The most efficacious means of satisfying God for sins already remitted, besides sacramental penance, is constituted by indulgences. Since these complete sacramental satisfaction in their own way, moral theologians are accustomed to treat in this place several practical questions both concerning indulgences in general and concerning certain indulgences in species.

311. Definition. An indulgence is defined as the remission, through the power of the Church, granted outside the sacrament, of temporal punishment owed to God for sins already remitted as to guilt.

a. Through indulgences not guilt, nor eternal punishment, but temporal punishment only is remitted; but the punishment remitted is that which, after guilt and eternal punishment have been blotted out, still remains to be paid to divine justice either in this life or in the other. Therefore the formula by which indulgences are sometimes granted by way of the remission of all sins was always so understood in the Church that by the name of sins there were designated the punishments of sins.

b. The Church grants indulgences by this, that by force of the power of the keys it applies to the faithful the satisfactions of Christ and of the saints from the treasury of the Church. In the sacraments indeed and in the sacrifice of the Mass the satisfactions of Christ alone are applied to the faithful; but indulgences are granted from the satisfactions of Christ and of the saints.²

c. The treasury of the Church is the accumulation of the satisfactions of Christ and of the saints existing in the knowledge of God, from which the Church can grant indulgences. For Christ offered his infinite satisfactions to God the Father for us. Then there are many saints who either did not need the satisfactions performed by themselves, as the Blessed Virgin Mary, or performed more than were required for blotting out the temporal punishments owed for their sins. Those superabundant satisfactions together with the satisfactions of Christ constitute the treasury which the Church can dispense for the benefit of the faithful.³

¹ Beringer-Hilgers, Die Ablasse, ihr Wesen und Gebrauch 14 (Paderborn: Schoningh, 1915). There on p. 1 several works pertaining to this question are cited.

² This proposition (60) of Baius was condemned: Through the sufferings of the saints communicated in indulgences our offenses are not properly redeemed. Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 1060.

³ Cf. Pesch, Praelectiones dogm. VII, 484 ff.; Beringer-Hilgers, Die Ablasse 14, p. 22 ff.

312. Nature. Dogmaticians teach that the Church has power of granting indulgences both to the living and to the dead; but one is the reason of the grant which is made to the living, and another that which is made to the dead: for to the living they are granted by way of absolution, but to the dead by way of suffrage.¹

a. Since in the present order of salvation there is no remission of guilt or punishment without condign satisfaction, indulgences therefore cannot be granted without an equivalent payment which is offered to God for the punishment remitted. But this payment is made through application of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints, whose treasury has been deposited in the Church and committed to Blessed Peter and his successors to be dispensed among the faithful. Therefore, as often as the supreme pontiff grants an indulgence, he applies the satisfactions of Christ and the saints from the treasury of the Church to the faithful, both living and dead: and to the living indeed by way of absolution; but to the dead by way of suffrage. For the living are subject to the jurisdiction of the pontiff; therefore by force of the power of the keys he can absolve them from punishments, and while he absolves them, he at the same time offers to God payment from the treasury of the Church. Therefore an indulgence granted to the living is essentially an absolution having an attached payment from the treasury of the Church. But the dead are not subjects of the pontiff; wherefore he can apply an indulgence to them only by this, that he offers to God the satisfaction of Christ and the saints and piously asks and expects that God by his mercy and liberality will accept them. Therefore an indulgence granted to the dead is essentially payment made by offering a price to God for their debts.

b. Therefore the grant of an indulgence is an act of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, for whose exercise, however, the power of order is not required; therefore the supreme pontiff and bishops can grant indulgences even before consecration.

Whether indulgences can be applied to the living. We cannot apply indulgences to the living, because the supreme pontiff does not grant the faculty of applying indulgences to the living. By law indeed and from the nature of the thing nothing prevents anyone from gaining an indulgence not only for himself, but also for another living person, if the supreme pontiff, on whose will the whole matter depends, grants this. But in fact he grants that very many indulgences can be applied to the dead, but never grants that an indulgence can be applied to other living persons.

Cn. 930 decrees: "No one can apply indulgences for other living persons; but all indulgences granted by the Roman Pontiff are applicable for the souls in purgatory, unless something else is clear." The reason why indulgences can be applied either to the living or to the dead only from the positive grant of the supreme pontiff is this: because the effect which a work produces ex opere operato can be given to another, not according to the choice of the one working, but only from the grant of him who attaches the effect to the work. But the reason why the supreme pontiff does not grant that indulgences be applied to the living is this: because it is not expedient to assist those who, although they themselves can, do not care to gain indulgences for themselves.²

¹ Cf. Pesch, l.c., n. 491 ff. Cf. cn. 911.

² Cf. Palmieri, An lucratus indulgentiam possit eam ex arbitrio in alterum conferre (Rome: Analecta eccles., 1895); Behringer-Hilgers, p. 32. The S.C. of Indulgences, 22 Aug. 1906, granted to the O.F.M. that the plenary indulgence attached to general absolution to be imparted on certain days through the year to religious men and nuns of the same order could be applied not only for the dead, but also for the living. Namely, previously only the dead could gain this plenary indulgence; but now it has been granted to the O.F.M. that the brothers can apply or gain the same also for themselves, therefore for the living. Cf. Hilgers, Linz. Quartalsch. 1914, pp. 794, 497 ff.

313. Effect. Indulgences granted to the living, the conditions prescribed by the Church having been placed, have a certain and infallible effect: for the Church absolves them by its own authority. But indulgences applied to the dead, all required conditions having been placed, indeed have an infallible effect insofar as God accepts them for the dead; but they do not have an infallible effect insofar as he applies them to the determined soul for whom they are offered, or in that measure according to which they are offered. This application depends on God's good pleasure.

The reason for the first is that the supreme pontiff grants indulgences to the dead by apostolic authority; but if God gave him authority of applying the treasury of the Church for the benefit of the dead, he also accepts the application made. The reason for the second is that, on the one hand, there exists no promise by which God has affirmed that he will accept indulgences offered for certain dead persons; on the other hand, it can happen that the order of divine providence prevents the indulgence from being applied to a determined dead person, either wholly or even only in part. Nevertheless one may piously hope that God will not only accept the indulgences which are offered for the dead, but ordinarily at least will also apply them to those very persons for whom they are offered.¹

¹ Cf. Zeitschrift f. k. Th. XVII, 1893, p. 297 ff.

314. Division. 1. Indulgences are divided into personal, real, and local.

a. Personal indulgences are those which are immediately attached to a person, whether physical or moral, as to a confraternity or also to the whole body of the faithful, independently of a certain object or place for pious works to be performed.

The faithful who have been lawfully enrolled in a confraternity are not deprived of the indulgences granted to it because they do not observe the statutes of the confraternity, either in part or in whole, provided they fulfill the works enjoined for gaining the indulgences.¹

b. Real indulgences are those which are immediately attached to some portable thing, as to a rosary, medal, etc.

a. Real indulgences can be applied only to solid things: iron, wood, lead, also leather bound in glass or covered with glass; but not to those things which can easily be broken or torn, as paper, glass not encased in something solid,² although these can be blessed.

Real indulgences cease if the objects to which they are applied physically or morally perish and lose their form, as if the image of a crucifix is broken into two parts, if most of the beads of a rosary are lost at the same time, etc.

Medals to which indulgences are applied must bear the image of some saint; nor is the image of some blessed or venerable man sufficient, unless there is at the same time the image of a saint.³

If an indulgence is applied to a cross bearing a crucifix, the subject of the indulgence is the crucifix, which therefore can be transferred to another cross without the indulgence being lost.

Indulgences attached to a rosary or to other such things cease then only when the rosary or the other things cease to be destined for sale.⁴

Therefore rosaries: a. do not lose indulgences if the cord is broken and the beads are strung again, for the beads are the subject of the indulgence; b. they do not lose them if a few beads only (four or five) are lost and others are substituted; c. if, however, anyone sells a blessed thing endowed with an indulgence, he acts against the prohibition of the Church and causes the indulgence to perish, although the price is in no way increased on account of the indulgence.

b. If anyone receives something for a rosary or another thing under the title of alms, the indulgence attached to it does not seem to cease, because the thing is not sold.

g. To one and the same thing or place several indulgences from various titles can be attached (to the same rosary, apostolic indulgences, those of St. Bridget, of the Preachers, of the Crucigers); but by one and the same work to which indulgences are attached from various titles several indulgences cannot be acquired, unless the required work is confession or communion, or unless something else has expressly been provided.⁵

c. Local indulgences are those which are immediately attached to a pious place, as to a church, or to a thing (altar, cross, image, etc.) which has been placed in a determined place, and whose visitation is numbered among the conditions for gaining the indulgence.

Local indulgences cease if the church or oratory to which they are attached is entirely destroyed, unless within fifty years it is again built in the same or almost the same place and under the same title.⁶ In order that a church be judged to have been restored in almost the same place, it is necessary that the new building stand only a little distant from the old, for example, twenty or thirty paces.⁷

¹ Decreta authentica S. C. Indulgentiarum (Ratisbon: Pustet, 1883), n. 298.

² S. C. Indl., 29 Feb. 1820, n. 249.

³ S. C. Indl., 22 Dec. 1710, n. 32.

⁴ Cn. 924, 2. Nevertheless rosaries, crosses, etc., do not lose indulgences if anyone buying them entrusts to the seller himself the care of having them blessed in his name, even if he finally pays the price and the expenses of transmission when the things already blessed are delivered to him. S. C. Indl., 10 July 1896.

⁵ Cn. 933.

⁶ S. C. Indl., 9 Aug. 1843, n. 323. Cn. 924, 1.

⁷ S. C. Indl., 29 March 1886.

315. 2. Indulgences are divided into plenary, by which, from the intention of the one granting, the whole temporal punishment is remitted; and partial, by which only a determined part of that punishment is remitted.

a. Although every plenary indulgence, so far as regards the one granting it, can destroy the whole temporal punishment, nevertheless not all gain it fully, but very many gain it only in part: for in those who have no guilt, not even venial guilt, all punishments are destroyed; but in those who still have some venial sin, the punishments due for faults already blotted out are indeed remitted, but not those which are due to the fault still remaining.

They are not to be listened to who teach that those gain nothing of a plenary indulgence who do not gain it fully; for in this matter everything depends on the will of the one granting it; but Cn. 926 manifests the will of the one granting: "A plenary indulgence granted is understood in such a way that, if anyone cannot gain it plenarily, he may at least gain it partially according to the disposition which he has." The theoretical reason of this affirmation is that the effect of an indulgence is by its nature divisible; therefore he who does not gain the whole can gain a part of it.

b. Partial indulgences were formerly granted by this formula: remission of half or of a third part of sins, i.e., of temporal punishments; now indulgences are granted of so many days, years, quarantines; these formulas are not to be taken as though by these indulgences just as much punishment of purgatory were relaxed, but they signify only that as much canonical penance is remitted, which in ancient times was customarily imposed for sins, and consequently only so much punishment owed to God, or of purgatory, is remitted, as would be blotted out through those penances if they were actually performed. Therefore by an indulgence of seven years so much punishment owed to God is relaxed as is equivalent to a canonical penance of seven years. The measure of this remission, as in ancient times it depended on the fervor of the penitent, so now depends on the greater or lesser devotion with which the conditions prescribed for the indulgence are fulfilled.

a. An indulgence of forty days is called a quarantine, by which so much punishment is remitted as would have been blotted out by a fast of forty days, tolerated according to the ancient penitential canons during the time of Lent on bread and water alone.

b. In this formula: an indulgence of six or seven years and just as many quarantines, the name quarantine does not signify a Lenten fast which must be observed within those seven years themselves, so that an indulgence of seven years would signify just as much as an indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines; but it signifies quarantines added to the seven years, so that an indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines signifies a more ample indulgence than seven years alone.¹

Whether on the same day we can gain the same indulgence more than once. Cn. 928 solves this question in this way: "A plenary indulgence, unless something else has expressly been provided, can be acquired only once in the day, even if the same prescribed work is performed several times.² But a partial indulgence can be acquired several times in the day, unless the contrary is expressly noted." With respect to plenary indulgences an exception from this rule is admitted only rarely.³

"A plenary indulgence which has been granted as daily to those visiting a church or oratory is to be understood in such a way that it can be acquired on whatever day, but only once in the year," Cn. 921, 3.

¹ Beringer, "Bedeutung der 'Quadragenen' in den Ablassverleihungen" (Quartalschr. Linz, 1900), p. 928.

² Therefore priests who binate gain the indulgence for the prayer En ego only once. S. C. Indl., 29 June 1892.

³ There are now ten plenary indulgences which the faithful can gain toties-quoties: a. the very celebrated indulgence which is called the Portiuncula (2 Aug.); b. on the feast of the Most Holy Rosary (first Sunday of Oct.); c. on the feast of Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel (16 July); d. on the feast of the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (third Sunday of Sept.); e. on the feast of B. V. M. de Mercede (24 Sept.); f. on the commemoration of all the faithful departed (2 Nov.); g. on the last Sunday of June in churches in which during the month of June devotions toward the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus have been held solemnly with daily preaching, or at least in the manner of spiritual exercises for an octave; h. for those who at Rome ascend the holy stairs on their knees, praying and piously meditating on the Passion of the Lord; i. on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity; k. on the feast of the Most Holy Body of Christ. Which persons, and under what conditions, can acquire these indulgences, Hilgers teaches, Die Ablasse.

316. Who Can Grant Indulgences. Indulgences can be granted by him who has proper or delegated power for this.

1. The supreme pontiff, and he alone, can grant by proper right to the faithful of the whole world indulgences both plenary and partial, for the living and for the dead: for to him alone have the keys of the treasury of the Church been granted with the fullest power of dispensing from it to the faithful. Those who have obtained from the supreme pontiff general grants of indulgences, under penalty of nullity of the grace obtained, are bound to bring a copy of the concession made to the Sacred Penitentiary.¹

2. Cardinals can grant indulgences of 200 days, even to be gained toties-quoties, in places or institutes and for persons of their jurisdiction or protection; likewise in other places, but to be gained only by those present on each occasion.²

3. Bishops can grant an indulgence of 50 days in places of their jurisdiction.³

But all inferiors to the Roman Pontiff cannot:

a. delegate to others the faculty of granting indulgences;

b. grant indulgences applicable to the dead;

c. attach other indulgences to the same thing or act of piety or sodality to which indulgences have already been granted by the holy see or by another, unless new conditions to be fulfilled are prescribed.⁴

¹ S. C. Indl., 19 Jan. 1756, n. 205, 371. Cn. 920.

² Cn. 239, 24.

³ Cn. 349, 2.

⁴ Cn. 913, 3.

317. Required Conditions. 1. In order that one be capable of gaining an indulgence,¹ he must be:

1. baptized;

2. not excommunicated: an excommunicated person does not become a participant in indulgences, Cn. 2262;

3. a subject of the one granting: for the grant of an indulgence is an act of jurisdiction, which cannot be exercised except over a subject;

Indulgences granted by bishops, however, can be gained both by subjects outside the territory, and by pilgrims, wanderers, and all exempt persons dwelling in the territory, unless something else is apparent from the grant.²

4. in the state of grace at least at the end of the prescribed works: for temporal punishment cannot be remitted while guilt and eternal punishment have not yet been remitted. If several works are prescribed for gaining an indulgence, it suffices that the last be completed in the state of grace, because the indulgence is acquired in the very instant in which the works prescribed by the one granting are completed.

a. The Church indicates this condition by granting indulgences to the contrite of heart or to those who, with at least a contrite heart, have performed a determined work: for these words signify nothing other than that the state of grace is required for gaining an indulgence, and that, if it is not present, it must be obtained through contrition; wherefore one who already exists in the state of grace does not necessarily have to elicit an act of contrition in order to gain the indulgence.³

b. For gaining a plenary indulgence fully, the state of grace is not sufficient, but in addition there is required immunity from every venial sin, and such immunity indeed that even affection or adhesion to venial sin has been removed: for guilt not yet blotted out cannot have remitted the punishment owed for that same guilt. Therefore the greater one's immunity from venial sins, the fuller the indulgence which can be acquired.

2. In order that one really gain an indulgence.⁴

1. He must have at least a general intention of gaining it: for a benefit is not given except to one who wills it; but a habitual intention is sufficient, i.e., one had at some time and never retracted. Therefore one who elicits a general intention of gaining all indulgences which are attached to the works placed by him gains them, even if he does not think about the indulgence when the work is placed, indeed even if he does not know that an indulgence is attached to the work which he performs. Nevertheless it is very much to be recommended, although it is not necessary, that every morning the intention be elicited of gaining all indulgences which can be obtained through works done during the day.

2. He must fulfill the enjoined works at the stated time and in the stated manner. For these works have the character of a condition under which indulgences are granted; therefore he who does not fulfill the condition integrally does not gain the indulgence, and neither error nor any good faith excuses in this matter. Wherefore if a notable part of them is omitted for any cause whatever, even a reasonable one, the indulgence is not acquired; but the effect is not impeded if a slight part of the enjoined work is omitted, e.g., in the rosary one Our Father and Hail Mary, because the work is nevertheless completed as to substance.

a. If several works are prescribed for gaining an indulgence, it is indifferent in what order they are performed. Thus if confession, communion, and visitation of a church are required, the visitation can be made both before and after the other works, even if in the concession of the indulgence it is said: Those who, confessed and refreshed with holy communion, shall have visited.⁵

b. For gaining partial indulgences, works already due under sin from another title do not avail, unless he who grants the indulgence has expressly established otherwise (n. 303, 4), because by one action one cannot satisfy several obligations, each of which demands singular actions.⁶ Therefore we cannot gain the indulgences attached to Cruciger rosaries by reciting, for example, a Hail Mary which pertains to the divine office or has been enjoined for penance; nor can the obligation of reciting prayers prescribed for gaining indulgences be satisfied by the canonical hours; nor by performing a work owed from a vow can we at the same time gain the indulgence attached to the same work by the supreme pontiff. But by paschal communion we can gain indulgences for whose gaining holy communion is prescribed;⁷ likewise through works which are performed from the statutes or customs of religious communities, if they do not oblige under sin, indulgences attached to those same works can be obtained.

c. Nevertheless he who performs a work enjoined upon him as sacramental penance and perhaps enriched with indulgences can at the same time both satisfy the penance and gain the indulgences.⁸

¹ Cn. 925, 1.

² Cn. 927.

³ S. C. Indl., 17 Dec. 1870, n. 427.

⁴ Cn. 925, 2.

⁵ S. C. Indl., 19 May 1759, n. 214.

⁶ S. C. Indl., 29 May 1841, n. 291. Cn. 932.

⁷ S. C. Indl., 10 May 1844, n. 327.

⁸ Cn. 932.

318. Conditions Required for Gaining an Indulgence for the Dead: a. The grant of the pontiff by which the indulgence can be applied to the dead: for by his own will no one can apply an indulgence to another, neither living nor dead.

b. At least a habitual intention of applying them to the dead: for the supreme pontiff only grants that they can be applied; he himself does not apply them to the dead. They can be applied either to a single soul, or to several, or to all the souls of the faithful existing in purgatory.

c. Whether he who applies an indulgence to the dead must be in the state of grace in order that it profit them is not clear; nor did the Congregation of Indulgences, when asked about this matter, wish to define the controversy.¹

On this question these things must be noted: a. From the nature of the thing nothing prevents even one who is in the state of sin from being able to gain an indulgence, not indeed for himself, but for the dead: for the works by which he gains the indulgence do not have satisfactory value from the dignity of the one working, but from the grant of the Church. b. Those who think that even a sinner can gain indulgences for the dead say that it is not required that he who gains an indulgence for the dead first acquire it for himself and then transfer it to the dead, but it suffices that he place the conditions prescribed by the Church, and when these have been placed the indulgence will come to the dead according to the mind of the supreme pontiff.² g. But those who hold that only the just can gain indulgences for the dead think that no one can apply to another what he has not first made his own.³ d. Nevertheless this seems certain: that a priest who celebrates Mass in the state of mortal sin at a privileged altar (whether the privilege is local or personal) gains the indulgence of this altar for the soul for whom he offers the sacrifice.⁴

¹ The S. C. Indl., 20 Aug. 1822, answered: postponed; on 22 Feb. 1847 it answered: let approved authors be consulted.

² Suarez, disp. 53, sect. 4; Bellarmine, De indulgent. l. 1, c. 14; Ballerini-Palmieri V, n. 791.

³ S. Alphonsus, n. 534.

⁴ S. C. Indl., 12 March 1855, n. 366.

319. Works which are ordinarily prescribed by the Church for gaining a plenary indulgence are: a. confession; b. communion; c. certain prayers to be said according to the intention of the pontiff; to these sometimes is added, d. visitation of a church.

1. On confession. a. If confession is not expressly required for gaining an indulgence (as for the indulgences of the Way of the Cross), it is not necessary; but if confession is enjoined in the grant of the indulgence, it is necessary even for those who do not have mortal sins, although absolution is not necessary for them.¹

b. Confession perhaps required for gaining indulgences can always be made within the eight days preceding the day to which the indulgence is attached, or even within the whole subsequent octave.²

c. Confession and communion required for gaining an indulgence granted for exercises or missions can also be made within the octave which immediately follows the completed exercise.³

d. The faithful who are accustomed, unless lawfully impeded, to approach confession at least twice in a month or to receive holy communion daily, although once or twice during the week they abstain from it, can gain all indulgences even without an actual confession which otherwise would be necessary for gaining them, excepting indulgences of the ordinary and extraordinary jubilee or in the manner of a jubilee.⁴

Therefore for gaining indulgences occurring during the week, for those who communicate almost daily, confession is no longer required: not that which is made every other week, nor that which is made every month, indeed not even that which is made every half-year or every year.⁵

¹ S. C. Indl., 15 Dec. 1841, and 6 May 1852, n. 295 and 359.

² Cn. 931, 1.

³ Cn. 931, 2.

⁴ Cn. 931, 3.

⁵ S. C. Indl., 14 Feb. 1906.

320. 2. On communion. a. Communion can always (except in the jubilee) be received on the day before that day for which the indulgence has been granted, and through the whole octave; but the other works must be performed at the determined time.¹

b. If for gaining an indulgence the visitation of a determined church is prescribed, holy communion need not necessarily be received there; but if holy communion is received in that church, it is not necessary that another visitation be made in addition, provided the time determined for gaining the indulgence is observed and the prescribed prayers are recited.

c. Excepting the indulgence of the jubilee, paschal communion avails for gaining indulgences which require holy communion.² Moreover, one and the same communion (as also confession) suffices for gaining several indulgences granted for the same day, each of which requires communion (and confession), provided the remaining works are performed as many times as there are indulgences which one is going to gain on that day.³

¹ Cn. 931, 1.

² S. C. Indl., 10 May 1844, n. 327.

³ S. C. Indl., 29 May 1841, n. 291.

