Plenary Indulgence

In these days, Pope Francis is very much aware of those who are suffering and has urged the Church to pray without ceasing for those who are sick with the coronavirus.  The Church, following the example of her Divine Master, has always had the care of the sick at heart.  Sadly, we know that this is a time marked by fear, uncertainty, and suffering.  So that all those who suffer because of the coronavirus may know the mercy of God, Pope Francis has directed that the opportunity to gain a Plenary Indulgence be granted to all the faithful. 

     The Plenary Indulgence is granted to the faithful suffering from the coronavirus, who are subject to quarantine by order of the health authority in hospitals or in their own homes.  To gain this indulgence, the faithful must:

• Unite spiritually through the media to the celebration of Holy Mass, or the recitation of the Holy Rosary, or to the practice of the Way of the Cross or some other form of devotion.
• If unable to participate in any of these spiritual exercises, they must at least recite the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary.
• The faithful must offer their suffering for the benefit of their brothers and sisters.
• The faithful must express a desire to fulfil the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the Holy Father’s intentions), as soon as possible.

     Health care workers, family members and all those who, following the example of the Good Samaritan, expose themselves to the risk of contagion, may obtain the same gift of the Plenary Indulgence under the same conditions.

     The Holy Father also willingly grants a Plenary Indulgence to those faithful who offer a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, or Eucharistic adoration, or reading the Holy Scriptures for at least half an hour, or the recitation of the Holy Rosary, or the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross, or the recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, to implore from Almighty God the end of the epidemic, relief for those who are afflicted and eternal salvation for those whom the Lord has called to Himself.

     The Church prays for those who find themselves unable to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and of Viaticum.  She entrusts each and every one to divine Mercy by virtue of the communion of saints and granting the faithful a Plenary Indulgence on the point of death, provided that they are duly disposed and have recited a few prayers during their lifetime.  In this case the Church makes up for the three usual conditions required.

Visit the following link to learn what an indulgence is.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/catechism/baltimore-catechism/lesson-21-on-indulgences