forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the effects of that sin can linger.
A plenary indulgence removes all the spiritual damage caused from that sin. It restores our soul as though we had just been baptized.
“Every sin ‘leaves its mark'” even after a person has received forgiveness and absolution through the sacrament of reconciliation, Pope Francis wrote in the document proclaiming the Holy Year.
“Sin has consequences, not only outwardly in the effects of the wrong we do, but also inwardly, inasmuch as ‘every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death, in the state called Purgatory,'” he wrote, quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Conditions for a Plenary Indulgence
To gain a plenary indulgence, it is necessary that we –
- are in a state of grace
- have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin
- have sacramentally confessed our sins (usually within 7 days of the prescribed action)
- have received Holy Communion (usually on the day of the prescribed action)
We must also pray for the intentions of the Pope (usually an Our Father and Hail Mary).
Prescribed Actions for the Plenary Indulgence
Make a Pilgrimage
The indulgence can be met by a journey to –
- one of the four major papal basilicas in Rome (St. Peter’s Basilica, Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Basilica of Saint Mary Major, and Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls)
- any of the three basilicas in the Holy Land
- any Catholic cathedral or basilica throughout the world or any church so designated by a diocesan bishop
People who cannot leave their residence can make a spiritual journey to one of these holy places.
Perform a Work of Mercy
The indulgence requires that we perform a work of mercy, such as visiting a person in need; for example, those who are sick or homebound, old people living alone or troubled youth).
It is important to perform the work as if doing it for Christ Himself.
Perform an Act of Penance
For at least one day, it is important to abstain from “futile distractions” like social media. You can also abstain from “superfluous consumption” by fasting from meat while donating a proportionate sum of money to the poor.
This Advent and Christmas prepare room in your heart for Christ. Your Redemption is at hand.
What better gift have You ever received than His invitation to fullness of life?
Listen to Him and make haste to your nearest Pilgrimage Site for this extraordinary moment of grace.
From all of us at Redemption Media and Souls and Liberty, we wish you a Blessed Advent, Christmas and New Year.