321. 3. On the visitation of a church. a. If visitation of a church is prescribed indeterminately, the visitation of some church or public oratory is required and suffices; here it must be noted that semi-public oratories are in reality private oratories, and therefore their visitation does not suffice for gaining indulgences without a special indult.¹

An indult has been granted that the faithful of either sex who live a common life in religious communities, institutes of education, and hospitals erected with the consent of the ordinary, and those serving them, if they lack a church or public oratory, can visit the chapel of their own house, in which they can satisfy the obligation of hearing Mass, as often as for gaining indulgences the visitation of some church or indeterminate public oratory is prescribed.² Therefore if they have a church or public oratory, likewise if the visitation of a determined church is prescribed, the indult does not avail.

b. The visitation of a church or oratory can be made from noon of the preceding day until the midnight which closes the day established.³

c. He is said to visit a church who enters it with the intention of worshiping God; but if one about to visit the church cannot enter it because of some impediment, e.g., because of too great a multitude of people or because of closed doors, a moral entrance suffices, by the fact that he recites the prayers near the doors of the church.⁴

d. For making the visitation of a church which is instituted processionally, it is not sufficient if the clergy and people pass through the church praying, nor if the clergy with some from the procession enter the church and recite a common prayer while the others stand outside the church; but it is required that all who can be contained in it enter the church, and there recite a common prayer.⁵

e. For gaining several indulgences for which the visitation of a church is prescribed, it does not suffice to repeat the prayers as many times as there are indulgences to be gained; rather, as many visitations must be made as there are indulgences to be gained, i.e., it is necessary to go out of the church and enter the church again as many times.⁶

¹ S. C. Indl., 22 Aug. 1812, n. 310.

² S. Officium, 14 Jan. 1909. Cn. 929.

³ Cn. 923.

⁴ Cf. Behringer-Hilgers, p. 117.

⁵ S. Penitentiary, 18 Oct. 1901.

⁶ S. C. Indl., 29 Feb. 1864, n. 399.

322. 4. On the prayers to be recited. a. If prayer is prescribed for gaining indulgences, mental prayer does not suffice, but at least some vocal prayer is required, which ordinarily is not determined, but is left to the judgment of each one. But it cannot be demonstrated by any argument that five or six Our Fathers and Hail Marys are required, or another prayer equivalent to these; on the contrary, it cannot be doubted that from the new Code one Our Father suffices for gaining the indulgence.¹

b. Prayers must be recited according to the intention of the supreme pontiff, whose intention is the exaltation of holy mother Church, the extirpation of heresies, the propagation of the faith, the conversion of sinners, and peace among Christian princes. An explicit intention is not required, but this implicit intention suffices: according to the intention of the Roman pontiff, or according to the due intention, which all have who recite prayers for gaining an indulgence.

c. If special prayers have been assigned for gaining indulgences, they can be recited in whatever language, provided the faithfulness of the version is clear either from a declaration of the Sacred Penitentiary or of the ordinary of some place where the language into which the prayer is translated is vernacular. Indulgences cease on account of any addition, subtraction, or interpolation.²

d. It suffices to recite the assigned prayers alternately with a companion, or to follow them mentally while they are recited by another.³

e. In order that deaf-mutes and mutes can gain indulgences for obtaining which vocal prayer is prescribed, these things are established: a. if public prayers are prescribed, they must join themselves to the people and pray mentally; b. if prayers are to be recited privately, they can pour them forth by signs or mentally, or merely read them without any pronunciation;⁴ nevertheless, if the visitation of a church is prescribed, they are bound to visit it.

¹ S. C. Indl., 13 Sept. 1888. Cn. 934. Cf. Bremer, Linz. Quartalsch., 1919, p. 586.

² Cn. 934, 3.

³ Cn. 934, 3.

⁴ S. C. Indl., 18 July 1902. Cn. 936.

323. Various Decrees. From those things which have been established concerning indulgences by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, these should be noted:

1. Although partial indulgences which extend to an extraordinarily great number of years must be regarded as suspect, nevertheless indulgences of this kind have sometimes actually been granted; however, by a general decree of 26 May 1898 all indulgences of a thousand or of several thousands of years which are said to have been granted up to this time, or have been granted, are revoked.

2. The words by which indulgences are sometimes granted: in the form accustomed by the Church, signify that they are granted to the truly contrite, i.e., to those who, absolved from sins, exist in the state of grace; and if indulgences are granted under the accustomed conditions, there are understood, besides the state of grace and the intention of gaining the indulgence, confession, communion, and prayers to be said according to the intention of the supreme pontiff.

3. If the faculty is granted of applying indulgences to certain objects in the form accustomed by the Church, these words signify that the application must be made with intention and by forming the sign of the cross over the thing to be blessed, without there being need to pronounce some formula or sprinkle the thing with holy water.¹

4. Indulgences attached to feasts or sacred processions or novendial, septenary, and triduan prayers, which are performed before or after the feast or even during its octave, are understood to be transferred to that day to which feasts of this kind are lawfully transferred, if the transferred feast has an office with Mass without solemnity and external celebration, and the transfer is made in perpetuity, or if the solemnity and external celebration is transferred either for a time or in perpetuity.²

5. Confessors can commute pious works enjoined for gaining indulgences into other works for those who, detained by a lawful impediment, cannot perform the same.³ Commutations which occur in the matter of indulgences must be made in the act of sacramental confession, unless it is expressly granted that they can be made outside confession.⁴

6. He who obtains from the apostolic see diverse faculties, e.g., of a personal privileged altar, of erecting stations of the Way of the Cross, of blessing crosses, medals, etc., must exhibit to the Ordinary the faculty of erecting stations, even if in the grant of this matter no mention has been made; but he need not exhibit the other faculties unless this is prescribed in the grant.

7. With respect to the clause concerning the consent of the Ordinary of the place, which is customarily inserted in rescripts by which the faculty of blessing rosaries, crosses, etc., with application of apostolic indulgences and those of St. Bridget is granted, it has been declared: a. that in order validly to exercise this faculty, it is required that the priest be approved for hearing confessions (at least of men); b. that in order to exercise it licitly, the consent of the Ordinary of the place in which one wishes to use it is required. Although it is to be desired that this consent be express, nevertheless tacit or implicit consent also suffices, and if in practice it cannot be done otherwise, even prudently presumed consent.⁵ g. For religious who do not use this faculty outside their own religious house, the permission of the regular Superior suffices, even if in the rescript it is said: with the consent of the Ordinary of the place.⁶

8. The prayer Sacrosanctae (with Our Father and Hail Mary), from the grant of Leo X, has this effect: that defects and faults contracted from human frailty in paying the sacred office are indulgenced. To obtain this end it suffices that the prayer be said once at the end of the whole office.

It is not necessary that it be recited immediately after the sacred office; the indulgence is acquired even if some interval of time (several hours) intervenes between the sacred office and this prayer. Nevertheless it must be said on bended knees, except in the case of illness or of a graver impediment. Therefore any reasonable cause does not suffice.

Note. To obtain the fruit of indulgences the conditions under which they are granted must be fulfilled integrally and exactly; and in like manner, in establishing confraternities or congregations, the prescribed formalities must be accurately observed, so that the faithful may gain the indulgences attached to them. Knowledge of these matters can be drawn without difficulty from the work cited above, especially very useful to pastors: Beringer-Hilgers, Die Ablasse, etc.

¹ S. C. Indl., 7 Jan. 1843, n. 313.

² Cn. 922.

³ Cn. 935.

⁴ Benedict XIV, const. Convocatio, 25 Nov. 1749.

⁵ S. C. Indl., 14 June 1901.

⁶ S. C. Indl., 4 June 1888.

324. On the Privilege of the Altar. 1. A privileged altar is called that altar to which this special privilege is attached, by force of which the priest can apply a plenary indulgence to the soul of that dead person for whom he celebrates at that altar. Therefore the privilege of the altar, or the indulgence of a privileged altar, consists in this: that the supreme pontiff from the treasury of the Church applies to a certain dead person a plenary indulgence, or so many satisfactory merits as are required and suffice for immediately freeing him from the punishments of purgatory.

a. A twofold privilege of the altar is distinguished, local and personal. The local is fixed to a determined place, namely an altar; all who celebrate at that altar can enjoy this privilege. The personal is granted to certain priests requesting this privilege, who therefore can apply the indulgence of a privileged altar wherever they celebrate.

b. He who has obtained a personal privilege of the altar can also use the privilege of the altar which he possesses from another title, e.g., as a member of a congregation or confraternity, unless this is expressly prohibited in the indult.

2. The effect of this indulgence is not infallible. For the supreme pontiff indeed offers to God from the treasury of the Church as much as suffices for immediately freeing a soul from all punishments of purgatory; but because God is not bound to accept that price, both the acceptance itself and the measure of acceptance depend on the good pleasure of divine mercy.

Hence anniversaries and perpetual legacies to be discharged at a privileged altar are admitted by the Church, and the practice has become established that several Masses be said at a privileged altar for the same dead person.

3. Between this indulgence and others which are applied for the dead there exists no other difference, except that the indulgence of a privileged altar is more certainly applied and obtains its effect. For on the one hand, this indulgence supposes no other condition or disposition besides the offering of the sacrifice; on the other hand, the sacrifice itself offered for the same dead person has the power of placating divine justice and therefore of removing impediments, if any are present, which would prevent the indulgence from being applied perfectly and fully to this soul.

In ancient times the privilege of the altar was granted very rarely and only to more distinguished churches; in the last century the Church at length began to act more benignly in this matter.

Benedict XIII (in 1724) granted to all patriarchal, metropolitan, and cathedral churches of the whole world a daily and perpetual privileged altar to be designated once by the ordinary.

Clement XIII (in 1759) extended this same grant to all parish and collegiate churches of the whole world for seven years, at the end of which the bishop must have recourse for confirmation; then he will communicate the granted confirmation with the pastors. Indeed it can happen that in the same church there are several altars privileged from other titles, e.g., by reason of a confraternity or congregation.

The altar to which the privilege is granted must be fixed; a portable altar or simple stone does not suffice. Therefore by the name of a fixed altar in this question is not understood a fixed altar in the strict liturgical sense, but an altar suffices which cannot be moved from its place, even if it is wooden and not attached to the wall.¹

Nevertheless the privilege inheres not in the stone, "which one can substitute for another," but in the altar. Moreover it inheres in the altar so exclusively that it cannot be transferred to another altar without faculty.²

4. All altars are privileged a. on the day of the commemoration of all the faithful departed; b. on those days on which the supplication of forty hours is performed in the church.³

¹ S. C. Indl., 18 July 1902.

² S. C. Indl., 27 Sept. 1843, n. 324, and 20 March 1846, n. 334.

³ Cn. 917.

325. Conditions Required for Gaining This Indulgence. 1. Since the indulgence of a privileged altar cannot be separated from the application of the Mass, the indulgence must be applied to the soul of that dead person for whom the sacrifice is offered, not indeed from the nature of the thing, but from the will of the Church.¹

Not only he who celebrates for the living, but also he who offers the Mass for the living and at the same time for the dead, cannot apply the indulgence of a privileged altar.²

2. The indulgence of a privileged altar (even on the day of the commemoration of all the faithful departed) cannot be applied except to one dead person; therefore he who offers for several or for all the faithful departed must determine the soul to whom he intends to apply the indulgence. But if he offers the sacrifice for only one dead person, the indulgence also is applied to the same; nor is the intention of the celebrant necessarily required for this, although it is advisable that he intend to apply not only the Mass but also the indulgence.

3. On days on which it is permitted by the rubrics, it is indeed fitting, for the sake of piety toward the dead, that a Mass of Requiem be said, or of the feria or vigil with the proper prayer of the dead person (in the penultimate place); but this is no longer required under penalty of nullity.³

Therefore now for gaining the indulgence of a privileged altar it suffices that the Mass of the day be said, or even a votive Mass, if it is allowed by the rubrics, with the intention of applying the indulgence.

4. The indulgence of a privileged altar applied to the dead does not prevent the priest, through holy communion which he receives in the Mass, from being able to gain one or several other indulgences and apply them to himself or to the dead.

5. He who enjoys the privilege of the altar from several titles cannot, by one and the same sacrifice of the Mass, apply several plenary indulgences according to the number of titles which he enjoys, but only one.⁴

¹ S. C. Indl., 25 Aug. 1897. By this same decree to the question: How is the inscription to be understood which is found on some altars: A privileged altar for the living and the dead? it is answered: It is to be interpreted in such a way that both for the living, if it is applied at that altar for the living, and for the dead, if it is applied for these, a plenary indulgence is understood to have been granted.

² S. C. Indl., 23 Jan. 1901.

³ S. Officium, 20 Feb. 1913.

⁴ Cf. Beringer-Hilgers, p. 550 ff., where you will find communicated an excellent dissertation on this matter and several decrees which refer here.

326. On the Gregorian Altar. The altar of St. Gregory on the Coelian Hill at Rome is truly and properly privileged; but Gregorian altars ad instar are no longer granted.¹

Namely, from ancient times even to these times the faithful ask that at the altar of St. Gregory in the church of the same saint on the Coelian Hill the sacrifice of the Mass be offered for the dead, piously trusting that each Mass offered at this altar will be of such efficacy that the soul for whom it is offered is immediately freed from the punishments of purgatory. The S. C. of Indulgences (15 March 1884) declared this trust "pious and approved in the Church." Moreover the same privilege which belongs to the altar of St. Gregory on the Coelian Hill was sometimes granted by the supreme pontiff also to other altars throughout the world, which therefore were called: Gregorian altars ad instar. Therefore a Gregorian altar is a privileged altar in such a way that two things are added which cause the indulgence granted by the supreme pontiff to be applied more certainly and securely, namely, the intercession of St. Gregory and the authority of the Church, by which that altar has been specially deputed for this, that through the sacrifice offered on it souls may be freed from the punishments of purgatory.

¹ S. Officium, 11 Dec. 1912, ad 7.

327. On Gregorian Masses. By the same decree the S. C. of Indulgences also approved the Masses which are called Gregorian, or the Gregorian tricenary. By this name are meant thirty Masses which are celebrated for thirty continuous days after the example of St. Gregory at any altar whatever. The faithful, who from ancient times have arranged for Gregorian Masses to be celebrated, are led by this trust: that those Masses, from the good pleasure and acceptance of divine mercy, through the intercession of St. Gregory, will be so efficacious that the soul for whom they are applied is freed from the punishments of purgatory.

a. It is not necessary that the Masses be said by the same priest, but only that they be celebrated without interruption. Therefore a priest can and must substitute another for himself if he himself is impeded from celebrating the due Mass. If within the thirty days on which the Gregorian Masses are celebrated the last three days of Holy Week occur, it is lawful to interrupt the series of Masses for this triduum and, when it has elapsed, to continue them.¹ Nor is it necessary that a Mass of Requiem be said on those days on which it is permitted by the rubrics.²

b. If an interruption of the tricenary has been made, the essential condition is lacking. But if this happens inculpably, the priest is bound to begin the tricenary again if he accepted an extraordinary stipend, because one accepting such a stipend is judged to bind himself to this; if he accepted only an ordinary stipend, he does not seem to be bound to begin the celebration again, because he did not bind himself to undergo so great a burden because of an inculpable defect. It suffices if he completes the number of thirty Masses and celebrates at least one of them at a privileged altar.³

c. What the foundation of this pious trust is, or whence is derived the efficacy which is attributed by the faithful both to the tricenary of St. Gregory and to a Mass celebrated at a Gregorian altar, the Church has nowhere declared. But the opinion of those theologians seems to be approved who judge that St. Gregory obtained this grace from God: that, by his intercession, the soul of him for whom the Masses are offered in the manner explained above be freed from purgatory. Moreover the reason why it is piously believed that this grace was granted by God to St. Gregory is a certain wondrous fact which the saint himself narrates in Dialogues l. 4, c. 55.⁴

d. In some regions of Austria and Upper Germany there is found the custom of arranging that for a determined dead person six Masses be applied on continuous days, which likewise are called Gregorian. But of this custom, however pious, there is neither explicit approval of the Church, nor is a similar fact concerning six Masses narrated in the life of St. Gregory.⁵

¹ Benedict XIV, Instit. eccl.-instit. 34, n. 22.

² S. Officium, 11 Dec. 1912, ad 5.

³ Monitore eccl. XIII, p. 40.

⁴ Cf. C. Eberle, Der Tricenarius des hl. Gregorius (Regensburg: Pustet, 1890).

⁵ Cf. Schuch, Handbuch der Pastoraltheologie 15 (Innsbruck: Rauch, 1910), p. 568 f.

328. On This Indulgence Itself. 1. Pious mother Church grants to the dying a plenary indulgence to be gained in the article of death, so that the faithful, after the course of mortal life, freed from the punishments of their sins, can pass immediately to eternal blessedness. This indulgence is one, nor can it be applied to the dead;¹ but there are various titles from which it can be obtained, of which four are personal, one is universal, known to all by the name of general absolution. Several titles of this kind exist, although there is only one indulgence, so that the faithful may gain it more securely and more easily, by exactly observing the conditions of at least one title.

a. There are certain prayers and pious exercises which, performed during life under the due conditions, give the faithful the right of gaining a plenary indulgence at death. Thus those who often in life recite the well-known little prayer Angele Dei, or who frequently in life elicit acts of the theological virtues, can gain a plenary indulgence in the article of death.

b. Some sacred things (crosses, medals, rosaries, etc.) have been enriched with indulgences which are called papal; but one who possesses such a sacred thing and keeps it with himself at death gains a plenary indulgence in the article of death.

c. Members of almost all confraternities, and in like manner those who wear some scapular approved by the Church, gain the indulgence in the article of death.

d. The apostolic or papal blessing in the article of death is a special privilege by which the supreme pontiff grants a plenary indulgence for the article of death either to determined persons or to their blood-relatives.

e. To these is added the papal blessing which is carried about under the name of General Absolution and is not to be confused with the preceding. Namely Benedict XIV, through the bull Pia Mater (5 April 1747), grants to all bishops of the world requesting it the faculty of applying to the dying the apostolic blessing with plenary indulgence.

2. Between the personal titles and the universal title this difference intervenes: that the indulgence from a personal title can be acquired without the ministry of a priest applying it; for anyone can apply it to himself, or rather anyone gains it in the article of death without application by the very fact that he has fulfilled the conditions necessary for obtaining it, wherefore it is customarily called an indulgence given. On the other hand, the indulgence to be obtained from the Benedictine privilege must be applied through the ministry of a priest, whence it is called an indulgence to be brought.

¹ Whether he who has made the heroic act gains for himself or for the dead the indulgence granted in the article of death cannot be defined, but must be committed to divine providence. The S. C. Indl., when asked about this matter on 23 Jan. 1901, declined decision, answering: it is not to be discussed; perhaps according to his choice he can either reserve it for himself or apply it to the dead.

329. On General Absolution. 1. To whom it can be applied. This indulgence can be applied to all who, placed in danger of death, are capable of sacramental absolution: therefore a. even to those who are destitute of the senses, even if they have not received the last sacraments through their own fault; b. to children who are capable of sin, even if they have not received holy communion; c. to those condemned to death who repent of their crime, and to soldiers before battle, therefore also to those who are brought into danger of death from an external cause.¹

2. In order that a priest can validly apply this indulgence, two things are required:

a. Delegation or power of applying it. Through the Code of Canon Law this power is now conferred by the law itself upon all priests assisting the sick: "The pastor, or another priest who assists the sick, has the faculty of granting the apostolic blessing with plenary indulgence in the article of death according to the form handed down by the liturgical books."²

b. The formula prescribed by Benedict XIV, which must always be used, and this under penalty of nullity. It is found in the Roman ritual, in the breviary, in the diurnal hours, etc.

3. In order that the dying person can gain this indulgence, besides the universal conditions (intention and the state of grace) two others are required:

a. that he accept death with an equal and willing mind from the hand of God;

b. that he devoutly invoke the most holy name of Jesus with the mouth, if he can; if not, with the heart.³

4. When the apostolic blessing is to be imparted to the sick. a. In any illness connected with danger of death, even if death is not yet proximately imminent, the apostolic blessing can be given. But it is customarily given after the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and extreme unction, although these sacraments need not precede the apostolic blessing. The dying person, however, gains the indulgence in the very article of death.⁴

b. It is not lawful to repeat the apostolic blessing in the same illness, even if in a long illness a new danger of death returns, so that extreme unction can be repeated. This holds even if the sick person received it in the state of mortal sin or destitute of the senses, or if afterward he has fallen into grave sin or has received extreme unction again.⁵ For repeated application of this indulgence is useless, because the sick person can gain it only once in the very article of death, for which an application once made suffices.⁶ Nevertheless it can be repeated if the sick person recovers and then for any cause whatever falls into a new danger of death.⁷

¹ S. C. Indl., 18 Dec. 1885.

² Cn. 468, 2.

³ S. C. Indl., 23 Sept. 1775, n. 237, and 22 Sept. 1892.

⁴ S. C. Indl., 23 Sept. 1675, n. 9.

⁵ S. C. Indl., 19 March 1855, n. 362.

⁶ S. C. Indl., 20 June 1836, n. 257.

⁷ S. C. Indl., 12 Feb. 1842, n. 300.

330. Definition and Division. 1. A jubilee is called a solemn plenary indulgence granted by the supreme pontiff with attached faculties.

2. A distinction is made between the ordinary jubilee, or the greater jubilee, which recurs every 25th year; and the extraordinary, or lesser jubilee, which the supreme pontiff grants in particular circumstances.

a. A jubilee differs from another plenary indulgence only accidentally, namely by reason of the solemnity and the faculties which are attached to it.

b. The ordinary jubilee has already been received by custom in the Church from the year 1475. It is customarily granted first to the City alone; it lasts through an entire year, which is called the holy year; then it is extended to the whole world for a shorter time.

c. The supreme pontiff grants an extraordinary jubilee after his own exaltation, and in addition according to his judgment, either on certain greater solemnities or in particular necessities of the Church. An extraordinary jubilee is customarily celebrated at the same time at Rome and in the whole world.

d. During the course of the holy year, several faithful who cannot travel to Rome, as nuns, the sick, those detained in prisons, etc., can gain at home the indulgence of the ordinary jubilee. Moreover those who during the passing holy year, either at Rome or at home, have gained the jubilee, can again gain it in the following year, in which it is extended to the whole world.²

e. For the ordinary jubilee only three conditions are customarily prescribed: confession, communion, and visitation of churches; for the extraordinary jubilee there are required besides these fasting and alms. The faithful can gain the ordinary jubilee in the City as often as they perform the prescribed works; but in the World generally only once. Sometimes, however, the power has been granted of gaining it twice, once for oneself and once for the dead. With regard to an extraordinary jubilee there is no rule; therefore it must be learned from the bull whether it can be acquired once or several times.

¹ Bellegambe, Enchiridion theologico-practicum de iubilaeo; Pasquatigo, Theoria et praxis magni iubilaei atque etiam extraordinarii; Theodorus a Spiritu Sancto, Tractatus historico-theologicus de iubilaeo; Bellarmine, De indulgentiis et iubilaeo; Beringer-Hilgers, Die Ablasse 14, pp. 569-589 f.; Patr. Bastien, De iubilaeo anni sancti (Rollarii flandr.: De Meester, 1901). For solving questions which arise concerning the jubilee, the constitutions of Benedict XIV must be consulted, especially Convocatis (25 Nov. 1749) and Inter praeteritos (3 Dec. 1749). From the declaration of the S. C. Indlg. (15 March 1852, authentic decree n. 353), in both the ordinary and extraordinary jubilee all the rules of Benedict XIV are to be observed which are not opposed to the bull of the jubilee.

² Benedict XIV, constit. Benedictus Deus.

331. Conditions Required for Gaining the Jubilee, concerning which the rule must be noted: works already owed from elsewhere do not suffice for gaining the jubilee.¹

1. Confession and communion. a. Confession must be made within the time established for gaining the jubilee; therefore a confession made on the vigil of the jubilee does not profit, but a confession made after first vespers of that day on which the jubilee begins does profit. For the ordinary jubilee in the City, according to ancient custom, is customarily begun from first vespers.

b. Confession already owed by another title, e.g., from the precept of the Church, and paschal communion do not suffice for gaining the jubilee without a special concession; but viaticum does suffice for gaining the jubilee.²

c. He who, after confession has been made but before he has placed the last prescribed work, has fallen into mortal sin, must repeat confession (it does not suffice to elicit perfect contrition); but he is not bound to repeat the other works already performed.³

2. Visitation of churches. Which churches must be visited and how often, at Rome the supreme pontiff designates, outside Rome the bishop designates; and in them, according to the intention of the pontiff, five Our Fathers and Hail Marys, or equivalent prayers, must be recited.

a. In places where there is only one church, the bishop can grant that all visitations can be made in it.⁴ But visitations which are made in the same church must be so distinguished from one another that on each occasion it is necessary to enter it and go out of it.

b. The bishop can also designate a public oratory to be visited, provided Mass is habitually celebrated in it.⁵

c. Excluding a special privilege, religious cannot gain the jubilee by visiting their own church. But if they cannot visit the churches designated by the ordinary, each one must request a commutation from his own confessor.⁶

d. If several churches must be visited once in the day, all must indeed be visited on that day; however, the day can be computed not only according to the civil manner, but also according to the ecclesiastical, namely from first vespers until twilight of the following day.⁷ Hence it can happen that, when today's visitations have been completed after first vespers of the same day, the visitations of the following day can already be instituted either wholly or in part.⁸

e. If the same church must be visited several times, the visitations can be made either on the same day or on distinct days, unless something else is established in the bull.⁹

f. Because works already owed from elsewhere do not suffice for gaining the jubilee, it does not suffice for the prescribed visitation to recite prayers for the jubilee while one is assisting at Mass by precept; but it suffices to recite prayers for gaining the jubilee before or after Mass.

g. Each person can perform the prescribed visitations either in his own domicile or elsewhere, provided he visits the churches designated in the place where he has determined to perform the visitations.¹⁰

3. A fast of three days, namely Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, with abstinence from meats.

a. In the last jubilees Leo XIII, by the words "using only fasting foods," had prescribed a strict fast, by which abstinence also from eggs and milk-products is required; Pius X, on the other hand (in 1904), prescribed only one day of fasting and granted to bishops the faculty of permitting eggs and milk-products in those places where it is difficult to use fasting foods.¹¹

b. It is not lawful to observe the fast prescribed for gaining the jubilee on a day on which a fast has already been commanded by the Church, unless this is expressly permitted in the bull.

c. The three prescribed fasts must be observed in the same week, unless the bull permits something else.

d. The fast prescribed must be observed also by those who by reason of age are either not yet or no longer bound to fast, likewise all who otherwise are excused or dispensed from fasting. But if they cannot perform this, the confessor can commute the fast into other pious works.¹²

4. Alms are prescribed either indeterminately: according to the judgment or devotion of each one, or more determinately: according to the faculties of each one; but it is not necessary that money be given, but some other thing estimable in price can be given.

a. For gaining the jubilee even the poor must give the prescribed alms; but it suffices to give a small coin.

b. If only some alms is prescribed indeterminately, any quantity suffices; but if it is prescribed according to the faculties of each one, the quantity which suffices for a poor person does not suffice for a rich person, but some proportion must be present between the alms and the faculties of the giver.

c. Alms can also be given through another, provided it is done with the knowledge of those very persons for whom it is distributed. Therefore the father of a family can give the prescribed alms for his wife and children; a religious superior for his subjects; a rich person for a poor person, provided it is distributed with their knowledge. Moreover religious and the poor can request the commutation of this work from their own confessor.

Notes. 1. No certain order is required in fulfilling these conditions, provided the last work is performed in the state of grace.

2. Formerly they thought that the works prescribed for gaining an extraordinary jubilee had to be performed in the same week;¹³ but now it is certain that this is not necessary.¹⁴

3. It is not necessary that the works be performed in one's own diocese; but either all or some of them can be performed in another diocese, provided the prescriptions of that bishop in whose diocese the works are done are observed.¹⁵

If someone changes domicile after he has already begun the prescribed works in the place of the prior domicile, he can perform the remaining works in the new domicile.

¹ Constit. Inter praeteritos, n. 53.

² S. Poenitent., 28 March 1900.

³ Constit. Convocatis, n. 47.

⁴ S. C. Indl., 14 March 1852, n. 353.

⁵ S. Poenit., 15 Jan. 1886.

⁶ S. Poenit., 24 April 1886.

⁷ Constit. Inter praeteritos, n. 8, 11, 13.

⁸ S. Poenit., 20 Feb. 1900.

⁹ S. Poenit., 15 Jan. 1886.

¹⁰ S. Poenit., 14 May 1879.

¹¹ S. Poenit., 23 March 1904.

¹² S. C. Indl., 10 July 1869, n. 425.

¹³ S. Alphonsus, n. 537.

¹⁴ S. Poenit., 6 March 1865.

¹⁵ S. Poenit., 15 Jan. 1886.

332. Special Faculties which are customarily granted to confessors during the jubilee:

1. Of absolving even regulars; nevertheless nuns strictly so called can be absolved only by confessors approved for nuns; but nuns of simple vows can once choose for themselves a confessor simply approved.¹

Since by the Code of Canon Law the power of absolving religious of either sex has now already been granted by the law itself to all confessors, this faculty is superfluous for future jubilees.

2. Of absolving from all sins and censures reserved to the bishop or to the Roman pontiff, even in a special manner.

Exceptions are: a. the cases reserved by the constitution Sacramentum poenitentiae, namely absolution of an accomplice, if the crime has been committed three or more times,² and calumnious denunciation of a priest for the crime of solicitation. b. The absolution of those who have been excommunicated, suspended, interdicted, or publicly denounced as bound by censure by the Roman pontiff or by another prelate by name. In the last jubilees the faculty of absolving these persons (named in the latter place) was granted, if they had satisfied the competent authority, or, if during the time of the jubilee they could not satisfy, provided they had promised that they would do this as soon as possible.

3. Of dispensing from an irregularity contracted through violation of a censure, provided it is occult.

4. Of commuting vows (not excepting a vow not to seek commutation), even sworn vows and vows reserved to the supreme pontiff.

a. Exceptions are: a. vows of perpetual chastity and of entrance into religion; b. vows made in favor of a third party and accepted by him, unless he has renounced his right; g. penal vows emitted for removing the danger of sin, unless the commutation is made into a work which is equally useful for removing the same danger.

b. He who, in a confession instituted for gaining the jubilee, has forgotten either to confess a reserved sin or censure, or to ask for commutation of vows, can afterward, even after the time of the jubilee has already elapsed, obtain absolution or commutation from any confessor: for the reservation has been removed through the confession instituted for gaining the jubilee, and through that confession he has acquired the right for obtaining the commutation.

c. For commuting vows a special cause is not required, but the very reason of the jubilee suffices. Nevertheless it must be noted that the faculty of simply commuting vows is granted, not merely of commuting them by dispensing.³

5. Of commuting for a just cause the prescribed works into other works not otherwise owed and of almost the same nature, with the exception, however, of confession, communion, and the prayers to be recited according to the intention of the supreme pontiff.

a. A commutation which is made without a just cause is invalid. Therefore if, for example, fasting were changed into another work only because of the penitent's repugnance toward fasting, the commutation would not be valid: for it is required that the penitent be in physical or moral impossibility of fulfilling the prescribed work. If, however, the confessor in good faith judged a cause insufficient in itself to be sufficient, the commutation would be valid.

b. Because the faculty of dispensing is not granted, it is necessary that the substituted work not be notably less than that which was enjoined by the supreme pontiff, unless perhaps the penitent were very weak.

c. For children who have not yet been admitted to holy communion, the prescribed communion can be commuted into another pious work, unless through the bull of the jubilee the faculty is granted of simply dispensing them from communion; but only in the act of sacramental confession.⁴ Marc (n. 1738) judges that holy communion can also be commuted for those suffering from a chronic illness, who for that reason cannot receive holy communion, something which because of the recent dispensation from fasting granted to sick persons of this kind is no longer necessary.

d. If it is granted that the faithful can gain the indulgence of the jubilee more often, the prescribed works can also be commuted more often.⁵

¹ S. Poenit., 17 Jan. 1900.

² Leo XIII grants the faculty of absolving from the crime of absolution of an accomplice admitted twice by the constitution Temporis quidem, 1900.

³ S. Poenit., 1 Nov. 1899.

⁴ S. Poenit., 30 Jan. 1886.

⁵ S. Poenit., 18 March 1886.

333. On the Use of These Faculties.

1. Confessors cannot use these faculties without a special concession except in sacramental confession.¹

2. They can use them only once for the same penitent, even if the indulgence can be acquired several times; but it is not necessary that all the faculties be applied in the same confession or that all be applied by the same confessor. The commutation of the prescribed works is excepted, which can be made several times where it is lawful to gain the indulgence several times.

Therefore to him who, the first time he gains the jubilee, has used the granted faculties, they cannot be applied again, even if the indulgence can be acquired more often; but to him who did not need the granted faculties when he gained the jubilee the first time, they can afterward be applied, provided the jubilee can be acquired more often and he repeats the prescribed works for gaining the jubilee. Whether a penitent to whom the granted faculties have been applied when he confessed can again be absolved by force of the jubilee if he falls into a censure before he has fulfilled the prescribed works or not is not certainly clear. Lehmkuhl (n. 555, 695) probably affirms it, and the holy see confirmed his opinion for the jubilee of the year 1901.²

3. Confessors cannot use these faculties except with penitents who have a sincere will of gaining the jubilee, and therefore of fulfilling the prescribed works, and who approach confession with this intention.³

a. If a penitent who has approached confession with this disposition has been absolved from censures and has obtained commutation of vows, but afterward does not fulfill the works prescribed for gaining the jubilee, he can enjoy the faculty once granted, but he commits sin, which nevertheless does not exceed venial sin.⁴

b. Through a sacrilegious confession reservations and censures are not removed; for the penitent does not bring the disposition which is a necessary condition in order that the privileges of the jubilee can be applied to him.⁵

¹ Constit. Inter praeteritos, n. 63.

² S. Poenit., 25 Jan. 1901.

³ Benedict XIV, const. Inter praeteritos, n. 62 and 86.

⁴ S. Alphonsus, n. 537.

⁵ Benedict XIV, Inter praeteritos, n. 62. S. Alphonsus, ibid.

334. Suspension of Graces. In order that the faithful may be more strongly attracted to undertake the Roman pilgrimage and to gain the jubilee in the City, during the holy year indulgences are suspended everywhere, with few exceptions, and in the World also the faculties of confessors, which revive when the holy year has elapsed. Namely:

1. Indulgences, both plenary and partial, granted by the Roman pontiff; but these are not suspended:

a. Indulgences applicable to the dead; indeed all indulgences which otherwise could be acquired only by the living the faithful can gain for the dead in that year;¹

b. the indulgence granted in the article of death;

c. indulgences granted for the prayer Angelus Domini;

d. the partial indulgence granted for visitation of the most holy sacrament solemnly exposed, when the adoration of forty hours is being made;

e. the indulgences granted to those who accompany the most holy sacrament, carrying a candle, when it is borne to the sick;

f. the indulgence of the Portiuncula of Assisi to be gained (outside Assisi we can gain this indulgence, like the others which can be acquired toties-quoties, only for the dead);

g. indulgences granted by a prelate inferior to the pope, whether habitually or transiently.

2. Faculties granted by the holy see, and indeed:

a. the faculty of absolving from cases and censures reserved to the Roman pontiff;

b. the faculty of commuting vows, whether the commutation is made simply or by dispensing;

c. the faculty of dispensing in irregularities;

d. the faculty of dispensing in impediments, even of marriage, granted either to private persons or to communities.

Therefore during the holy year the faculties of dispensing in abstinence and fasting do not cease, nor the faculty of attaching papal indulgences to rosaries, crosses, medals, etc., nor the faculty of giving the papal blessing at the end of missions, and other faculties of this kind which do not pertain to the four headings enumerated above.

Moreover, from the faculties themselves suspended by the bull of the jubilee some are excepted which remain in their force; ordinarily the following are excepted:

a. Faculties granted by the Sacred Penitentiary to missionaries, which are exercised in mission places and on the occasion of missions.

Some understand by missionaries only those who labor in regions of infidels; others probably extend this exception also to missionaries who in our regions devote themselves to giving missions.

b. Faculties granted to bishops either by the Council of Trent through c. Liceat, or by common law, or by special privilege for particular cases.

g. Faculties granted to regular superiors for their subjects.

¹ S. C. Indl., 16 Dec. 1749, n. 182.

Canon 2237, sec. 2, provides that in occult cases the Ordinary can remit, himself or through another, penalties latae sententiae imposed by common law, except censures very specially or only specially reserved to the Apostolic See. Canon 2327 I. Quaestum facientes ex indulgentiis plectuntur ipso facto excommunicatione Sedi Apostolicae simpliciter reservata. (Those who make gain out of indulgences are punished ipso facto with an excommunication simply reserved to the Apostolic See.)

IN every sin the teaching of the Catholic Church distinguishes two elements: the guilt and the penalty which it incurs. The guilt is the injury committed against God by the sinner and the displeasure with which God views the sinful act. If the sin is mortal, it deprives the soul of sanctifying grace and of God’s friendship, so that a state of enmity exists between God and the sinner. A venial sin is an injury against God; it is the object of his displeasure, and is a stain on the soul, but it does not rob the soul of sanctifying grace or deprive it of the friendship of God. Besides this guilt a sin deserves and ordinarily receives punishment at the hands of God. It is a law of God’s justice that wrongdoing entails suffering either in this world or in the world to come. It is the sanction which in the nature of things is annexed to the great moral law. The penalty for mortal sin, as befits the unrepenting and obstinate enemies of God, is eternal separation from him and punishment in the fires of hell; the penalty for venial sin is temporary punishment in this world or in purgatory. These two elements in sin are not only distinct from each other in thought; they may be, and frequently are, separated in reality. When God pardons mortal sin, the eternal penalty which it deserves in hell is also remitted, but we know from revelation that he frequently exacts from the sinner some temporary punishment for the serious offence which has been committed against him and right order. The guilt of David’s adultery was forgiven on his repentance, but he had to endure the loss of the child and other punishments. This is only in keeping with what we might expect at the hands of a wise Providence and with what observation of the order of nature teaches us. A man may truly repent of his sin, and he may have the fullest confidence that God has pardoned it, but he knows that he will have to bear the sad effects of it till his dying day.

This distinction between the guilt of sin and the penalty due to it is necessary for the understanding of what is meant by an indulgence. An indulgence is not the forgiveness of the guilt of sin; much less is it a permission to commit sin. It is the remission of the temporal punishment which often remains due to sin after its guilt has been forgiven. An indulgence, then, cannot be gained for unrepented sin, nor for sin of which the guilt still stains the soul. If, however, the guilt has been forgiven, any temporal punishment which remains to be suffered in consequence of it may be remitted by indulgences and by other means.

As the Catholic Church claims that her divine Founder empowered her ministers to forgive sin, provided that the sinner has the requisite dispositions, so she also lays claim to the power of remitting the temporal punishment due to sin both by the ministration of the sacraments and by granting indulgences. From the first centuries of the Christian era her bishops have used the power to condone temporal punishment due to sin outside sacramental confession, and they have understood that this power was contained in the general power to bind and loose granted to the Apostles and their successors by our Lord. As the Pope has jurisdiction over the whole world, he can grant indulgences to all the faithful; a bishop can only grant indulgences to those who are within his diocese, and up to the limits imposed on him by the supreme authority of the Roman Pontiff (Can. 349, sec. 2, ii).

The doctrine of indulgences is intimately connected with other dogmas of the Catholic faith. When the Church remits temporal punishment due to sin, she does not simply condone it outright in the name of God, but she pays the debt due to sin out of the treasure of the Church. This treasure of the Church is made up of the satisfactions of our Lord and of his saints. Christ and all the members of his Church form one mystical body: “ For as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office: so we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”¹ “One body and one Spirit: as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.”² By virtue of this oneness in Christ, there is among the faithful what is called the communion of saints. Not only do all get the benefit of the same sacrifice and sacraments, but the good works of each benefit to some extent all the rest. The merit, indeed, which every good action possesses with God, with a view to an eternal reward, is personal and belongs exclusively to the doer of it; but besides meriting, every good action has also a power of placating God and satisfying for sin, as well as a power of impetrating his graces and blessings. The satisfactory part of the good actions of Christ and his saints was not required to satisfy for their own offences, and it is available to satisfy for the sins of those who form with them one mystical body. It needs, however, application to the individual soul, and one of the ways in which this is done is through indulgences. The dispensing of the mysteries of God belongs to the prelates of his Church, and inasmuch as they have jurisdiction over the faithful in this life, indulgences are applied to them directly by the power of the keys.

Over the faithful departed who are suffering for their sins in purgatory the Church has no jurisdiction, but as we can pray for them, and they are helped thereby, so if the Church permits it we can gain indulgences and apply them to the souls of the faithful departed by way of suffrage, asking God to accept the satisfaction offered for the holy souls (Can. 911).

¹ Rom. xii 4.

² Eph. iv 4-6.

A plenary indulgence is one by which all the debt of temporal punishment due to a person for his sins is remitted, while a partial indulgence, of say, forty days, remits the same amount of temporal punishment as would have been remitted by undergoing canonical penance for forty days according to the ancient discipline of the Church.

Indulgences are local, if they can only be gained in a particular place, as by visiting some particular church; they are personal, if they are attached to certain persons who fulfil certain conditions; they are real, if they are attached to a particular object, as to a crucifix or a rosary.

Again, they are temporary if they can only be gained within a specified time; if granted without any time limit, they are perpetual.

THERE must always be a just cause for granting an indulgence, otherwise the grantor would not be a faithful dispenser of the mysteries of God, and he would fail in the trust committed to him by God. In practice, however, this does not concern the faithful to whom indulgences are granted; they may rest assured that there is always a just cause for the indulgences which the Church offers for their acceptance.

No one can gain an indulgence unless he is a member of the Catholic Church, and, moreover, he must have the requisite intention, he must be in the state of grace, and he must fulfil all the conditions prescribed for gaining the indulgence.

It is not necessary that the intention be actual; it is sufficient if it be virtual, so that there was the wish to gain the indulgence, and it continues to influence the actions whose performance is required for the purpose of gaining the indulgence. It will be sufficient to form an intention in the morning of gaining all the indulgences which may be annexed to any of the good works done during the following day. Some authorities hold that such a virtual intention is not necessary, but that an habitual, or even an interpretative intention, will suffice. An habitual intention is one which was formed and which has not been retracted, but which does not influence the performance of one’s actions any longer. An interpretative intention does not exist in reality, but it would be elicited if the agent thought of the matter. Inasmuch as an indulgence is a grant made by the Church to all who fulfil certain conditions, these authors maintain that all pious Catholics who value indulgences gain such as are annexed to their prayers and other good deeds without any special intention, ‘This opinion, however, though probable, is not certain, and so it is safer in practice to follow the other, which requires at least a virtual intention, especially as it is doubtful whether probabilism can be used in this matter. Canon 925, sec, 2, says that a general intention is requisite, which many interpret as signifying an habitual intention.

The person who gains an indulgence must also be in the state of grace, for one who is in mortal sin, at enmity with God, and liable to eternal punishment, is not a fit subject for the remission of temporal punishment due to his sins. The Church, too, requires that those who wish to gain the indulgences which she offers to her children should be contrite in heart, or, in other words, in the state of grace, recovered, if they had fallen, by means of sacramental confession, or at least by an act of perfect contrition. When several actions, such as visiting a church, prayer for the Pope, confession, etc., are prescribed for gaining an indulgence, it is not absolutely necessary that all such actions be performed while the agent is in the state of grace; it will be sufficient if the soul be in the state of grace when the last condition is fulfilled and when the indulgence is applied.

Finally, all the conditions laid down by him who granted the indulgence must be faithfully fulfilled by anyone who wishes to gain it. If the indulgence be annexed to the saying of a prayer, the prayer must be said with the lips; it is not sufficient to repeat it mentally. Deaf-mutes satisfy the condition by raising their minds to God in the place where public prayers are said by others (Can. 936), and if one of the conditions for gaining an indulgence is visiting a church and praying therein for the intentions of the Holy Father, they may fulfil this condition by visiting the church and praying mentally or reading the prayers from a book.

The ordinary conditions prescribed for gaining a plenary indulgence are: prayer for the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff, visit to a church, and confession and Holy Communion.

To satisfy the condition of prayer for the intentions of the Pope, any form of prayer which is not already of obligation will suffice. A priest, therefore, could not satisfy this condition by saying his breviary, to which he is already bound by the law of the Church, but it has been decided that when indulgenced prayers are prescribed by a confessor for sacramental penance, the penitent may say his penance and gain the indulgence at the same time. The length of prayer for the Pope’s intention is not ordinarily defined, but authors are agreed that five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys will suffice. The Pope’s intentions are: the common good of the Church, the propagation of the Faith, the conversion of sinners, heretics, and schismatics, and peace and concord among Christian peoples. To gain the indulgence it is not necessary to have these intentions distinctly in mind; it will be sufficient to pray for the Pope’s intentions in general.

The prayers may be said alone or with others alternately, and they may be said anywhere, unless it is specially prescribed that they are to be said while visiting the church.

Unless some special church is mentioned for the visit, any church or public oratory to which the public have free access may be selected. Semi-public oratories of religious and other communities will suffice (Can. 929), but private chapels will not suffice, unless by special indult.

Canon 931 specially provides that for the gaining of any indulgences whatever, when confession is required, it may be made within the eight days which immediately precede the day to which the indulgence is annexed, and the Communion may be made on the eve of the same day; and, moreover, both may also be made within the whole of the following octave, The faithful who are accustomed, unless they are lawfully prevented, to go to sacramental confession at least twice a month, or to receive Holy Communion daily with a right intention and piously, in the state of grace, though they may abstain from it once or twice in the week, can gain all indulgences, even without actual confession, which otherwise would be necessary to gain them, except the indulgences of an ordinary or extraordinary jubilee or one granted after the manner (ad instar) of a jubilee.

If a visit to a church or oratory is required for gaining an indulgence annexed to a certain day, the visit may be made at any time between midday on the previous day and midnight which terminates the day itself (Can. 923).

Canon 935 grants power to confessors to commute the good works enjoined for gaining indulgences into other good works in favour of those who are hindered from fulfilling them by any lawful impediment.

The conditions enjoined may be fulfilled in any order.

According to the general rule, an indulgence can only be gained once on the day designated, but not infrequently an indulgence is granted toties quoties, and then it may be gained as often as the conditions are fulfilled. In this case if confession and Communion, or in general any good work which is not capable of being repeated on the same day, be among the conditions prescribed, such conditions are only fulfilled once, and the others are repeated as often as it is desired to gain the indulgence. When several indulgences are attached to the same action, and this cannot be repeated, as is the case with Holy Communion, all the indulgences may be gained by the one action. If, however, the action enriched by several sets of indulgences be capable of being repeated on the same day, such as saying the rosary, as a general rule only one set - of indulgences determined by him who wishes to gain them can be gained by performing the action once. Pius X, however, by a decree dated June 12, 1907, made an exception to this rule in favour of rosaries enriched with the Croisiers’ indulgences, which may now be gained in reciting the rosary cumulatively, together with other indulgences already granted to the same rosaries.

It must frequently happen that plenary indulgences cannot be gained in full on account of some obstacle in the way, such as unforgiven venial sin. In such a case Canon 926 makes it clear that according to the intention of the Church the indulgence takes its effect as far as possible, and becomes in fact a partial indulgence.

Almost all indulgences are now applicable to the souls in purgatory (Can. 930). In order that they may be applied to them in fact, the person who fulfils the conditions should form his intention of offering them to God for the benefit of certain souls, or for the benefit of the souls in purgatory in general. It is a controverted point among the theologians whether such application is infallible in its effect or not. The difficulty is about the divine promise to accept such offerings, some theologians holding that such a promise is implicitly contained in the words of our Lord: “ Whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven ”’; others denying this. The negative opinion seems to be more in accordance with the mind and practice of the Church.

Similarly, it is a disputed question among theologians whether one who gains an indulgence for the souls in purgatory must himself be in the state of grace. Many hold that he must be, as he must gain the indulgence himself before he can apply it to the holy souls. Others do not see the necessity of this, for such a one only fulfils the conditions, and on the fulfilment of these the Church offers to God the corresponding satisfactions. Both opinions are probable, but the former is safer in practice.

Objects to be indulgenced should be solid and not easily breakable. Hence pictures on paper, and hollow glass beads, may not be indulgenced; but beads made of solid glass, or of iron, or wood, may be.

Objects do not lose their indulgences as long as they remain morally the same. In a rosary the indulgences are attached to the beads, not to the string, so that even though the string be changed, or a few beads be lost and others substituted for them, the indulgences are not lost. When a crucifix is indulgenced, the indulgence is atta ched to the image, not to the cross. To prevent the danger of simony, indulgences attached to a movable object are lost if it is sold, or if it is completely destroyed (Can. 924, Sec, 2),

A JUBILEE is a plenary indulgence granted by the Pope with greater solemnity than usual for a definite time, together with special faculties for confessors. The first jubilee was granted by Boniface VIII in the year 1300 with the intention that it should be held thereafter every hundred years, but subsequent Popes changed the period into fifty, thirty-three, and finally into twenty-five years. This is called a greater or ordinary jubilee, to distinguish it from the less or extraordinary jubilee, which the Pope grants on some special occasion, as, to celebrate his election to the papacy. A general jubilee is granted to all the faithful, usually in the first place at Rome, and afterward it is extended to the rest of the world; a particular jubilee is granted to a particular province or religious order.

The conditions prescribed for gaining an ordinary jubilee are: confession, Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions in churches to be visited for the purpose a certain number of times.

Confession is necessary for those who wish to gain the jubilee even if they are not conscious of mortal sin, and the annual confession which is prescribed by ecclesiastical law will not suffice. If a grievous sin is inadvertently omitted from the jubilee confession, this is nevertheless sufficient for gaining the indulgence, but of course the sin which was forgotten must be mentioned in the next confession. If, after going to confession and before fulfilling the other conditions for gaining the jubilee, mortal sin is committed, the person should go again to confession to gain the indulgence.

A good Communion distinct from the ordinary Easter Communion is another of the conditions to be fulfilled.

At Rome the four basilicas, St Peter’s, St Paul’s outside the Walls, St John Lateran, and St Mary Major, are usually designated to be visited a certain number of times, and during the visits prayer is to be offered up for the Pope’s intention. Outside Rome the churches to be visited are usually left to be determined by the bishop. The visits must be made in one day according to either the civil or the ecclesiastical method of reckoning, or, in other words, reckoning either from midnight to midnight, or from the hour of vespers.

For an extraordinary jubilee, besides the above conditions, fasting and almsgiving are also prescribed.

The fast is a strict one. A day which is not a fasting day by ecclesiastical law must be chosen, unless the contrary is specially conceded in the bull of indiction of the jubilee, and then the strict fast must be observed, nor can advantage be taken of any indult. Even those who are not bound by the ecclesiastical law of fasting must fulfil this condition if they wish to gain the jubilee.

The amount to be given in alms is not generally specified, and any amount will suffice provided that it is not so small as not to deserve the name. Religious, wives, children, and servants, may have their obligation fulfilled for them by superiors, husbands, parents, and masters.

Bishops and confessors receive faculties to commute all the above conditions for ordinary and extraordinary jubilees except prayer, confession, and sometimes Holy Communion. For the lawful and valid use of this faculty there should always be a just cause, and some good work of more or less equal merit should be enjoined in place of that commuted.

Regulars who desire to gain the jubilee may choose a confessor from among those, whether secular or regular, who are approved by the bishop, or they may confess to one approved by their superiors, Nuns are sometimes empowered to choose a confessor for the purpose of gaining the jubilee from any priests approved by the bishop; sometimes it is prescribed that the confessor chosen must be one of those who are approved for the confessions of nuns. Confession may be made to the priest thus chosen as often as the penitent desires before the fulfilment of the last condition for gaining the jubilee, but not afterward.

The confessor chosen for the jubilee confession has special faculties given to him by the bull of indiction. This should always be carefully studied in order that the confessor may know the extent of his powers. Ordinarily, he is empowered to absolve penitents from all censures and sins, even those that are reserved, ‘The cases of attempted absolution of an accomplice and a false charge of solicitation are generally excepted, or power to absolve them is only granted under restriction, The absolution would be valid if the penitent who came to confession with the intention of gaining the jubilee afterwards changed his mind and gave up the attempt; and probably the reservation would be removed if a reserved sin were confessed by such a penitent, though the confession were sacrilegious, or inculpably null and void. Jubilee confessors have also ample faculties granted them for dispensing from vows or commuting them, though vows of perpetual chastity, of entering a religious order with solemn vows, and those which have been accepted by third parties, are usually excepted.

While the greater jubilee is being celebrated at Rome, the special faculties granted to bishops and priests for the internal forum are ordinarily suspended, at least with respect to penitents who can make the journey to Rome.

In the same way during this time other indulgences granted by the Pope in favour of the faithful who are living are suspended, though they may all be gained for the faithful departed.

Certain special indulgences, as those for the saying of the Angelus, those granted to the dying, and for the solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, are excepted,

(St. Thomas, Supplement, q. 25-27; St. Alphonsus, Theologia Moralis, book VI, n. 531-538; Homo Apostolicus, treatise 16, n. 62-72).

The sacrament of Penance was instituted by Christ the Lord for remitting both guilt and eternal and temporal punishment due for sins committed. It happens, however, that not every temporal punishment is remitted through the sacrament. Now the punishment surviving can be remitted both through other sacraments, and through good works - since in each there is a satisfactory value - and through indulgences. Hence the dissertation on indulgences is suitably attached to the treatise on the Sacrament of Penance, inasmuch as it is ordered to the integral remission of sins.

We shall speak first of indulgences generally, then of some indulgences in particular.

We shall discuss first the notion or essence, existence, and division of indulgences; then their concession; then their gaining; finally the transfer, suspension, and cessation of indulgences.

I. Notion. An indulgence is the remission before God of temporal punishment due for sins which, as far as guilt is concerned, have already been blotted out, which ecclesiastical authority grants from the treasury of the Church outside the sacrament, for the living by way of absolution, for the departed by way of suffrage (canon 911).

It is said:

1. Remission of temporal punishment; but not of guilt, whether mortal or venial; nor of eternal punishment, but only temporal punishment.

2. Before God. This is clear both from proposition 19 of Luther condemned by Leo X: "Indulgences are of no value for those who truly gain them for the remission, before divine justice, of punishment due for actual sins;"² and from the authentic declaration of Pius VI issued against propositions 40 and 41 of the Synod of Pistoia.³

Besides this, indulgences are worth as much before God as the Church expresses in her words; so that, for example, a plenary indulgence of itself remits all temporal punishment, and an indulgence, for example, of one year of itself is worth only as much as one year of penance would be worth, passed according to the penitential canons, independently of the devotion or fervor of the subject. The reason is that "the quantity of the effect follows the quantity of its cause. But the cause of the remission of punishment in indulgences is nothing except the abundance of the merits of the Church, which is sufficient for expiating the whole punishment; but the devotion, or labor, or gift of the one receiving the indulgence, or the cause for which the indulgence is given, is not the effective cause. Hence the quantity of the remission ought not to be proportioned to any of these things, but to the merits of the Church, which always superabound" (St. Thomas, Supplement, q. 25, a. 2). "Nor in this is too great a market made of the mercy of God, as some say; nor is derogation made from divine justice, because nothing of the punishment is remitted, but the punishment of one is reckoned to another" (St. Thomas, cited place).

3. Due for sins which, as far as guilt is concerned, have already been blotted out. For while the guilt remains, the punishment corresponding to it cannot be remitted. But once guilt has been remitted, not necessarily every temporal punishment is remitted.

4. Ecclesiastical authority, since to it alone belongs disposing of the common treasury. Who are the subjects of this power is explained in n. 494.

5. From the treasury of the Church. By the treasury of the Church is understood the accumulation of satisfactions of the Saints, both those reigning in heaven and those dwelling on earth, which they did not apply to others. Namely, to every good work proceeding from grace there belongs a threefold value: meritorious, insofar as, when the other conditions have been fulfilled, it confers a right to a just reward; impetratory, insofar as it has the force of obtaining goods from God by supplication; satisfactory, insofar as by reason of the difficulty of the work itself and at least by reason of the reluctance of our nature, it can satisfy the injured justice of God. Now the satisfactions of Christ, certainly of infinite value, and likewise the satisfactions of the saints, insofar as they were neither necessary for blotting out their own punishment nor applied by them to other persons, constitute, as it is called, the treasury of the Church.

6. Outside the sacrament; by which indulgence is distinguished from the remission of punishment which is made by the power of the keys in the sacrament of Penance.

7. Grants for the living by way of absolution, for the departed by way of suffrage. Namely:

a) An indulgence granted to the living is a judicial act by which the Church definitively applies the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints to her subjects in substitution for the temporal punishment still due for guilt that has been remitted. Therefore it is made by way of absolution, or is a quasi-absolution; but it is not a pure and simple absolution, because it has payment attached, insofar as it applies to the faithful satisfactions rendered by others. Hence St. Thomas says: "One who receives indulgences is not, simply speaking, absolved from the punishment due, but it is given to him so that he may pay the debt" (Supplement, q. 25, a. 1, ad 2).

b) An indulgence for the departed - over whom the Church lacks jurisdiction - involves the Church, from her power of administering her treasury, offering - or granting the one gaining the indulgence the right of offering in her name - to God the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints, praying to Him that He will accept them in substitution for the punishment to be paid by the departed. Hence an indulgence of this kind is valid only by way of suffrage.

From what has been said it follows that an indulgence granted to the living, when the things to be observed have been observed, has an infallible effect. But as regards the effect with respect to the departed, it is disputed whether or not it is infallible. Some affirm, because God, by the very fact that He gave the Supreme Pontiff the power of granting indulgences for the departed, seems also to have bound Himself by a promise to apply indulgences to them. Others deny this, or at least think that the application of the whole value, and to the designated souls, is not infallible, because such a divine promise is not proved in any way. For the power of the Church to grant indulgences for the departed involves only the competence of offering to God for the departed the spiritual treasury entrusted to herself, that is, to the Church. But a competence of this kind does not prove a divine promise of accepting what is offered. The response of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, dated July 28, 1840, taken in its obvious sense, favors this opinion: "By an indulgence of a privileged altar, if the mind of the one granting and the use of the power of the keys are considered, there is to be understood a plenary indulgence which immediately frees the soul from all the punishments of purgatory. But if the effect of the application is considered, there is to be understood an indulgence whose measure corresponds to the good pleasure and acceptance of divine mercy" (St. Alphonsus, VI, 534, under 10).

¹ Cf. Beringer-Steinen, Die Ablässe; Fanfani, De indulgentiis: manuale theoretico-practicum; Stein, De indulgentiis lucrandis.

² Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 759.

³ Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 1540 and 1541.

II. Existence of indulgences. The existence of indulgences must be admitted if it is proved: 1. that there exists in the Church a treasury of satisfactions which in itself suffices for blotting out before God the temporal punishment due for sins; 2. that these satisfactions are applicable to the faithful; 3. that the Church enjoys the power of applying them. Now:

1. There exists in the Church a treasury of satisfactions which in itself suffices for blotting out before God the temporal punishment due for sins. This follows from the propositions of Luther condemned by Leo X. For, as we noted above, in proposition 19 he condemned Luther's doctrine which teaches that indulgences are not of value for the remission, before divine justice, of punishment due for actual sins; and in proposition 17 the same Supreme Pontiff condemns this: "The treasures of the Church, from which the Pope gives indulgences, are not the merits of Christ and of the Saints."¹ Hence there exists in the Church a treasury of satisfactions which in itself suffices for blotting out before God the temporal punishment due for sins. Besides this, the existence of such a treasury is clear from the superabundant and infinite satisfaction which belongs to the works of Christ, as being a divine Person, and which He offered to God the Father for us.

2. The said satisfactions are applicable to the faithful. This is clear from the condemned propositions cited; as regards the satisfactions of Christ, it is furthermore clear from the work of redemption, by which the Savior satisfied God for us; as regards the superabundant satisfactions of the Saints, it follows from the dogma of the communion of Saints, by virtue of which a mutual participation of goods is had in the Church.

3. The Church enjoys the power of applying them; this is proved in Section II.

¹ Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 757.

III. Division of indulgences. Indulgences are chiefly divided:

1. Into plenary and partial, according as of themselves they wholly or partially remit the punishment due for sins. Now when an indulgence is granted, for example, of one year, the sense is that so much punishment is remitted to someone as would be remitted to him if for a year he performed the penance once customarily imposed for sins according to the canons (St. Alphonsus, VI, 535). By quarantines, however, which are sometimes attached to years - for example, an indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines - there is not understood some time beyond the years themselves, but that part of the year in which a harder penance was prescribed, namely the time of Lent.

2. Into personal, local, and real, according as they are granted only to certain persons, for example religious or members of a confraternity; or are affixed to certain places, for example to a church or altar, that is, to their pious visitation, etc.; or are attached to certain things, for example rosaries, medals, etc., that is, to the pious use of them.

3. Into temporary and perpetual, according as they are granted in perpetuity or only for a definite time.

4. Into indulgences for the living only, for the departed only, and for both the living and the departed.

Corollary I. From what has been said it follows how deservedly canon 911 states that indulgences are to be held in great esteem, and that their use - which is of faith¹ - is most salutary. For indulgences, besides remitting temporal punishment, stir the faithful to contrition and other salutary works, since they are not granted except to penitents and under definite conditions.

Corollary II. Those who make gain from indulgences are guilty of simony (vol. I, n. 621); indeed, by canon 2327 they are punished ipso facto with excommunication simply reserved to the Apostolic See.

¹ Council of Trent, session 25, Decree on Indulgences.

I. Existence of the power in the Church of granting indulgences. That the power of dispensing indulgences belongs to the Church is of faith from Trent;¹ and it follows from the power which Christ conferred on the Church of remitting sins and opening the kingdom of heaven to believers;² for to the perfect remission of sin and to the opening of the kingdom of heaven there also belongs the removal of temporal punishment still remaining after the guilt of sins has been remitted. That this power can be used outside the conferral of the sacrament is clear from the general sense of the words, which also contain the power of teaching and of making laws; and this certainly has place outside the sacrament. Besides this, the whole tradition from the first centuries has recognized this power in the Church.³

¹ Council of Trent, session 25, Decree on Indulgences.

² Matthew 16:18.

³ Cf. Fanfani, cited work, p. 19-22.

II. Subject of the power. The Supreme Pontiff alone, by his own and full right, can grant indulgences (canon 912). The reason is that he, and he alone, can dispose of the common treasury of the Church to whom the government of the whole Church has been committed. Now the Supreme Pontiff commonly exercises the said power through the Sacred Penitentiary, whose office it is to judge all those things which regard the use and concession of indulgences, without prejudice to the right of the Holy Office to see to those things which regard dogmatic doctrine concerning the same indulgences or concerning new prayers and devotions (canon 258, § 2). Those inferior to the Supreme Pontiff can dispense indulgences by ordinary power only insofar as this has been expressly granted to them by law. Now the law states:

1. As regards a plenary indulgence.

a) Bishops, each in his own diocese, can impart the papal blessing with a plenary indulgence, according to the prescribed formula, twice a year, that is, on the solemn day of the Resurrection at Easter and on another solemn feast day designated by themselves, even if they have only assisted at the solemn Mass (canon 914). If some Bishop has several dioceses to be governed, he cannot, by his own right, transfer in one of them to another day the papal blessing attached to Easter of the Resurrection.¹

b) Abbots or Prelates nullius, Apostolic Vicars and Prefects, even if they lack episcopal dignity, can do the same, namely impart the papal blessing with a plenary indulgence according to the prescribed formula, in their territories on only one of the more solemn days during the year (cited canon).

c) Regulars who have the privilege of imparting the papal blessing are not only bound by the obligation of observing the prescribed formula, but also cannot use this privilege except in their own churches and in the churches of nuns or tertiaries lawfully aggregated to their Order; but not on the same day and in the same place² where the Bishop imparts it (canon 915).³

d) A pastor or another priest who assists the sick has the faculty of granting to them the apostolic blessing with a plenary indulgence at the point of death, according to the form handed down by approved liturgical books, and he should not omit to impart this blessing (canon 468, § 2).

e) Bishops, Abbots or Prelates nullius, Apostolic Vicars and Prefects, and major Superiors of exempt clerical religious institutes can designate and declare one daily perpetual privileged altar, provided another is not already had, in their cathedral, abbatial, collegiate, conventual, parochial, and quasi-parochial churches, but not in public or semi-public oratories, unless they are united to a parish church or are subsidiary to it (canon 916).

2. As regards partial indulgences.

a) Cardinals, from their promotion in Consistory, enjoy the faculty of granting indulgences of two hundred days, even to be gained as often as often, in places or institutes and for persons of their jurisdiction or protection; likewise in other places, but to be gained only by those present, on each occasion (canon 239, § 1, 24°).

b) Metropolitans or Archbishops can grant indulgences of one hundred days both in their own diocese and in suffragan dioceses (canon 274, 2°).

c) Residential Bishops, from taking possession of the diocese, enjoy the right of granting indulgences of fifty days in places of their jurisdiction (canon 349, § 2, 2°). But the words "in places of their jurisdiction" are not to be understood so that Bishops are prohibited from granting indulgences to exempt religious or in their churches.⁴

d) Apostolic Vicars and Prefects, even those who lack episcopal character, possess the same faculty as residential Bishops (canon 294, § 2).

e) The consecrating Bishop, when a church or altar is consecrated, even though he lacks jurisdiction in the territory, grants an indulgence of one year to those visiting the church or altar on the day of the consecration itself; but on the anniversary day, one of fifty days if he is a Bishop, one hundred if an Archbishop, and two hundred if a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church (canon 1166, § 3). Capitular Vicars and Vicars General lack ordinary power of granting indulgences, since the Law does not enumerate them. They therefore, like the others not enumerated above, cannot grant indulgences except by commission or delegation of the Supreme Pontiff or of another to whom the faculty of delegating has been expressly granted.

f) What Nuncios can do is to be drawn from their letters.

Note 1. Those inferior to the Roman Pontiff cannot: 1. commit to others the faculty of granting indulgences, unless this has been expressly granted to them by the Apostolic See; 2. grant indulgences applicable to the departed; 3. add other indulgences to the same thing or act of piety or sodality to which indulgences have already been granted by the Apostolic See or by another, unless new conditions to be fulfilled are prescribed (canon 913).

Note 2. Generals of Orders and Prelates of Religious, having regard to common law, enjoy no power of issuing Indulgences; but some of them have the privilege of reserving to themselves and of granting to others the faculty of imparting certain blessings - for example, the blessing of a rosary of the Most Holy Rosary - to which Indulgences are attached.⁵

¹ A.A.S. XXII, p. 195.

² Cited place: in the city, town (Brief of Leo XIII, July 2, 1882).

³ Here, however, the matter is not the papal blessing which religious missionaries are permitted to impart at the end of missions or in similar circumstances, but the privilege by which regulars, without another condition of function, are able to impart that blessing (Aertnys-Damen, Theologia Moralis, 5th ed., II, n. 1112).

⁴ Pontifical Commission, December 6, 1930 (A.A.S. 1931, p. 25).

⁵ Fanfani, cited work, p. 17.

III. Interpretation of the power of granting indulgences. Both ordinary and delegated power must be interpreted according to the proper meaning of the words and the common usage of speech; but in doubt it is to be taken broadly (canons 49, 50; St. Alphonsus, 534).

IV. Use of the power of granting indulgences.

1. In order that a concession be valid, a just cause is required. The reason is that the Supreme Pontiff is not the owner of the treasury of the Church, but has been constituted only its dispenser. But a dispenser is not judged to have been granted the faculty of disposing of goods at will, that is, without a just cause (St. Thomas, Supplement, q. 25, a. 2; St. Alphonsus, n. 532).

2. Furthermore, for liceity there is required a cause proportioned to the quantity of the indulgence, so that for a greater indulgence a greater cause is required. But the gravity of the cause is to be judged "not only from the difficulty of the work, but from the intended end and the usefulness of the work for that end" (St. Alphonsus, cited place).

It is disputed whether the proportion of the cause is required for validity. Now with St. Alphonsus (cited place) and the more common opinion, it seems one must affirm this, because a dispenser does not seem to have been granted the faculty of disposing prodigally of goods. Besides this, once an indulgence has been granted, a proportionate cause is always presumed to be present. Furthermore, even if a proportionate cause were lacking, nevertheless the privileges attached to the indulgence would certainly be valid, for example the faculty of absolving from reserved cases, since these are matters of ecclesiastical law.

Note. The Supreme Pontiff or a Bishop can sometimes grant an indulgence without the injunction of any work, because there can be a just and reasonable cause for granting an indulgence in this way, for example to a worthy man, or at the point of death.¹

¹ Aertnys-Damen, Theologia Moralis, 11th ed., II, n. 1113.

V. Publication of granted indulgences.

1. Indulgences promulgated at Rome need no further publication. Indulgences are understood to have been promulgated at Rome whether they have been granted through Briefs or through decrees contained in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

2. New indulgences, even those granted to churches of regulars, which have not been promulgated at Rome, are not to be published abroad without consulting the Ordinary of the place. In publishing books, booklets, etc., in which concessions of indulgences for various prayers or pious works are listed, the prescription of canon 1388 is to be observed.¹

3. Those who have obtained from the Supreme Pontiff concessions of indulgences for all the faithful are bound, under penalty of the nullity of the grace obtained, to bring authentic copies of those concessions to the Sacred Penitentiary (canon 920). It is said:

1. Concessions for all the faithful. Indulgences granted for all the faithful are understood as those which all the faithful can always and everywhere gain without the special use of a blessed thing, or participation in a pious confraternity, or visitation of a determinate church.²

2. Authentic copies, that is, a written document, either signed by the Supreme Pontiff's own hand or subscribed by a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, which testifies to an oral oracle.

¹ That canon states: all books of indulgences, summaries, booklets, sheets, etc., in which their concessions are contained, are not to be published without the license of the Ordinary of the place. But the express license of the Apostolic See is required in order that it be lawful to publish in print, in any language, both the authentic collection of prayers and pious works to which the Apostolic See has attached indulgences, and the list of apostolic indulgences, and a summary of indulgences either previously collected but never approved, or now for the first time to be gathered from diverse concessions.

² Beringer-Steinen, cited work, I, n. 199-200.

VI. Interpretation of some indulgences granted or to be granted.

1. A plenary indulgence granted for the feasts of Our Lord Jesus Christ or for the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary is understood to have been granted only for the feasts which are found in the universal calendar. A plenary or partial indulgence granted for the feasts of the Apostles is understood to have been granted only for their natal feast. A plenary indulgence granted as daily perpetual, or for a time, to those visiting some church or public oratory is to be understood in such a way that on any day, but only once in the year, it can be acquired by each member of the faithful, unless something else is expressly said in the decree (canon 921).

2. An indulgence affixed to some Feast is acquired by the faithful on the fixed day duly constituted in their Diocese; by Regular Orders, on the fixed day duly constituted in their Calendar; by those enrolled in a sodality of some Regular Order, on the fixed day duly constituted in the Calendar of the Diocese or in the Calendar of the Order, but not on both days. Thus the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences.¹

3. When a plenary indulgence once in a month is granted to those who have performed a certain good work through an entire month, the month is not necessarily to be computed from the first day to the last, but is understood as a continuous space of a month, that is, of thirty days.²

¹ August 29, 1864; January 12, 1878.

² Aertnys-Damen, II, n. 1120.

I. One who has received the faculty of blessing crosses, medals, scapulars, rosaries, etc., with the application of indulgences, is not bound to exhibit it to the Ordinary unless this is expressed in the concession.¹ One who has obtained the faculty of privately blessing pious things with the application of indulgences cannot use that faculty publicly, for example in a church or oratory before the faithful gathered there and holding in their hands the things to be blessed.²

II. As regards the form or rite to be observed in blessings, hold these things:

1. The ordinary or customary form - which is done by forming the cross over the thing to be blessed, without pronouncing any formula and without sprinkling holy water - suffices for crosses, medals, and rosaries, except, however, rosaries of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Seven Sorrows;³ it also suffices for crucifixes with a plenary indulgence at the point of death; likewise for the crucifix of the Way of the Cross in favor of the faithful who are impeded; and it always seems to suffice when no proper form is prescribed. In that case, the sign of the cross with the words "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," together with the sprinkling of holy water over the object to which indulgences are to be attached, certainly suffices.⁴

2. The proper form must be used for rosaries of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Seven Sorrows, for crosses of the stations of the Way of the Cross, for a plenary indulgence at the point of death or the Apostolic Blessing, as it is called, for enrollment in the Confraternity of the sacred Scapular, etc.⁵

Cardinals, by canon 239, § 1, 5° and 6°, from their promotion enjoy the faculty of blessing everywhere, by the sign of the cross alone, with all the indulgences customarily granted by the Holy See, rosaries and other prayer-beads, crosses, medals, statues, and scapulars approved by the Apostolic See, and of imposing them without the burden of registration; likewise, by a single blessing, of erecting in churches and oratories, even private ones, and other pious places, stations of the Way of the Cross with all the indulgences which have been imparted to those performing such a pious exercise; and also of blessing for the faithful who, because of illness or another legitimate impediment, cannot visit the sacred stations of the Way of the Cross, Crucifix images with the application of all indulgences attached by the Roman Pontiffs to the devout exercise of the same Way of the Cross.

¹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 5, 1841.

² Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 7, 1843.

³ Cf. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, April 14, 1840; January 7, 1843; February 29, 1864; Holy Office, May 18, 1914 (A.A.S., p. 346).

⁴ Cf. Beringer-Steinen, cited work, I, n. 836.

⁵ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 5, 1841; March 12, 1855; February 29, 1864; March 22, 1879.

In order that someone be capable of gaining indulgences for himself, he must be baptized, not excommunicated, in the state of grace at least at the end of the prescribed works, and a subject of the one granting (canon 925, § 1). It is said:

1. For himself. To what extent the enumerated things are required so that someone may apply an indulgence to the departed, we shall say later.

2. Baptized; because the Church lacks jurisdiction over the non-baptized, even over catechumens.

3. Not excommunicated, because the concession of indulgences belongs to the communion of Saints, of which the Church deprives the excommunicated.

It can be disputed whether material heretics and schismatics can acquire indulgences. It seems one must deny this; for such heretics and schismatics indeed belong by will to the body of the Church, but in the external forum they seem to be considered by the Church as formal heretics and schismatics; for she does not judge concerning internal matters. Now in this case the Church does not seem to extend her act of jurisdiction to those who are considered by her, in the external forum, as formal heretics.

4. In the state of grace at least at the end of the works. The reason is that "a dead member does not receive influence from the other living members; but one who is in mortal sin is, as it were, a dead member; therefore through indulgences he does not receive influence from the merits of the living members" (St. Thomas, Supplement, q. 27, a. 1). Added to this is the response of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences,¹ which declares that the sense of the clause "with heart at least contrite" is that contrition is required "insofar as someone placed in mortal sin and therefore incapable of gaining any indulgence is restored to the state of grace by perfect contrition with the purpose of confession, and becomes capable of obtaining indulgences." Finally, canon 925, § 1 absolutely requires the state of grace in order that someone acquire an indulgence for himself. Hence even if it were admitted that the Church can grant a partial indulgence to one constituted in mortal sin, namely the remission of punishment due because of sins already previously remitted, nevertheless that this actually occurs seems altogether to have to be denied (St. Alphonsus, n. 534, under 9).

To what extent the state of grace is required so that someone may apply an indulgence to the departed, we shall investigate immediately.

This, however, is the place for noting these words of St. Alphonsus: "No one gains a plenary indulgence of all sins unless he is free from every guilt, even venial, when he completes the last work... for it is certain that venial sin not remitted as to guilt cannot be remitted as to punishment... That venial sin, however, does not prevent the punishment due to other sins already remitted from being remitted" (n. 534, under 19). Hence nothing of itself prevents one who lacks the disposition required for gaining a plenary indulgence integrally from gaining it partially. And in fact canon 926 states: a plenary indulgence granted in such a way is understood so that, if someone cannot gain it plenarily, nevertheless he gains it partially according to the disposition which he has.

5. A subject of the one granting, because an act of jurisdiction, such as is the concession of an indulgence for the living, can be exercised only upon subjects. But since an indulgence is granted after the manner of a privilege, nothing prevents non-subjects also, after it has been granted, from being able to gain it according to the norm of canon 927: unless something else appears from the tenor of the concession, indulgences granted by a Bishop can be gained both by subjects outside the territory and by pilgrims, vagi, and all exempt persons dwelling in the territory.

¹ December 17, 1870.

But in order, thus canon 925, § 2, that a capable subject actually gain them, he must have at least a general intention of acquiring them and fulfill the enjoined works at the appointed time and in the due manner according to the tenor of the concession.

Therefore, first, intention is required, because the Church does not bestow her benefits except on one willing. But a general intention suffices, by which someone wills to gain all the indulgences which he can gain through the works to be performed; and this can be habitual, that is, once elicited and not retracted (St. Alphonsus, VI, 534, 14°). Namely, the Church, on whose benign mind this whole matter depends, is not judged to require a virtual intention, much less an actual one; indeed canon 925, § 2, which speaks only of intention without addition, sufficiently signifies that every intention, even habitual, suffices. Nevertheless, it is advised that each morning one elicit the intention of gaining all indulgences perhaps attached to the works to be performed during the day.¹ Finally, an implicit intention seems to suffice, that is, one by which someone wills that his works profit as much as they will be able to profit.²

Besides intention, fulfillment of the enjoined works is required, concerning which one must treat more fully. We shall speak first of the works to be fulfilled generally, then of some works in particular, finally of the commutation of works.

¹ Cf. Raccolta, p. XI.

² Raccolta, VIII.

I. Works to be fulfilled considered generally. The fulfillment of works is a condition without which an indulgence cannot be acquired, so that neither ignorance, nor good faith, nor impotence excuses anyone. Nor does it help to substitute a work equivalent to, or even more excellent than, the prescribed work. But the works must be fulfilled integrally, personally, morally well, at the appointed time, and in the due manner. It is said:

1. Personally; except, however, almsgiving, according to what will be said in n. 566.

2. Integrally. "But if one of the enjoined works is omitted, either wholly or in a notable part, through ignorance, negligence, or impotence... except in the case of legitimate commutation, the indulgence is not acquired."¹ Nevertheless, omission of a slight part, both in itself and with respect to the prescribed work, does not stand in the way of gaining the indulgence, as if you eat a little in a fast, or in the recitation of the Rosary omit three Hail Marys. The reason is that the work is judged to have been placed morally. It is otherwise if, for example, from the five Our Fathers and Hail Marys prescribed, one is omitted (St. Alphonsus, n. 534, under 14 and 16). What must be kept before one's eyes if a particular prayer is assigned, see n. 507.

3. Morally well, according to what was said in volume I, n. 242; hence an act not even partly good, such as an act placed from vanity alone, is unsuited for gaining an indulgence.

4. At the appointed time. Now the determination of time is for beginning and for ending the privilege, so that fulfillment carried out before or after the assigned time is invalid.

5. In the due manner, for example if a prayer is established as to be recited kneeling. It does not matter in what order the works are fulfilled.²

Note 1. By a work which someone is bound by law or precept to perform, an indulgence cannot be gained, unless something else is expressly said in the concession of the same; nevertheless, one who performs a work enjoined on him as sacramental penance and perhaps enriched with indulgences can at the same time both satisfy the penance and gain the indulgences (canon 932). Hence someone cannot gain an indulgence by reciting the canonical hours owed. Sacramental penance is excepted, as the cited canon has it; likewise Easter communion, as the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences declared,³ excepting, however, the case in which the indulgence is granted in the form of a jubilee. Those things imposed by a rule are also excepted, if the rule does not oblige under sin. Nor does anything prevent someone from gaining an indulgence by performing a work owed by vow or promise, because a vow and promise are neither law nor precept.

Note 2. By one and the same work, to which indulgences are attached by various titles, several indulgences cannot be acquired, unless the required work is confession or communion, or unless something else has been expressly provided (canon 933). Thus, for example, since it has been expressly provided, Apostolic indulgences and those of the Most Holy Rosary, perhaps attached to a rosary, can be acquired at the same time;⁴ likewise indulgences of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Cross-bearers, attached to the same rosary.⁵

¹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 19, 1759 (Decreta authentica, n. 214).

² Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 19, 1759 (Decreta authentica, n. 214).

³ December 13, 1841; May 10, 1844.

⁴ Sacred Penitentiary, February 17, 1922 (A.A.S. 1922, p. 143); June 14, 1922 (A.A.S. 1922, p. 394).

⁵ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, June 12, 1907.

1. Confession. Whenever an indulgence is granted with the clause "to the contrite and confessed" or a similar clause, sacramental confession is established as a condition, even for those who do not have mortal sin, although absolution is not required for these.¹ Nevertheless:

a) For gaining any indulgences whatever, the confession perhaps required can be made within the eight days which immediately precede the day to which the indulgence was affixed, and likewise within the whole subsequent octave (canon 931, § 1).

b) For gaining indulgences granted for pious exercises of three or more days, confession can also be made within the octave which immediately follows the completed exercise (canon 931, § 2).

c) Actual confession is necessary for gaining no indulgence for those who are accustomed, unless legitimately impeded, to approach the sacrament of penance at least twice in the month, or to receive Holy Communion daily in the state of grace and with a right and pious mind, although once or twice during the week they abstain from it (cf. canon 931, § 3). Except the indulgences of either an ordinary or extraordinary jubilee or in the likeness of a jubilee (cited canon).

¹ If the clause "with heart at least contrite" is added in the concession of an indulgence, it signifies this one thing: that the state of grace is required for the indulgence to be acquired; it does not require that one who is in the state of grace elicit an act of contrition (Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 17, 1870, Decreta authentica, n. 427). The same is signified if an indulgence is said to be granted "in the customary form of the Church."

2. Holy Communion. This can be received in any church, etc., even if the visitation of a determinate church is prescribed. Besides this:

a) Communion can be received on the vigil of the day to which the indulgence is affixed and within the whole subsequent octave (canon 931, § 1).

b) For gaining indulgences granted for pious exercises of three or more days, communion can also be made within the octave which immediately follows the completed exercise (canon 931, § 2).

3. Visitation of a church; concerning this, observe:

a) Visitation of a church requires entrance into it, and indeed with the intention of worshiping God.¹ If, however, because of the multitude of the faithful someone cannot enter it, it suffices to join himself to the multitude (St. Alphonsus, n. 538, q. 10). But if the visitation of the church is made processionally, it does not suffice, for carrying out the prescribed visitation, that the clergy and people pass by praying before the Church, nor that the clergy with some from the procession enter the church and recite the common prayer while the rest remain outside the church; rather, it is required that all who can be contained in it enter the church and recite the common prayer there.² Entrance into the church for the purpose of receiving Holy Communion can also be counted for the visitation.

b) If the visitation of a determinate church or public oratory is prescribed, these must be visited. If the visitation of a non-determinate church is prescribed, it suffices to visit any church or public oratory, but not a semi-public or private one. Nevertheless:

1. Whenever for gaining indulgences there is prescribed the visitation of some non-determinate church or of some indeterminate public oratory, the faithful of either sex who, for the sake of the pursuit of perfection, or of instruction or education, or even of health, live a common life in houses lacking a church or public chapel and established with the consent of the Ordinaries, and likewise all persons dwelling there to minister to them, can visit the chapel of their own house in which they can satisfy by law the obligation of hearing Mass, provided they have duly performed the other enjoined works (cf. canon 929).³

2. Cardinals from their promotion in Consistory, Archbishops, and Bishops enjoy the faculty of gaining in their own chapels indulgences for the acquiring of which the visitation of some temple or public shrine of the city or place in which the Cardinals actually reside has been prescribed, and their household members can also enjoy this privilege (canon 239, § 1, 11°; canon 349, § 1, 10°).

Finally, if the visitation of a determinate chapel or altar is prescribed, it does not suffice merely to enter the church; rather, it is necessary to betake oneself to the determinate chapel or altar, or at least to stand in a place from which the chapel or altar can be seen.⁴

c) For gaining an indulgence affixed to some day, if the visitation of a church or oratory is required, this can be done from noon of the preceding day up to the midnight which closes the appointed day (canon 923).

d) One who wishes to gain several indulgences, each of which requires visitation of a church, is bound to make as many visitations - namely, by going out after each visitation and entering again - as the indulgences he intends to gain. This also holds if some indulgence can be acquired as often as the church is visited.⁵

¹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 19, 1759 (Decreta authentica, n. 214); August 20, 1822 (Decreta authentica, n. 253, to II); December 15, 1841 (Decreta authentica, n. 295).

² Raccolta, p. XVI.

³ The concession cannot be applied to the Portiuncula indulgence, since for it the visitation of a determinate church is prescribed, unless nevertheless this has been specially granted to some persons (A.A.S. XVI, p. 346, to VI).

⁴ Adrian VI, April 1, 1523; Clement VIII, April 4, 1524; Fanfani, cited work, p. 47.

⁵ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 29, 1864 (Decreta authentica, n. 399, to II and III).

4. Recitation of prayers, which, if visitation of a church is prescribed, is usually imposed as to be made in the visitation itself. Besides this, observe:

a) If, for gaining indulgences, prayer in general according to the mind of the Supreme Pontiff¹ is prescribed, mental prayer alone does not suffice; but vocal prayer can be chosen at the judgment of the faithful, unless some particular prayer is assigned (canon 934, § 1). Therefore, in the case posited, mental prayer alone does not suffice; yet it is enough to add some vocal prayer - not, however, a minimal one - to mental prayer (St. Alphonsus, n. 538, q. 10).²

According to the common opinion, five Our Fathers and Hail Marys suffice, or equivalents to be chosen at will, unless a particular prayer is prescribed. But for gaining the Portiuncula Indulgence, by decree of the Sacred Penitentiary dated July 10, 1924, the recitation of six Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes is required, and other equivalent prayers cannot be recited.³

b) If a particular prayer has been assigned, indulgences can be acquired in whatever language the prayer is recited, provided that the fidelity of the version is established from a declaration either of the Sacred Penitentiary or of one of the Ordinaries of the place where the language into which the prayer is translated is vernacular; but indulgences entirely cease because of any addition, subtraction, or interpolation (canon 934, § 2). Hence, for example, indulgences are not acquired if, in sung litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Kyrie eleison is sung only once, nor if after each title Ora pro nobis is not recited.⁴ But the custom of announcing before each decade the mystery to be meditated upon does not seem to harm, since in the case there is no interpolation in the prayers themselves. As regards the practice of recalling the mystery in the middle of the Angelic Salutation, the Sacred Penitentiary, privately asked, declared⁵ that it cannot be kept and propagated while the indulgences remain intact. Nevertheless, the same Congregation judges that by canon 934, § 3 there was in no way revoked the indult by which Pius IX in the year 1859, for places where the custom had already grown up, granted that the faithful reciting the Rosary in such a manner could gain its indulgences; and Benedict XV, at the petition of the Sacred Penitentiary, extended that indult to all who according to the aforesaid custom had been accustomed to recite the Holy Rosary in any places whatever.⁶

c) For the acquisition of indulgences, it is enough to recite the prayer alternately with a companion, or to follow it mentally while it is recited by another (canon 934, § 3).

d) Mutes can gain indulgences attached to public prayers if, together with the rest of the faithful praying in the same place, they lift up their mind and pious sentiments to God; and if the matter concerns private prayers, it is enough that they recall them mentally, or express them by signs, or merely run through them with the eyes (canon 936). Finally, by concession of Benedict XV, maimed persons can gain indulgences for the gaining of which the recitation of prayers together with some bodily act which they are unable to perform is enjoined, by pouring forth prayers alone.⁷

Finally, I note that by the faithful enrolled in some sodality, indulgences granted to the sodality can be acquired even if they do not observe the statutes of the society,⁸ provided they fulfill the works imposed for the indulgences.

Question. Whether one who performs the enjoined works more perfectly, for example with greater fervor, becomes a participant in the indulgence in a greater measure than one who acts less perfectly.

Response 1. Of itself, no; because the Church is content with common fervor, and in applying the indulgence does not take account of that which is performed beyond what is due.

Response 2. Incidentally, it will easily happen that one who performs beyond what is due participates more in the indulgence, insofar namely as contrition, and therefore remission of guilt, is more universal.

¹ The Supreme Pontiff intends the prosperity and exaltation of the Church, the extirpation of heresies, the conversion of sinners, and finally the peace of the Christian people.

² Cf. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 83.

³ A.A.S. XVI, p. 343, to IX; Sacred Penitentiary, January 30, 1930 (A.A.S. 1930, p. 43).

⁴ Sacred Penitentiary, July 21, 1919.

⁵ July 27, 1920.

⁶ Sacred Penitentiary, January 22, 1921 (A.A.S. 1921, p. 163).

⁷ Sacred Penitentiary, October 22, 1917 (A.A.S. 1917, p. 539).

⁸ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 25, 1842 (Decreta authentica, n. 298, to II); cf. canon 692.

III. Commutation of works. Confessors can commute pious works enjoined for gaining indulgences into others for those who, detained by a legitimate impediment, cannot perform the same works (canon 935). To pious works here do not belong those which constitute the cause or occasion of the indulgence, as, for example, the use of a crucifix which ought to supply for the Way of the Cross. By confessor is understood one who enjoys sacramental jurisdiction over the faithful person to whom commutation seems to be granted, so that he can at least validly hear the confession. Commutation, however, can be made not only within confession, but also outside confession (St. Alphonsus, n. 534, 15°).

Members of some confraternity who, because of illness or imprisonment, are impeded from visiting the church, can gain the indulgences granted to the confraternity, even with the visitation perhaps prescribed being omitted.¹

¹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 20, 1887 (Collectanea, n. 1680).

Question. To what extent several indulgences can be acquired on the same day.

Response 1. A plenary indulgence, unless something else has been expressly provided, can be acquired only once in the day, even if the same prescribed work is placed several times (canon 928, § 1).

Response 2. A partial indulgence, unless the contrary is expressly noted, can be gained several times during the day, the same work being repeated (canon 928, § 2).

Response 3. As is sufficiently clear of itself, diverse indulgences can be acquired on the same day, provided the works enjoined for each are fulfilled, or if the same works are prescribed, are repeated insofar as they must be repeated. Now one and the same confession and communion suffices for gaining several indulgences (n. 502).¹ The faculty of gaining diverse indulgences on the same day regards both indulgences concurring on one day because of a festivity, and those which someone out of his devotion has affixed to such a day in the week or month.²

¹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 29, 1864; January 12, 1878 (Decreta authentica, n. 434, to 3).

² Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 29, 1864.

I. The power of the Supreme Pontiff to grant indulgences for the departed. That the Supreme Pontiff enjoys this faculty is proximate to faith, because of the condemnation, and that repeated several times, of the contrary opinion.¹ It is established from the practice of the Church, by which the Supreme Pontiffs have established various indulgences applicable to souls in purgatory; and it follows from the dogma of the communion of Saints, by virtue of which a mutual communication of goods has place in the Church.

The manner of granting indulgences for the departed was explained above, on p. 377.

¹ Thus, for example, proposition 42 condemned by Pius VI against the Synod of Pistoia (Denzinger-Bannwart, n. 1542).

II. Requisites so that one acquiring indulgences may apply them to the departed. It is required: 1. that the Supreme Pontiff has granted them as applicable to the departed; since, as canon 913, 2°, states, those inferior to the Roman Pontiff cannot grant indulgences applicable to the departed. Besides this, all indulgences granted by the Roman Pontiff, unless something else is established, are applicable to souls in purgatory (canon 930). 2. The intention of the one acquiring is required, by which he wills this and determines, in general or in particular, to whom the indulgence acquired by him is to be applied. The reason is that the Supreme Pontiff makes indulgences only applicable, as follows from canon 913, 2°, and 930. A virtual intention suffices, or even, because the matter concerns a quasi-donation, a habitual one.

It is disputed whether the state of grace is required in the one gaining. The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, when asked several times concerning this matter, answered on August 20, 1822: Deferred; and on February 22, 1847: Let approved authors be consulted. Now from the approved authors, some¹ deny it, because the state of grace is required only as a disposition for obtaining the effect of the indulgence, that is, the remission of punishment. Therefore, if the effect is to be received by the departed person, it suffices that this person be in the state of grace, but the said state is not required in the living person who fulfills the conditions of the indulgence. Nevertheless, with St. Alphonsus (n. 534, under 10) and others,² it seems the contrary must be admitted. For by granting indulgences for the departed, the Supreme Pontiff constitutes them only as applicable, as follows both from concessions of the Supreme Pontiff and from canon 913, 2°, and canon 930; in other words, he grants to the faithful a certain right in the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints, or at least a right of offering those same satisfactions to God in the name of the Church. Now, if the matter concerns a sinner, the former cannot be admitted, since a sinner cannot merit any satisfaction for himself. As regards the latter, it likewise is admitted with difficulty that a right of this kind is granted to a subject who, even at the end of the works to be performed by him, persists in enmity with God; all the more because then the Church would grant to a sinner the faculty of doing for others what he cannot do for himself as regards previously remitted sins.

To what extent indulgences applied to the departed produce an infallible effect was explained above, on p. 377.

¹ St. Bellarmine, De Indulgentiis, book I, chapter 14; Billuart, De Indulgentiis, single dissertation, article 6.

² De Lugo, Disputation XXVII, n. 75; Tournely, De Poenitentia, last question, article 6; Wignandt, Tribunal Confessariorum, treatise 14, n. 96.

III. The measure according to which an indulgence comes to the departed.

1. If the indulgence is plenary and is applied to one person, it is understood, if we suppose that God assents to the Church making suffrage, to remit all the remaining punishments of the soul. If it is plenary and is applied to several or to all, which can be done,¹ the distribution is left to Divine Providence.

2. If the indulgence is partial, for example of one year, it is understood to remit so much punishment as would be remitted to someone if for a year he performed the penance once customarily imposed for sins according to the canons. If it is partial and is applied to several or to all, the distribution is left to the Providence of God.

¹ Raccolta, p. XI.

I. Transfer of indulgences consists in this, that they are transferred from one place to another or from one time to another. Some things must be noted only about transfer with respect to time. Now, having regard to canon 922:

1. If the external solemnity of a feast is transferred, the indulgences attached to the feast are transferred to the day on which the external solemnity is held; otherwise, if only the Office and Mass are transferred and the external solemnity is held on the proper day.

2. If the matter concerns feasts which are celebrated without external solemnity, then the indulgences are transferred if the feast is only occasionally transferred.

3. Indulgences attached to sacred supplications or to novendial, septenary, or triduan prayers, which are performed before or after the feast or even while its octave lasts, are transferred or not transferred according as the indulgences attached to the feast day itself are transferred or not transferred.

Note. Nevertheless, observe that the same indulgence cannot be acquired twice, even at a different time. Thus one who, for example, in one diocese has gained the indulgence attached to the feast of the Immaculate Conception cannot gain the same indulgence again in another diocese if he is there on the day on which the external solemnity of the feast is celebrated in that place.¹ But for the Portiuncula Indulgence it was declared on January 13, 1930² that Christ's faithful can obtain it on the second day of the month in one church and on the Sunday next following in another church where that day has been substituted according to the norm of the Decree of the Sacred Penitentiary dated July 10, 1924, to VII.³

¹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 12, 1878 (Decreta authentica, n. 435, to III).

² A.A.S. 1930, p. 23.

³ A.A.S. 1924, p. 346.

II. Suspension of indulgences consists in this, that indulgences cease for a time, but when the time has passed, they revive without a new act of the superior. Now:

1. Indulgences attached to some church are suspended if the church is overturned from its foundations; they revive, however, if within fifty years it is built in the same or almost the same place and under the same title (canon 924, § 1). It is said "almost the same place," that is, at a small distance, for example twenty or thirty paces. If a church is renewed even totally through successive repairs, the indulgences persist.

2. Likewise indulgences attached to an altar are suspended if the altar is destroyed; but they revive if it is rebuilt under the same title and in the same church, even in another place.¹ Indulgences attached to a mission cross are continued if a new cross is substituted for a fallen or destroyed cross, provided the new cross is erected in the same or almost the same place, with at least the tacit consent of the Bishop.²

¹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, September 16, 1623^† (Decreta authentica, n. 317); July 18, 1902 (A.S.S. 1902, p. 62).

² Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 22, 1888 (cf. Analecta ecclesiastica 1902, p. 261); July 20, 1901.

III. Cessation of indulgences has place:

1. By the lapse of the time for which they were granted.

2. By revocation by the one granting or his Superior.

3. By the death of the one granting or by the resolution of his right, they cease only if they were given with the clause "at our good pleasure," or another equivalent clause; but not if they were given absolutely, without a clause, or with the clause "at the good pleasure of the Holy See" or a similar one (cf. canons 70 and 73).

4. By the death of the one to whom the indulgences were granted, if the matter concerns a purely personal privilege; likewise by the extinction of a Confraternity, if the extinction lawfully had place; otherwise, if unlawfully, in which case the indulgences revive when the Confraternity has been restored.¹

5. By the destruction or sale of the thing enriched with indulgences; namely, canon 924, § 2 states: Indulgences attached to rosaries or other things cease only when the rosaries or other things entirely cease to be or are sold. The exchange of one thing for another, however, seems to be equivalent to sale.²

Therefore indulgences do not cease because a price is paid after the rosary or blessed thing has been blessed, provided the sale itself had place before the blessing; nor do they cease from the fact that rosaries, crosses, etc., enriched with indulgences are given or lent to another for gaining indulgences; and this holds even if the one giving or lending the said rosaries, crosses, etc., has already used them for acquiring indulgences.³ Nor is it an obstacle that something is received or even asked, provided it is not done under the title of sale.

As regards rosaries, note that the indulgences are attached to the beads; hence the chain can be changed. If the beads are bound by a thread and this is broken so that the beads are gathered into one, the indulgences seem to be suspended and, when the rosary has been restored, to revive.

¹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 26, 1840 (Decreta authentica, n. 285).

² Cf. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, June 4, 1721 (Decreta authentica, n. 78).

³ Cf. Sacred Penitentiary, February 18, 1921 (A.A.S. 1921, p. 164).

To the Jubilee is attached a plenary indulgence, to be gained only once, unless it is expressly granted as to be acquired several times. Moreover, in the Jubilee of the Holy Year in the City, it is granted several times to those who repeat the prescribed works.¹ Now we must speak about the works which are usually prescribed for gaining the indulgence.

¹ Bulls Convocatis, § 52; Inter praeteritos, § 84; Benedictus Deus, § 2.

I. Prescribed works. In the ordinary Jubilee there are commonly prescribed only: confession, communion, and visitation of the designated churches together with prayer according to the mind of the Supreme Pontiff; in an extraordinary Jubilee, besides the works enumerated, fasting and almsgiving are usually enjoined. A few things about each; moreover compare what was said in n. 494.

1. Confession is necessary even for those who have not sinned gravely, although absolution is not required for these.¹ If someone after completing the confession of the Jubilee, but before the last work has been fulfilled, falls into mortal sin, he is bound to confess again, nor does contrition suffice; however, it is not required that the other works, even if already fulfilled in the state of sin, be repeated.² The annual confession, by which satisfaction is made for the precept by which one constituted in mortal sin is bound, does not suffice.³

2. Communion, certainly worthy communion; the Paschal communion does not suffice;⁴ nevertheless in the year 1925, if someone had neglected to receive Paschal communion, communion for the Jubilee also availed for fulfilling the Paschal precept; for the Jubilee, at least of the year 1900, the Sacred Penitentiary declared on March 28, 1900, to 2, that Viaticum suffices.

3. Visitation of churches. Which churches are to be visited and how often are determined in the City by the Supreme Pontiff, outside the City by the Bishop. In instituting the visitations it is permitted to compute the day either according to civil custom (from midnight to midnight) or according to ecclesiastical custom (from first Vespers up to sunset of the following day).⁵ When several visitations are prescribed, it is not enough to enter the church once and there recite the prayers several times, but one must go out from the church and enter it again.⁶ Moreover the visitations must be made with the intention of worshiping God.⁷

Regulars also are bound to visit the churches designated by the Bishop, unless they enjoy a special privilege; nevertheless commutation can be granted to those lawfully impeded.⁸

4. Prayers to be recited. They must be recited in the place to be visited and according to the mind of the Supreme Pontiff. Oral prayers suffice; merely mental prayers do not, to which therefore an oral prayer would have to be added.⁹ Moreover compare what was said in n. 498.

5. Fasting is to be taken in the strict ecclesiastical sense, that is, joined with abstinence, and indeed, considering the old law, with abstinence not only from flesh meat but also from eggs and milk products.¹⁰ Under the new law, however, fasting no longer includes abstinence from eggs and milk products. Fasting also concerns those who otherwise are not bound to it, such as children and the elderly (St. Alphonsus, VI, 534, 3°); nevertheless there is place for commutation (n. 559).

6. If almsgiving is enjoined, as devotion suggests, a modest amount suffices; if it is prescribed according to each one's means, a larger amount must be given by the rich. It is indifferent whether money or another thing is given. Religious, wives, and children of families satisfy by consenting to the alms which the Superior or father gives in the name of the whole community or family. Nevertheless religious and the truly poor can ask for commutation (St. Alphonsus, VI, 538, q. 11).

¹ Bulls Convocatis, § 46; Inter praeteritos, § 77; cf. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 19, 1759 (Decreta authentica, n. 214); May 6, 1852 (Decreta authentica, n. 359, to IV).

² Bulls Convocatis, § 42; Inter praeteritos, § 79; cf. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, November 28, 1759 (Decreta authentica, n. 217, to I).

³ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 10, 1844 (Decreta authentica, n. 327, to I), compared with the Sacred Penitentiary (A.A.S. VIII, p. 351).

⁴ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 10, 1844 (Decreta authentica, n. 327, to I).

⁵ Bull Inter praeteritos, § 13; Sacred Penitentiary, January 24, 1875.

⁶ Sacred Penitentiary, January 25, 1875.

⁷ Bull Inter praeteritos, § 13.

⁸ Bulls Convocatis, § 51; Inter praeteritos, § 83.

⁹ Bulls Convocatis, § 51; Inter praeteritos, § 83.

¹⁰ Sacred Penitentiary, March 16, 1865; Bucceroni reports other declarations of the same Congregation, Enchiridion, n. 1065.

II. Things to be noted concerning the prescribed works.

1. Works owed by law or precept do not suffice, unless the Supreme Pontiff signifies the contrary.¹ Hence, as has already been noted, annual confession, Paschal communion, etc., do not suffice.

2. The prescribed works, even confession and communion, must be done during the time of the Jubilee;² likewise with the intention of gaining the indulgence; but a habitual intention suffices (n. 501).

3. The works enjoined, whether all or some of them, can also be fulfilled outside one's domicile, provided that the ordinances of the Ordinaries of the places are observed.³

4. Finally, it does not matter in what order they are fulfilled, nor is it required that they be done in the state of grace, except for the last work.⁴

¹ Bull Inter praeteritos, § 53; this speaks of debt in any way whatsoever; but since canon 932 speaks only of law and precept, things owed under another title, for example a vow, now seem to suffice.

² Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 9, 1763 (Decreta authentica, n. 231); May 10, 1844 (Decreta authentica, n. 327, to I); canon 931, § 3.

³ Sacred Penitentiary, January 15, 1886, to VI.

⁴ Bulls Convocatis, § 47; Inter praeteritos, §§ 73-76.

III. Relaxation of the works. To the Supreme Pontiff alone belongs the faculty of dispensing in some work; but to confessors - not, however, of itself to Superiors¹ - is granted the faculty of commuting for those morally impeded the prescribed works into other pious works; concerning this, observe:

1. The faculty of commutation does not include confession; nor communion except for children who have not yet been admitted to first Communion;² nor the prayers to be recited according to the mind of the Supreme Pontiff.³

2. Commutation cannot be made into works otherwise owed, unless this is expressly granted;⁴ nor, as follows from the nature of commutation, can it be made into notably lesser works.

3. Commutation of itself, that is, considering the norms of Benedict XIV, seems to have to be made in sacramental confession. For thus Benedict XIV established generally concerning the use of faculties.⁵

4. Even if the indulgence can be acquired several times, nevertheless the commutation of the works enjoined, considering the Bull of Benedict XIV,⁶ can be made only once; but the Sacred Penitentiary, March 18, 1886,⁷ responded that the works enjoined can be commuted several times.

Note. One who foresees that the time for completing the prescribed works will not suffice for him should ask for commutation or, if the Bull permits it, prolongation of the Jubilee.

¹ Cf. Sacred Penitentiary, April 23, 1886, to II and III.

² Considering the kindly mind of the Church, this perhaps can be extended to those very few sick persons who cannot communicate even at home.

³ Benedictus Deus, § 3; Inter praeteritos, § 53.

⁴ Inter praeteritos, § 53.

⁵ Inter praeteritos, § 63; cf. Sacred Penitentiary, January 30, 1886.

⁶ Bull Convocatis, §§ 52 and 39.

⁷ A.S.S. XVIII, p. 512.

Sinful Indulgence.—Sinful indulgence, which is opposed to meekness by excess, is often a mortal sin on account of the grave harm it inflicts upon the common welfare and the protection it affords to crime. Thus, Heli was seriously reproved and punished because he winked at grave disorders, or at least was too easy-going in his corrections (I Kings, ii, iii).

As regards indulgences. - "All professed regulars enjoy the indulgences granted to any religious order," L. l. 4, n. 64, namely according to the Brief of Leo X, Dudum per Nos accepto, 10 Dec. 1519, and the Brief of Paul V, Romanus Pontifex, 23 May 1606, indulgences exclusively proper to each order being excluded from this communication, S. C. Indulg., 25 Apr. 1735; Theod. a Spiritu S., p. 2, p. 88 ff., p. 114. "It must be noted that the privilege of a privileged altar is not communicable by general communication of privileges, from the Decree of S. C. Indulg., dated 5 Feb. 1748, and approved by Benedict XIV on 2 Mar. of the same year." L. l. 6, n. 339. More recent nuns of simple vows, in France, of ancient religious orders, from a special indult, "can gain all indulgences which were granted to the religion or Institute of other nuns emitting solemn vows, according to the respective Institute or rule." S. C. Indulg., 10 July 1843; S. Poenit., 12 July 1847.

But Institutes of Tertiaries dwelling in Community and emitting simple vows participate in all Indulgences directly granted to the First and Second Orders, provided they are legitimately aggregated to the Orders. S. C. Indulg., 28 Aug. 1903; E. M., de Stat. part., n. 248.

It must further be noted that personal privileges and indulgences in churches of regulars vanish when the religious have been driven out, although some religious remains in the church as chaplain or custodian. But real privileges, such as the right of burying, when a religious is left there under the name of chaplain or custodian, must be exercised by him. S. C. C., 29 May 1841; 29 Aug. 1864; 16 Sept. 1871; S. C. Indulg., 24 May 1819; A. S. S., vol. 1, p. 287; vol. 4, p. 228; vol. 7, p. 34. - E. M.

281 bis. Secular Tertiaries of St. Francis, by force of the Apostolic Letters of 5 May 1909 and the Rescript of 17 May 1909, enjoy communication of all Indulgences and spiritual fruits with the First and Second Order of St. Francis, the extension then having been made to General Absolutions. S. O., 12 June 1913, A. A. S., vol. 5, p. 306 ff. Secular Franciscan Tertiaries reciting in place of the canonical hours twelve Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes cannot by this recitation alone satisfy all other obligations, as regards prayers, which they have contracted from enrollment in other pious sodalities. S. O., 11 June 1913. Third Orders proceeding collegially, in their own habit and under a cross, always and everywhere have precedence over any Sodalities whatsoever. S. R. C., 18 Feb. 1899; E. M.

XI. All who, making gain from Indulgences and other spiritual graces, are struck with the censure of excommunication by the constitution of St. Pius V Quam plenum, January 2, 1569.

All who, etc. By the aforesaid constitution of St. Pius V, it is decreed only that inferiors to Bishops incur the sentence of excommunication, sec. 6. Making gain: therefore it is necessary that at least part of the price be received. Making gain, etc., namely 1. by dispensing indulgences and other spiritual graces, not to be conferred with any temporal thing, to those paying a certain sum of money, so that this payment of money is a condition owed for that concession, as if its price, although this is done under pretext of promoting a pious work; 2. by presuming to publish letters which contain graces of this kind, or by commanding an index of cases and indulgences to be hung in sacred buildings, by which they seem to hunt buyers, since it is openly signified that the aforesaid things are conceded to those paying, although again this is done under pretext of a pious work. Cited Constitution, secs. 1, 2, 3, 4.

And other spiritual graces: these are enumerated in the aforesaid Constitution: 1. the faculty of choosing any priest whatsoever by whom someone may be absolved not only from non-reserved cases, but also from reserved cases, sec. 1; 2. "remissions of enjoined penances," sec. 2; the sacrifice of Mass, burial in the time of interdict; the use of prohibited foods; the assumption of two or more godparents at sacred baptism, contrary to the Tridentine Decree, besides those who are chosen, as they say, by synodal Constitutions; absolution from the guilt of simony reserved to the Apostolic See, sec. 3.

Of excommunication, etc. Therefore the suspension imposed in the same Constitution of St. Pius V against Bishops and Cardinals, sec. 6, has by no means been renewed by the constitution Apostolicae Sedis. Bonacina, disp. 2, q. 3, part 20.

What about images and indulgences? "Images of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Angels and Saints, or other Servants of God, printed in any way whatsoever and differing from the sense and decrees of the Church, are altogether forbidden. But new ones, whether they have prayers annexed or are edited without them, are not to be published without permission of ecclesiastical power." § 15. Images, not statues, not medals, not paintings. Printed in any way whatsoever, for they can be printed in various ways. Already printed ones are forbidden if they differ from the sense and Decrees of the Church. Cf. Trent, sess. 25, *de Sacr.

Imag.*; Benedict XIV, Constitution Sollicitudini, October 1, 1745. Altogether forbidden: therefore they can neither be publicly exposed nor privately retained. Except unless they are retained as a mere historical monument of art. New ones, or those to be printed hereafter, and new as regards their form, cannot be printed and published without permission of ecclesiastical power. Published without it, they were indeed illicitly published, but they are not proscribed unless they differ from the sense and Decrees of the Church. "It is interdicted to all in any way to spread indulgences which are apocryphal and proscribed or revoked by the Holy Apostolic See.

Those which have already been spread are to be removed from the hands of the faithful." § 16. Apocryphal, namely false. Cf. true indulgences in authentic Collections of Indulgences approved by the Sacred Congregation, Raccolta delle Indulgenze, etc. Proscribed by the Holy Apostolic See: cf. Ferraris, v. Indulgentia, art. 4. To spread: reading in itself is not interdicted, but it is prescribed that those spread, whether in print or in manuscript, be removed from the hands of the faithful, which especially pertains to ecclesiastical superiors. "All books of indulgences, summaries, booklets, leaves, etc., in which grants of them are contained, are not to be published without permission of the competent authority." § 17.

Of the competent authority, namely either of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences or of the Bishop; of the Sacred Congregation, if there is question of new indulgences and of new summaries of them; of the Bishop, if there is speech of indulgences and summaries already approved by the Sacred Congregation, according to the norms established before the new Constitution Officiorum ac munerum. Sacred Congregation of the Index, Constitution, August 7, 1897. Permission: without it they are illicitly published, but those published are not for that reason proscribed by that very fact. E.M. 1310, 1355.

What is an indulgence? "Indulgence is accustomed to signify remission and facility, or, so to speak, condescension, in the holy Scriptures and in other authors..." Bellarmine, de Indulg., book 1, chap. 1. Hence Indulgence, taken theologically, is defined: the remission of temporal punishment owed to God for sins remitted as regards guilt, granted by a legitimate minister outside the sacrament of penance, through the application of the satisfactions of Christ and of the Saints.

Remission of temporal punishment: for remission of eternal punishment together with remission of mortal guilt is not obtained except through the sacrament of penance, or through charity and perfect contrition with the vow of the sacrament. But when guilt and eternal punishment have been remitted, temporal punishment, also owed to sin, is not always remitted. St. Thomas, III, q. 80, art. 4. Now this temporal punishment is that which is then remitted through satisfactory works and through Indulgence in this life; otherwise it will be paid after this life in Purgatory. The same must be said, by proportionate reasoning, of venial sin, to which only temporal punishment is owed. St. Thomas, loc. cit. Its guilt is remitted by charity and other pious acts, by which temporal punishment is also remitted; but again this is not always wholly remitted, whence it must be remitted either by other satisfactory works or by Indulgence in this life, otherwise it too will have to be paid in Purgatory after this life. Trent, sess. 6, canon 30; sess. 14, canons 5, 8, 9, chaps. 12, 15; St. Thomas, IV Sent., dist. 16, q. 2, art. 2, q. 4; dist. 17, q. 2, art. 5, q. 2; supplement, q. 15, art. 3. Therefore indulgence is neither remission of the guilt, Benedict XIV, de Syn., book 13, chap. 18, n. 7; Suarez, de Poenit., disp. 50, sect. 1, n. 14, nor is it remission of the debt of eternal punishment; rather it is only remission of the debt of temporal punishment still owed to sin. Of temporal punishment, namely to be inflicted by God in Purgatory, and therefore it is remission before God. It is by no means a mere remission either of penance imposed or to be imposed on the penitent by the confessor, or of canonical penance, which the Church formerly inflicted. Indulgence would not then be most salutary for us. Trent, sess. 25, Decree on Indulgences. "This opinion," says St. Thomas, IV Sent., dist. 20, q. 1, art. 3, q. 1, "does not seem true, first because it is expressly against the privilege given to Peter, that what he would remit on earth would be remitted also in heaven; whence remission which is made as regards the forum of the Church is valid also as regards the forum of God; and besides, the Church, granting or giving Indulgences of this kind, would harm rather than help, because she would remit to graver penalties, namely of Purgatory, by absolving from imposed penances." But although indulgence is remission of temporal punishment, and from this head frees us from other satisfactory works, nevertheless we cannot for that reason absolutely neglect these; since they serve at the same time both for satisfying for sins committed and for preventing sins in the future. St. Thomas, Quodlibet 2, art. 16, ad 3.

This remission of temporal punishment is made through application of the satisfactions of Christ and of the Saints, by force of the communion of Saints which is present in the Church, and of the power by which one can satisfy for another. "The work of one," says St. Thomas, Quodlibet 2, art. 16, "can be satisfactory for another, to whom it is referred by the intention of the one doing it. But Christ poured out his Blood for his Church, and did and sustained many other things, the valuation of which is of infinite value because of the dignity of the person... similarly also all the other Saints had the intention in those things which they suffered and did for God, that this would be for the utility not only of themselves, but also of the whole Church." Cf. Contra Gentiles, book 3, chap. 158, n. 4. Now the satisfactions of infinite price of Jesus Christ, to which accede the satisfactions of the Blessed Virgin and also the superabundant satisfactions of the Saints, constitute the treasury of the Church, of which we participate through indulgences. Extravagant Unigenitus 2, de Poenit. et remiss.; Benedict XIV, Constitution Pia Mater, April 5, 1747, at the beginning. Superabundant: "And therefore," says St. Thomas, IV Sent., dist. 20, q. 1, art. 3, q. 1, "it must be said that [indulgences] are valid both as regards the forum of the Church and as regards the judgment of God, for the remission of the punishment remaining after contrition and absolution and confession, whether it has been imposed or not. But the reason why they can be valid is the unity of the mystical body, in which many have supererogated by works of penance beyond the measure of their debts; and many have also patiently sustained unjust tribulations, through which a multitude of punishments could be expiated, if they were owed to them; and the abundance of their merits is so great that they exceed every punishment owed by those now living, and especially because of the merit of Christ, which, although it operates in the sacraments, nevertheless its efficacy is not included in the sacraments, but by its infinity exceeds the efficacy of the sacraments. But it was said above, art. 2, q. 3, that one can satisfy for another. But the Saints, in whom a superabundance of works of satisfaction is found, did not perform works of this kind determinately for this man who needs remission; otherwise he would obtain remission without any indulgence. But they did so commonly for the whole Church, as the Apostle says to the Colossians 1, that he fills up those things which are lacking of the Passion of Christ in his body for the Church to which he writes. And thus the aforesaid merits are common to the whole Church. But those things which are common to some multitude are distributed to individuals of the multitude according to the judgment of him who presides over the multitude. Whence just as someone would obtain remission of punishment if another had satisfied for him, so also if the satisfaction of another is distributed to him by one who can do it." Cf. Quodlibet 2, art. 16; supplement, q. 25; L., book 6, n. 531; E.M.

Does the Church have the power of granting indulgences? R. Affirmatively, and it is of faith. Trent, sess. 25, Decree on Indulgences; Pius IV, Bull Iniunctum nobis, November 18, 1564. But indulgences cannot be granted without cause, neither licitly nor validly. The reason is that the prelates of the Church are nothing other than delegates of Christ for dispensing the treasury of the Church. L., book 6, n. 532. Now "whatever cause is present which turns to the utility of the Church and the honor of God is a sufficient reason for bestowing indulgences." St. Thomas, IV Sent., dist. 20, q. 1, art. 3, q. 2. Indulgences can be granted "principally by the Pope; but by others insofar as they receive power from him, whether ordinary or committed, or delegated." St. Thomas, Quodlibet 2, art. 16; Suarez, de Poenit., disp. 53.

The Supreme Pontiff can delegate this faculty both to Bishops and to simple priests. Indeed, as St. Thomas says, Quodlibet 2, art. 16, ad 2, "an indulgence does not extend to the remission of guilt, because it is not sacramental; whence it does not follow order, but jurisdiction; for even one who is not a priest can make an indulgence, if it has been committed to him." Hence 1. the application of indulgences is made outside the sacrament. 2. A Bishop-elect and canonically instituted, although not yet consecrated, can grant indulgences, but by no means a titular Bishop, or coadjutor, or resigned Bishop. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 12, 1878, to 4. 3. Personal indulgences granted by a Bishop can be acquired only by diocesan subjects, since no one can be bound or absolved by a judge not his own. Chap. Quod autem 4, de Poenit. et remiss. But a Bishop can grant indulgences to his subjects staying outside his diocese, because he has personal jurisdiction over them. St. Thomas, supplement, q. 26; L., book 6, nn. 532-533.

Who in particular can grant indulgences? 1. The Supreme Pontiff can grant any indulgences whatsoever for the whole Catholic world, for the living and for the dead. A General Council also has this faculty together with the Supreme Pontiff. But a Provincial Council does not have this power. St. Thomas, Quodlibet 2, art. 16.

2. Bishops can grant a year of indulgence on the day of dedication or consecration of a Church; and fifty days at other times; and these indulgences are not applicable to the dead. Chap. Cum ex eo 14, de Poenit. et remiss. A Bishop cannot grant indulgences to the faithful of another diocese. Nevertheless pilgrims can gain local indulgences by visiting, for example, a Church or oratory to which an indulgence has been granted. But a successor Bishop cannot add to the same object or act of piety other fifty days of indulgences. Nor indeed can Bishops grant fifty days of indulgences to individual parts of some pious work, or to individual words of some prayer. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 12, 1878. Archbishops can grant a year of indulgence on the day of dedication or consecration of a church as Bishops can, and besides at other times an indulgence of one hundred days, both in their own dioceses and in those of their own province. Chap. Nostro 15, de Poenit. et remiss. Besides this, Archbishops and Bishops have the faculty of giving the blessing with plenary Indulgence in the article of death, and of delegating this faculty to others. Benedict XIV, Constitution Pia mater. For this blessing the rite prescribed in the Roman Ritual is to be observed.

3. "A Bishop in the lands of infidels, although auxiliary of the Ordinary of some diocese, cannot grant an Indulgence of fifty days, as a diocesan can." Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 12, 1878.

4. Nuncios and Apostolic Legates, by force of the concessions which are made to them by the Supreme Pontiff, can grant indulgences in the places of their own Nunciature or Legation for some pious work of one hundred or three hundred days, provided they do not reach a year. They can grant to a Church or Chapel indulgences of seven years and seven quarantines for all the faithful who have received the sacraments of penance and Eucharist, and who have visited the aforesaid sanctuaries and there prayed according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff.

5. Cardinals can grant indulgences of two hundred days in their own dioceses and in their own titular Churches. By at least the tacit consent of the Supreme Pontiff, the Cardinal Major Penitentiary can grant at Rome one hundred days of indulgences.

6. Vicars Apostolic, Vicars General, Vicars Capitular, Abbots, Generals, Provincials of religious orders, penitentiary canons, pastors, and confessors can grant no indulgence without a special faculty of the Holy See. Chap. Accedentibus 12, de Excess. prael.; Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, August 24, 1852. Cf. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 28, 1903; Suarez, disp. 55, sect. 5, n. 2; St. Thomas, supplement, q. 26; La-Croix 1317 ff.; E.M.

7. Priests enrolled in the Eucharistic Priestly Federation can grant to their penitents a plenary Indulgence for each week, if the aforesaid penitents receive the Most Holy Eucharist daily or almost daily. Pius X, Brief, May 10, 1906. The aforesaid Priests can likewise bless beads with the indulgences of the Fathers Crucigeri. Pius X, September 15, 1908.

8. "Whenever, the ordinary confessor being absent, any other priest is duly called to minister the last sacraments to religious women of both solemn and simple vows, he can also impart the apostolic blessing to the same as they are dying, even if otherwise he does not possess this faculty, according otherwise to the norm of the Constitution of Benedict XIV Pia mater, and with the form prescribed in the Roman Ritual observed." Holy Office, April 1, 1909. Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 1, p. 490.

Note: Those who obtain general concessions of indulgences, general not personal, for the recitation, for example, of prayers, etc., must, under penalty of nullity, bring a copy of the same concessions to the Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences. Same Sacred Congregation, January 28, 1756; April 14, 1856. He who has obtained the faculty of blessing Beads, Crosses, Rosaries, Medals, etc., with application of Apostolic Indulgences and of St. Bridget, cannot validly exercise it unless he has been approved for receiving sacramental confessions, at least of men. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, June 14, 1901. And the same faculty must be recognized by the Holy Office. Pius X, motu proprio, April 7, 1910. Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 2, p. 225 ff. All confessors can commute the abstinence of Wednesday and Saturday, to which those who do not know how to read are bound, in place of reciting the little office, for the effect of enjoying the Sabbatine privilege of the scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, June 14, 1901. Trent, sess. 21, chap. 9, de Ref.; E.M.

Privileges of Cardinals. "6. Of gaining in their own chapels the indulgences for acquiring which the visit of some church or public chapel of the city or place in which the Cardinals are actually staying is prescribed; their familiars can also enjoy this privilege. "7. Of blessing everywhere, by the sign of the cross alone, with all indulgences customarily granted by the Holy See, rosaries and other prayer beads, crosses, medals, statues, scapulars approved by the Apostolic See, and of imposing these without the burden of inscription. "8. Under one blessing, of erecting in churches and oratories, even private ones in which Mass can be celebrated, and in other pious places, the Stations of the Way of the Cross with all indulgences which have been imparted to those performing an exercise of this kind; and also of blessing for the faithful who, because of infirmity or another legitimate impediment, cannot visit the sacred stations of the Way of the Cross, images of the Crucified with application of all the indulgences annexed by the Apostolic See to the devout exercise of the same Way of the Cross. "14. Of granting an indulgence of two hundred days in places or institutes and for persons of their jurisdiction or protection; likewise in other places, but to be gained only by those present, each time." First Supplement. E.M.

What do the words in forma Ecclesiae consueta, in the accustomed form of the Church, signify in Concessions of indulgences? The words in forma Ecclesiae consueta, which are used in Concessions or Indults, signify nothing other than that the indulgences are granted to the faithful truly penitent, or truly contrite. Lavorius, tract. de Iubilaeo et Indulg., part 2, chap. 14; Theodorus a Spiritu Sancto, part 1, p. 284. Nor indeed do they signify that some special formula is to be used in the blessing of pious objects so that indulgences may be applied to them. For this the simple sign of the cross suffices, except for Rosaries of the Fathers Preachers and Servites, for which the prescribed formula is required. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, April 11, 1840; January 7, 1843; February 29, 1864. The prescribed formula is also required for the Crosses of Stations of the Way of the Cross, for aggregation to various Confraternities, for a plenary Indulgence in the article of death through the Apostolic Blessing, and for the Apostolic Blessing besides the aforesaid.

Several objects can be blessed at the same time, and indulgences can be applied to them. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 12, 1855. Several indulgences can be applied to the same object. And thus Apostolic indulgences, those of the Fathers Preachers, Crucigeri, and St. Bridget can be applied to the same beads. Nevertheless, to gain them, the imposed repeatable works must be renewed. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 29, 1820. Indulgences can generally be applied to any solid and durable things, but by no means to fragile ones. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 24, 1846. But specifically beads or rosaries can be blessed if made from polished steel (acciaio polimentato), from iron, tin, lead, and from solid and compact glass. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 29, 1820; March 22, 1839. But whether someone can gain the same indulgences several times in a day, by several times repeating the imposed works, must be determined from another clause of the Concession, toties quoties, as often as, or if the Concession determines nothing. Holy Office, June 24, 1914, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 6, p. 379. On the same day the indulgences of Stations, or of the Visitation of a Church, cannot be obtained several times. On the contrary, indulgences of the Rosary, acts of Faith, Hope, Charity, etc., can be obtained several times. E.M.

For the Way of the Cross to be erected, a written faculty obtained from the General of the Order of St. Francis or from the Holy See is required. It is to be exhibited to the Ordinary, who must give consent in writing, as also the Superior of the place. The customary form must be used, and the document of erection is to be kept in the place. Thus several decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences.

Apostolic Blessing to be imparted at the end of sermons. This blessing is given by one sign of the cross with a Crucifix, with the following formula: Benedictio Dei Omnipotentis Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos, et maneat semper. R. Amen. Sacred Congregation of Rites, May 11, 1911.

General Absolution and papal Blessing to Secular Tertiaries. "Regular Superiors can delegate Priests of their own Order, even those not approved for hearing confessions, to impart General Absolution and the papal Blessing to secular Tertiaries in their own churches." Holy Office, May 27, 1914, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 6, p. 347.

Manner of blessing certain devotional things by Apostolic authority. Declaration. "In blessing several similar or diverse objects of religion which are offered to a priest furnished with several faculties, joined or mixed together, and in enriching them with indulgences by force of diverse faculties, one sign suffices for several blessings and annexations of indulgences. And the declaration is not extended to metallic medals to be substituted for scapulars, concerning which in the Decree of the Holy Office, December 16, 1910." Holy Office, May 18, 1914, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 6, p. 346.

Blessing of medals for scapulars. Several medals, to be substituted for scapulars, can be blessed at the same time, by one sign of the cross, by a Priest having the power. Nor is it necessary that the persons to whom they are distributed have already been enrolled in the Scapulars. Holy Office, June 4, 1903, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 5, p. 303 ff.

Indulgence toties quoties, annexed to Crucifixes. "The faculty of blessing Crucifixes with application of the Plenary Indulgence called toties quoties, whether obtained personally from the Supreme Pontiff, or in any way from the Apostolic See through the channel of any Office or person, is to be understood thus and not otherwise: that any of Christ's faithful, constituted in the article of death, who shall have kissed or in any way touched one of these blessed Crucifixes, even if it does not belong to him, provided that, confessed and refreshed by holy Communion, or, if he could not do this, at least contrite, he has devoutly invoked the Most Holy Name of Jesus by mouth, if he could, otherwise by heart, and has patiently accepted death from the hand of the Lord as the wages of sin, can acquire the Plenary Indulgence." Holy Office, June 10, 1914, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 6, p. 348.

To whom can indulgences be applied? Since the living are subject to the authority of the Church, the Church directly remits temporal punishments to them through indulgences; and consequently indulgences are said to be granted by way of payment and absolution, namely by paying those penalties through the application of the satisfactions of Christ and of the Saints. St. Thomas, IV, dist. 20, q. 1, art. 3, q. 1, ad 2. Indulgences can also be applied to the dead dwelling in Purgatory, and they are applied to them by way of suffrage, since the Church no longer has jurisdiction over the souls which are detained in Purgatory. By way of suffrage, namely by offering to God a part of the satisfactions of Christ and of the Saints which corresponds to the granted indulgence, asking God that he will console the souls of Purgatory by remitting to them as much punishment as corresponds to the obtained indulgence. But the real effect of such an indulgence cannot be infallibly affirmed, namely whether it is applied totally and to such a soul. For God has made no formal promise of this matter. But, the communication of the Saints being considered, it can very piously be believed and hoped. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 28, 1840. Hence it is very useful to apply to the dead as great a number of indulgences as we can. Therefore "although the effect of indulgences for the living is infallible, nevertheless it is not infallible for the dead, since for them there is no promise present, whence God accepts them only according to his good pleasure." L., book 6, n. 534. And this is confirmed from the use and practice of the Church of celebrating Masses for several years and for the same souls, e.g., anniversaries, even on privileged altars, or those to which the privilege of plenary indulgence adheres.

But that practice would be vain if it were established with infallible certainty that immediately, when the first Mass was applied to them, they would be freed. All and individual indulgences which are reviewed in the Collection of prayers, etc., commonly Raccolta di orazioni, etc., are applicable also to the faithful departed. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, September 30, 1852. St. Thomas, supplement, q. 27, art. 4, q. 71; Lugo, disp. 27, n. 58; La-Croix 1336; Billuart, Appendix, art. 6; E.M.

Of how many kinds is Indulgence? One Indulgence is plenary, another partial. Plenary is that by which the whole temporal punishment owed to sins is remitted. But partial is that by which some certain quantity of the aforesaid punishment is remitted. St. Thomas, Quodlibet 2, art. 16. Now a partial indulgence, e.g., of forty days or one year, does not import remission of forty days or one year of the punishment of Purgatory, but only remission of that punishment of Purgatory which someone would once have obtained before God through canonical penance of forty days or one year. But how great is the remission of the punishment of Purgatory corresponding to the aforesaid canonical penance is a matter unknown to us and is reserved to divine mercy. Benedict XIV, de Syn., book 13, chap. 17; St. Thomas, supplement, q. 28; L., book 6, nn. 530, 535.

Besides, one Indulgence is local, another personal, another real. Local is that which is affixed to a determined place, e.g., to a determined church, to a determined chapel and altar, statue or image, placed in some Sanctuary. Personal in the stricter sense is that which is granted to some person or persons, without being granted to all the faithful. But less strictly it is that which is granted to the faithful independently of place or of a determined object, on account of some act of piety. Finally, real is that which is annexed to portable objects or things of devotion, e.g., a crucifix, medal, rosary, small statue, etc. This real Indulgence is regularly also personal, since regularly only the owners of these things, to whom the aforesaid things were first handed over, can gain the indulgences. And if the same things are lent to others so that they may gain the indulgences, or are given to them, the indulgences are lost. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 6, 1657; February 3, 1745. Blessed objects can neither be sold nor exchanged, otherwise the indulgences are lost. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, June 4, 1721; December 4, 1722. Indeed, if someone buys them so that he may then distribute them blessed, he can neither seek back their price, nor anything even under the title of alms, without the indulgences being lost. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 22, 1847; January 31, 1837; July 16, 1887. But real indulgences of this kind endure as long as the object is not at least morally destroyed; and thus, if a rosary is repaired because some beads have been lost, the indulgences are not for that reason lost. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 10, 1839.

Moreover one Indulgence is perpetual, another temporary. The former endures until it is revoked; the latter endures only for a determinate time, e.g., three, five, seven years. But indulgences granted at the good pleasure of the Roman Pontiff or of the Apostolic See are judged perpetual, because they are referred not to the person, but to the dignity. Rule 16 of Law in 6.

Finally, one Indulgence is only for the living, another only for the dead, another for the living with the faculty of applying it to the dead. This Indulgence granted for the living and also applicable to the dead does not signify that someone can gain the indulgence twice, for himself and for the dead, but only that he can gain it at his choice either for himself or for the dead. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 15, 1839. Therefore, in order that an indulgence can really be applied to the dead, it is required: 1. that in the Pontifical Indult it be granted as applicable to the dead; 2. that there be an intention of making such application. Suarez, disp. 53, sect. 14. But it can be applied either generally to all souls dwelling in Purgatory, or in particular to some or to one only. E.M.

Is intention prerequired for gaining indulgences? R. Affirmatively, for an indulgence is a grace which is made to those willing to enjoy it; and therefore certain works to be fulfilled are always prescribed. But it is not necessary that this intention be actual; rather a virtual intention suffices, namely one once had and not revoked, which moves us to fulfill the prescribed works. But whether even a merely habitual intention suffices, i.e., once had and not retracted, without it moving us to fulfill the prescribed works, is controverted. Grave doctors affirm, because an indulgence is granted by the Church by way of payment for the work imposed. Therefore, this having been furnished, the power of the keys of the Church pays the penalty. Cf. Schmalzgrueber, book 5, tit. 38, n. 133. In the book of indulgences La Raccolta, p. XII, it is said: "it is necessary to have at least in general the intention of gaining indulgences." Therefore it suffices if someone in the morning forms the intention of gaining, during the day, all indulgences which are annexed to the pious works which he is going to do. Nor indeed is it necessary to know determinately what these indulgences are, and whether in fact they are. Laymann, book 5, tract. 7, chap. 6, n. 5; Diana, tom. 4, res. 18; Billuart, Appendix de Indulg., art. 5; Lugo, de Poenit., disp. 27, n. 80.

Is it required, for gaining indulgences, that someone be in the state of grace? R. Affirmatively. "No punishment can be remitted to anyone unless guilt has already been remitted to him." St. Thomas, IV Sent., dist. 20, q. 1, art. 5, q. 1; L., book 6, nn. 533, 534. Besides, an Indulgence depends on the intention of the one granting it. Now an indulgence is granted only to the contrite and confessed. St. Thomas, supplement, q. 27, art. 1. Nevertheless, if a plenary indulgence requires several works of piety, it is enough that the last be performed in the state of grace. Raccolta, p. XII; L., loc. cit. If, when Confession is prescribed, after Confession someone falls into grave sin, an act of contrition suffices, and a new Confession is required only in a Jubilee. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 14, 1852.

Can someone who is in the state of mortal sin gain indulgences at least for the souls of Purgatory? The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences responded, February 22, 1847: Let him consult approved authors. But approved authors, some affirm, because it is necessary that someone first make the Indulgence his own; others deny, because for gaining an Indulgence it suffices only to do what is prescribed, in order that it be applied by the Church to the Souls of Purgatory. L., book 6, n. 534; Bellarmine, de Indulg., book 1, chap. 14; Suarez, de Poenit., disp. 53, sect. 4, n. 6; Lugo, de Poenit., disp. 27, n. 75.

Is venial sin an obstacle to gaining an indulgence? "It is certain that venial sin not remitted as regards guilt cannot be remitted as regards punishment. Thus St. Thomas, supplement, q. 27, art. 1, whom Viva, Sporer, and others everywhere follow. Nevertheless that venial sin does not prevent the punishment owed to other sins already remitted from being remitted...

Nor does it obstruct that the plenary indulgence was granted under the notion of total remission, so that if it does not remove the punishment of that venial sin not remitted, it removes none. For it is answered that just as it is not repugnant that the guilt of some venial sin be remitted without the guilt of others being remitted, so also with punishment. But the Pontiff, in granting a plenary indulgence, is not presumed to wish to restrict it only to those to whom all venial sins are remitted, but rather to grant it according to the capacity of the subject, so that at least the punishment of those venial sins whose guilt has been remitted may be remitted." L., book 6, n. 534. "No one obtains a plenary indulgence who is not free from every venial sin, since punishment is not remitted while guilt remains; but he can obtain full pardon of the others who is held only by affection for some one, and therefore the effect is greater according to the more perfect disposition of soul; for the Pontiff is judged to grant plenary remission to be obtained according to the capacity of the subject, so that the punishment of remitted venial sins may be remitted." Kenrick, 2nd ed., Mechlin, 1860, tract. 18, n. 253. And hence it is clear that someone can acquire several plenary indulgences on the same day. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 27, 1841. Nevertheless no one can gain a second plenary indulgence if after the first no further punishment to be paid remains.

What is generally required as regards the fulfillment of the works imposed for acquiring indulgences? Someone must fulfill them piously and devoutly, personally and integrally, at the time and place and with the other circumstances established in the indult. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 21, 1820. Personally; nevertheless the alms prescribed in a Jubilee can be fulfilled through another. Integrally: a small omission does not impede gaining the indulgence; a small thing is reputed as nothing. But they need not be fulfilled among themselves in any determined order.

That formula, those who, truly penitent, confessed, and refreshed by holy communion, have visited the church, indeed imports that Confession must be performed even by those who are not conscious to themselves of lethal sin; which Confession nevertheless can also suffice if it is completed on the vigil of the festivity. But the visitation of the church can be fulfilled either before or after the fulfillment of the other pious works. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 19, 1859. When in partial Indulgences the clause is added, with heart at least contrite, contrition is required only as a disposition, not as an imposed work, and therefore it is not necessary that an act of contrition be elicited by those who are in the state of grace. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 17, 1870. A work which must be performed from obligation from elsewhere cannot suffice for gaining an indulgence without the express concession of the Supreme Pontiff, unless it is a work imposed by the confessor as penance. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 53; Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 29, 1841; March 7, 1888. Cf. Benedict XIV, Inst. 53, § 11. Cf. here 734. But by the same pious work, to which indulgences are annexed under various titles, all can be gained, provided that the imposed works truly cannot or are not accustomed to be repeated, such as Confession, unless it is necessary from elsewhere. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 12, 1878, to 3. In the recitation alone of the Marian Rosary, the cumulation of Indulgences called those of the Fathers Preachers and of the Fathers Crucigeri was granted, provided the Beads have received each blessing. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, June 12, 1907. In the recitation alone of the Rosary, etc.; for the Indulgence of five hundred days, which is annexed to Beads blessed by the Fathers Crucigeri, or by others having the faculty, is acquired as often as with the said Beads the Pater noster or Ave Maria is recited. Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 40, p. 443. The Most Holy One granted "that the sick or those worn out by old age in a community and living under a rule, who cannot visit churches or oratories or execute other things prescribed for indulgences, may nevertheless be able to gain indulgences by fulfilling other pious works to be prescribed at the judgment of the confessor." Leo XIII, January 16, 1886. Pius IX had already granted the same privilege earlier, on September 18, 1862, to the habitually sick outside a community, unable to leave the house. St. Thomas, supplement, q. 27, art. 3; L., book 1, s., nn. 533, 534; E.M. "The faithful of each sex who, for zeal of perfection, or for the sake of instruction or education, or even of health, live a common life in houses lacking a church or public chapel, but established with the consent of the Ordinaries, and also all persons staying there to minister to them, whenever the visitation of some church in general is prescribed for gaining indulgences, i.e., not of a determined church, or of some indeterminate public oratory, can visit the chapel of their own house, in which by law they can satisfy the obligation of hearing Mass, provided that they have duly performed the other works imposed." Holy Office, January 14, 1909, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 1, p. 210.

When are Confession and Communion to be performed? For an indulgence of Jubilee, or in the form of a Jubilee, all the prescribed works, and therefore also Confession and Communion, must be performed during the time designated for the duration of the Jubilee. For other indulgences, Confession and Communion are not always required. And thus they are not necessary for indulgences of the Way of the Cross. Nevertheless they are ordinarily required as regards most plenary indulgences. Now Confession and Communion can be performed on the vigil of the festivity, or of the day to which the indulgences are affixed; and even eight days before the feast, where because of the scarcity of confessors the faithful frequently cannot confess. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 19, 1750; June 12, 1822; October 6, 1870; Raccolta, p. XXI; L., loc. cit., n. 534.

When Confession is prescribed for gaining an indulgence, it is necessary for all, even for those who already are in the state of grace; but for these only Confession without absolution suffices. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 19, 1759; August 20, 1822; December 15, 1841; May 6, 1852. All those who have the custom of making Confession at least once in each week can gain all and any indulgences whatsoever which occur from one Confession to another, except the indulgence of Jubilee, and others granted after the likeness of a Jubilee. Confession would then be necessary only if they have sinned gravely. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 9, 1763; March 5, 1855; December 4, 1843; November 23, 1878; February 25, 1886; Raccolta, pp. XVII-XVIII. Besides, all who daily approach Communion, although they abstain from Communion once or twice during the week, gain all occurring Indulgences without the obligation of weekly Confession. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 14, 1906. Easter Communion suffices for gaining indulgences affixed to the same day or to the following day. Nevertheless the same does not suffice for gaining the indulgence of Jubilee. And the same must be said of annual Confession. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 10, 1844; March 19, 1841; December 15, 1841; May 10, 1884.

Outside Jubilee the same Confession and Communion suffice for gaining several plenary indulgences on the same day or the following, provided nevertheless that the other prescribed works are fulfilled. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 29, 1841; February 29, 1864. When for gaining a local or personal indulgence a determined church is to be visited, it is not necessary to receive Communion in the same church, unless this also has been prescribed. But if Communion is received in it on the same day to which the indulgence is annexed, and prayers are poured forth according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff, it is not necessary to make another visitation. Raccolta, p. XXV. Since in the article of death it is not possible to receive Communion, then to gain a plenary indulgence it suffices to invoke, with contrition and at least by heart if one cannot by mouth, the Name of Jesus. E.M. "... It is granted that the Confession to be performed for gaining an Indulgence, if this has been granted several times on the same day, can be anticipated during the three immediately preceding days; but if it has been granted once in a day, only two whole days beforehand... yet in such a way that besides Communion permitted on the day before the day to which the Indulgence is annexed, in fulfilling the other imposed works the general rule concerning the manner and time prescribed in the concessions is observed." Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 11, 1908, Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 41, p. 359 ff.

All who daily approach Communion, although they abstain from Communion once or twice during the week, gain all occurring Indulgences without the obligation of weekly Confession, nothing nevertheless being innovated concerning Indulgences of Jubilee. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 14, 1906.

With regard to those who are refreshed daily or almost daily by the Bread of Angels, the broader concessions already made remaining firm, and by name that of February 14, 1906, sacramental confession made within the last eight days before the day designated for gaining the Indulgence suffices for gaining any Indulgences whatsoever. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, April 23, 1914, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 6, p. 309.

What prayers are to be recited? The prayers regularly to be recited according to the intentions are often not determined. Therefore someone is free to recite whatever prayers he wishes. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 29, 1841; September 13, 1888. From accepted use, five Pater and Ave suffice. Nevertheless vocal prayers are to be recited. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, September 13, 1888; Benedict XIV, Convocatis, November 25, 1749, § 51; Encyclical to the Roman Penitentiaries Inter praeteritos, December 3, 1729, § 83. Prayers are to be recited in the church if it is prescribed to visit the church and pour forth prayers there; otherwise they can be recited in any place. Raccolta, p. XXIV. Prayers are not to be recited on bent knees unless this also is prescribed. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, September 18, 1862; Raccolta, p. XV. But someone can recite them alone, or alternately with a companion according to custom. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 29, 1820. Prayers are to be recited as many times as there are diverse indulgences which someone wishes to gain on the same day. Raccolta, p. XXV. The intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, which he almost always requires, are the exaltation of the Catholic Church, the propagation of the faith, the extirpation of heresy and schism, the conversion of sinners, peace and concord among Christian Princes, and other necessities of the Christian people. It is not necessary to have these intentions explicitly; it suffices generally to pray according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 12, 1847. Prayers to which indulgences are annexed can be recited in any language, provided the translation is faithful. So that the faithfulness of the translation may be established, the Declaration of the Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, or of the Bishop of the place to whom that translation is a vulgar language, suffices. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 29, 1864. The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is excepted, which is to be recited in Latin. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, September 13, 1888. The same must be said of the Office of the Dead. The recitation of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the vernacular language is valid only for private recitation. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 28, 1903. But that is still private "although its recitation takes place in common within the enclosure of a religious house, indeed even in the church itself or public oratory annexed to the aforesaid house, but with doors closed." Sacred Congregation of Rites, December 18, 1906. For deaf-mutes, when visitation of a church is prescribed, it suffices devoutly to visit the church; when public prayers are prescribed, it suffices to pray by heart, provided they are found together with other faithful in the same place; when private prayers are prescribed, the confessor can commute them into other pious acts in some way sensible. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 15, 1852; Raccolta, p. XVI. And by a general Decree it was conceded to them to acquire indulgences by pouring forth the imposed prayers by signs or by mind, or only by reading the same without any pronunciation. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 18, 1902. E.M.

A daily plenary indulgence for those visiting some church, unless otherwise expressly declared, signifies that each one of Christ's faithful can gain that indulgence only once in the year. Pius IX, March 15, 1852.

How is the visitation of a church to be performed? Visitation of a church is to be performed for gaining indulgences when it is prescribed, and it must be effected in a determined church if it is determined by the indult. Raccolta, p. XXI. It is not necessary to enter the church. If the church is closed or it is impossible to enter it for another reason, it then suffices to pray at the door. "One existing near the doors of the church is judged to be in it." Lavorius, de Iubilaeo, part 1, chap. 18; L., book 6, n. 534. Chapels of monasteries, seminaries, and other pious societies, to which there is not free access for all the faithful from the public way, are not judged public oratories in order to gaining indulgences. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 22, 1842. Visitation of a church can be made on foot or by carriage. In order that someone gain several indulgences prescribing visitation of a church, he must effect several visitations by going out and again entering the church. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 29, 1864; Raccolta, p. XXIII. E.M.

At what time must the prescribed works be fulfilled? They must be fulfilled at the time determined in the indult itself. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, September 25, 1841. Nevertheless Confession and Communion, as was said, can always be made on the vigil. The time of an indulgence granted for one determined day begins from midnight to midnight, unless something else is expressed. Sacred Congregation, January 12, 1878. "When in the concession the words are had, from first vespers, the visitation can be made on the preceding day, but not before the hour at which vespers are commonly accustomed to be publicly recited." Authentic Raccolta delle Indulg., p. XXII. Cf. 1370. But afterwards, from the Holy Office, January 26, 1911, the time for the visitation of a church, when this is prescribed, begins from noon of the day preceding that to which the Indulgence is affixed until midnight of the following day. When a plenary Indulgence is granted once in a month, the month is not necessarily to be computed from its first day, but a continuous space of thirty days suffices. Pius IX, August 9, 1852, by Decree Urbis et Orbis, "benignly commanded that all indulgences which up to now have been granted to certain feasts, and will be granted hereafter, or which for the same feasts have likewise been granted to some churches and public oratories and will be granted hereafter, or even, if it please, with the consent of the Ordinary, those granted in sacred supplications, or in novendial, or septenary, or triduan prayers before or after the feast, or while its octave endures, are to be understood as transferred for that day on which feasts of this kind, even only as regards solemnity and external celebration, but not as regards office and Mass, are legitimately transferred in some places, or churches, and public oratories, whether perpetually, or on some occasion, or for a time and while it endures. But when only the office with Mass is transferred, but not the solemnity and exterior celebration of the feast, he decreed that no transfer of indulgences is made." E.M.

When the faculty is granted of commuting the works imposed for gaining indulgences, must the commutation be made in Confession? One must stand, says Gury, n. 1016, by the rule which Benedict XIV hands down in the Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 63, where he establishes that commutations of this kind must be made in Confession alone. For, after reviewing the controversy concerning the commutation of vows, absolution from censures, and the power of dispensing in other matters, or of commuting the prescribed works, whether all these must be done by the confessor in the act of sacramental confession or not, he thus concludes: But We, to remove every difficulty, in the Instruction, Constitution Convocatis, enjoined that no absolutions, commutations, and dispensations can be given by the penitentiaries outside the act of sacramental confession; and this seemed to Us both fitting and suitable to the gravity of the matter and the quality of the ministry, and removes every occasion of controversy, and is conformable to the practice of Our Apostolic Penitentiary. But Ballerini there observes that Benedict XIV, loc. cit., speaks of faculties conceded and of the mode of using them on the occasion of the Jubilee of the year 1750, but does not establish a general law. Whence he concludes that only then must commutations, etc., necessarily be made in Confession, when in the concession a condition of this kind is expressly provided. Indeed, from various Responses of the Sacred Penitentiary, March 16, 1865, January 30, 1886, the matter is one which depends on the will of the one granting the Indulgence. If it is not positively granted, since in Jubilees the cited Constitution of Benedict XIV is for a norm, this faculty in reality is not had. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 15, 1852.

In the Warnings for the Jubilee of the Holy Year 1900, § II, it is said: "Let confessors observe that absolutions and commutations, the power of which has been conferred on them, cannot be exercised by them outside the act of sacramental confession." Nevertheless for confessors outside Rome delegated by the Bishop by force of the Bull of Jubilee, as regards those impeded from coming to Rome, the Sacred Penitentiary declared, May 10, 1900, that they can use the faculties of commuting the visitations of the Basilicas outside Confession, but toward their own penitents.

What is Jubilee? The word Jubilee is derived, according to many, from the Hebrew iobel, which signifies fiftieth, because among the Hebrews the year of Jubilee recurred in the fiftieth year; or, according to others, from the same word signifying the sound of the trumpet, by which the fiftieth year was announced. According to others also, Jubilee is derived from iubai or iobal, which signifies to germinate, because in the fiftieth year the land was not cultivated, and the inhabitants fed on fruits springing up of themselves.

In imitation of the Jubilee of the Old Testament, the ecclesiastical Jubilee was instituted, which first was celebrated at Rome, but afterwards began to be celebrated in the whole world, with the fullest indulgence of sins, with great joy and solemnity. It was instituted by Boniface VIII, Constitution Antiquorum habet, February 23, 1300, and was to be celebrated in every hundredth year. But Clement VI, by a Constitution of the year 1343, decreed that thereafter it should be celebrated in every fiftieth year. By decree of Urban VI it began to be celebrated in every thirty-third year; and by the statute of Paul II, in every twenty-fifth year.

Jubilee is defined: a solemn plenary indulgence, which the Supreme Pontiff sometimes grants to all the faithful, with the obligation of performing certain pious works, at the same time giving to confessors special power of absolving from reserved sins and censures, of commuting most vows, and of dispensing in other matters. Hence Jubilee does not differ except accidentally from an ordinary plenary indulgence, namely by reason of the solemnity and of the privileges annexed to it; and also by reason of the most abundant and extraordinary graces which accompany it. For the wonderful and astonishing effects which Jubilee is accustomed to produce point to these altogether special graces, even if solemn gatherings of the faithful are not held, nor the divine word preached, by reason of the prayers of the whole Church.

Of how many kinds is Jubilee? Jubilee is distinguished in many ways: the greater Jubilee, which regularly occurs every twenty-fifth year, which year is called holy. It is also called the ordinary Jubilee, because it is fixed and determined by law. The lesser Jubilee, which is accustomed to be granted by the individual Supreme Pontiffs after each one's exaltation, and in other particular circumstances, and is called an extraordinary Jubilee. General, which is granted to the whole world, such as the greater Jubilee always is, and sometimes also the lesser Jubilee; but it is accustomed to be granted first to the City, that is, to Rome alone, before it is granted to the world. Particular, which is granted to some province, city, or particular place, as is the most celebrated Jubilee granted to the Church of Le Puy, whenever the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin falls on the sacred day of Parasceve, that is, Good Friday.

A whole year is ordinarily granted at Rome for gaining the greater Jubilee; and in the following year six months are accustomed to be granted, by extension, to all other regions of the Christian world. The lesser Jubilee also first takes place at Rome, but for a few weeks, and then is extended to the whole world, so that, as the year runs, it can take place during the time to be determined by the Bishop. But both for the ordinary and for the extraordinary Jubilee, attention must above all be paid to the tenor of the Indult granted. Pius IX granted it for a very long time on the occasion of the Vatican Council. Leo XIII appointed the entire year 1886 and for all the faithful for gaining the Jubilee.

The ordinary Jubilee at Rome can be acquired toties quoties, as often as the imposed works are repeated. In the rest of the world it is acquired only once, unless the Supreme Pontiff in his Bull expressly declares otherwise. Benedict XIV, Constitution Benedictus Deus. But whether an extraordinary Jubilee can be acquired several times is to be determined from the Bull of concession. In the Jubilee of the year 1913 the Sacred Penitentiary declared, as on other occasions of preceding Jubilees, that the plenary indulgence could be acquired several times; but that someone could enjoy the other favors only once. Sacred Penitentiary, June 6, 1913.

In more recent times Jubilee has been proclaimed several times. Most memorable of all is the Jubilee of the Holy Year 1899, proclaimed by Leo XIII, Bull Properante ad exitum, May 11, 1899.

In the Jubilee of the holy year, or greater Jubilee, while it is being celebrated at Rome, not in the following year in which the Jubilee is extended to the whole world, there are suspended at Rome and outside Rome for the whole year all other indulgences of the Apostolic See, both plenary and particular, granted for the living, but not those which are granted for the dead. Indeed all indulgences, even those which otherwise were not applicable to the dead, can be applied to them in this year. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 16, 1749; Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 24; Constitution Cum nos, May 17, 1749. Cf. the Invitation of the Cardinal Vicar of the City, 1900.

From the suspension of indulgences for the living are excepted: 1. indulgences for the dying; 2. indulgences for the prayer Angelus; 3. indulgences for the visitation of the Most Blessed Sacrament solemnly exposed; 4. indulgences for those who accompany the Most Blessed Sacrament when it is carried to the sick; 5. all indulgences which are granted by someone other than the Pope, by Legates a latere, Nuncios, Archbishops, Bishops. Benedict XIV, Brief Cum nos. But the indulgence of the papal blessing remains suspended, which Archbishops, Bishops, etc., give twice in the year. Clement XIII, Constitution Inexhaustum, September 3, 1762. Nevertheless in the Jubilee Constitution Quod Pontificum of Leo XIII, September 30, 1899, those indulgences remained intact "which Bishops are accustomed to bestow in the use of pontificals, or in imparting a blessing, or in another customary form."

Likewise, but outside Rome, faculties granted by the Holy See are suspended: of absolving from reserved cases and censures, of commuting vows, and of dispensing in irregularities and impediments, but not other faculties. Benedict XIV, Brief Cum nos, §§ 3-4; Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 32; Constitution Convocatis, §§ 55-56. But the faculty granted to Bishops by Trent, sess. 24, chap. Liceat, 6, de Ref., is excepted, and also other faculties which they enjoy by common law, or by special indult, in particular cases for determined persons. The same exception is to be made for faculties granted to regular prelates in favor of their subjects. Also intact remain the faculties of the Holy Office, of missionaries and ministers who have been deputed by the same Holy Office or by the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, and other faculties granted by the Sacred Penitentiary to missionaries to be exercised in mission places and on occasion of them. Benedict XIV, Brief Cum nos, § 3; Sacred Penitentiary, 1875; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 486.

But since the same conditions of this suspension are not always observed, attention likewise must always be paid to the tenor of the Bull of Jubilee. L., book 6, nn. 535-536. For the Jubilee of the holy year 1900 the Sacred Penitentiary declared, December 21, 1899, that the suspension of faculties "does not extend to those penitents who, at the time of Confession, in the judgment of the Ordinary or confessor, cannot here and now go to the City without grave inconvenience." And on December 26, 1899, the same Sacred Penitentiary declared that that suspension does not extend to faculties granted to Ordinaries for the external forum.

Now this suspension of indulgences and faculties outside Rome, while the Jubilee is being celebrated at Rome, has this purpose: that the faithful may be invited to go to Rome. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 17. Nevertheless many who cannot come to Rome can still gain the Jubilee in their own place of habitation, namely nuns, anchorites, the aged and infirm, and those detained in prisons. Leo XIII, Constitution Aeterni Pastoris, October 24, 1899. Those who have gained the Jubilee of the holy year at Rome can still gain the Jubilee when it is afterwards extended to the whole world. Monitore Ecclesiastico, vol. 11, p. 467, vol. 12, p. 315 ff.; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 33, p. 219 ff.; E.M.

What is required for gaining Jubilee? It is necessary to have the intention of gaining Jubilee, virtual or at least habitual. Moreover the prescribed works must be exactly fulfilled, and they cannot be commuted without the express faculty of the Supreme Pontiff. This faculty the Pontiff ordinarily grants to confessors for those impeded. Laymann, book 5, tract 8, chap. 8, n. 12.

In the general lesser Jubilee, the following works are regularly enjoined: fasting, alms, visitation of churches, with pious prayer according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff, Confession, Communion. In the general greater Jubilee the prescribed works are: Confession, Communion, visitation of churches. Benedict XIV, Brief Inter praeteritos, December 3, 1749, for the Jubilee of the holy year; L., book 6, n. 536. For a particular Jubilee attention must be paid to the tenor of the Indult granted. Cf. Benedict XIV, Constitution In suprema, November 20, 1744, and Constitution Nullis verbis, February 20, 1745.

Works already owed from some other obligation cannot serve for gaining Jubilee, unless this is granted by the Supreme Pontiff. Benedict XIV, Encyclical Inter praeteritos, § 53; L., book 6, nn. 536, 538. They can be fulfilled in whatever order, as one wishes. Nevertheless it is necessary that one be in the state of grace when he fulfills the last one. Benedict XIV, Encyclical Inter praeteritos, §§ 73, 77. There is no obligation of completing the same works in one and the same week. Sacred Penitentiary, March 16, 1865; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 1, p. 176.

They can be fulfilled in one's own diocese, or in another diocese, conforming oneself to the prescriptions of the Ordinary of the place. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, November 28, 1759; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 486, vol. 18, p. 334. Likewise someone can perform Confession and Communion in a foreign diocese, and the other works in his own, again conforming himself to the prescriptions of the Ordinary of the place. Sacred Penitentiary, 1875; January 15, 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 486, vol. 18, p. 334. If Jubilee is prolonged for those traveling by sea, they can gain the Jubilee after their return to their homeland, by fulfilling the prescribed works, or gain it when they have arrived at some place of station. Sacred Penitentiary, 1875; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 485; L., n. 538. E.M.

What of Confession and Communion? For gaining Jubilee, Confession is necessary even for those who do not have consciousness of grave sin. Nevertheless absolution is not necessary, unless it is prescribed in the Bull of Jubilee. In this Confession of Jubilee also, the confessor must impose a sacramental penance. Benedict XIV, Constitution Convocatis, §§ 46, 64, 65; Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 6, 1852.

If, after Confession has been performed and before the other works have been fulfilled, someone falls into grave sin, he must confess again in order to gain Jubilee, and it does not suffice that he be contrite. Benedict XIV, Constitution Convocatis, § 47; Inter praeteritos, § 79. Nevertheless the other works already fulfilled are not to be repeated. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, November 23, 1759.

Annual Confession from obligation, even if someone approaches Confession twice and then is absolved once, does not suffice for gaining Jubilee without the express faculty of the Supreme Pontiff. The same is to be said of Easter Communion. Both the Confession and the Communion of Jubilee can be made in any church. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 9, 1763; May 10, 1844; Sacred Penitentiary, January 25, 1875; February 26, 1875; February 26, 1879; March 25, 1881; January 15, 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 555. Confession can be made on the day preceding the first day of Jubilee, namely if it is made when the ecclesiastical day has already begun, that is, at first vespers of the first day of Jubilee. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 8. E.M.

What of the visitation of a church? The number of visitations and the number of churches which must be visited are indicated by the Bull of Jubilee. When in some place a sufficient number of churches is not had, the Bishop can prescribe the visitation of one or two churches as many times as there are churches to be visited for the acquisition of Jubilee. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, Decree Urbis et Orbis, March 15, 1852.

For the visitation the Bishop can also designate a public oratory in which Mass is habitually celebrated. Sacred Penitentiary, 1879; March 25, 1881; January 15, 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 11, p. 528, vol. 13, p. 423, vol. 18, p. 334. The Bishop of the diocese can also lessen the number of visitations for those who make them processionally with the chapter, congregations, confraternities, and also with the pastor or another priest designated by him. Sacred Penitentiary, February 26, 1879; March 25, 1881; January 15, 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 11, p. 527, vol. 13, p. 423, vol. 18, p. 333.

In the last Jubilee, on the occasion of the Constantinian feasts, it was said in the Constitution Universus Christifidelibus, March 8, 1913, that outside Rome the church or churches to be visited were to be designated only once by the Ordinary. Therefore, once designated, he could not change them further.

Regulars cannot perform the visitations in their own domestic chapels, nor can regular prelates designate these for their subjects; but they must perform the visitation in the churches prescribed by the Bishop. Regulars who are impeded can in particular obtain commutation from their own confessor. Sacred Penitentiary, 1875; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 554; April 24, 1886; December 15, 1886.

Someone who has performed some visitations in his own diocese, if he goes into another diocese, can complete the remaining visitations there, according to the prescription of the Ordinary of the place. Sacred Penitentiary, 1875; January 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 486, vol. 18, p. 324; Sacred Penitentiary, June 5, 1901; Monitore Ecclesiastico, vol. 13, p. 202.

When in the Bull of Jubilee four visitations of churches in a day are prescribed, the day is taken either as natural, from midnight to midnight, or as ecclesiastical, from first vespers up to the end of twilight of the following day. "After the visitation of the four Basilicas has been completed on the same natural or ecclesiastical day, immediately, when a new ecclesiastical day begins, a new visitation of the four Basilicas can be begun again by entering again into the Basilica visited last." Sacred Penitentiary, January 31, 1900; February 20, 1900.

From first vespers means from the hour, namely, at which vespers are recited publicly or in choir, or at which according to custom they can be recited, or at which vespers begin according to approved authors, namely at about the second hour after noon. Benedict XIV, Inter praeteritos, § 3, n. 13; Sacred Penitentiary, January 25, 1875; February 20, 1900; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 266, vol. 32, p. 512; Raccolta, p. XXII; Theodore of the Holy Spirit, de Indulgentiis, II, p. 74; Martinucci, Manuale Ecclesiasticorum.

When several visitations of churches are to be made and nothing is prescribed as to time, then all the visitations can be made either on the same day or on different days. Sacred Penitentiary, 1879; March 25, 1881; January 15, 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 11, p. 528, vol. 13, p. 423, vol. 18, p. 334.

Several visitations to be made cannot be fulfilled by remaining longer in the church; rather, it is necessary to go out and enter again, although someone may enter again immediately afterwards. And when there was a great concourse of people, the visitation would be fulfilled even outside the church, by uniting oneself with the whole people. Sacred Penitentiary, January 25, 1875; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, pp. 268, 485; Theodore of the Holy Spirit, de Iubilaeo, chap. VI, § 1, n. 3.

The prayers to be recited in visitations of this kind according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff must be vocal, and they can be any prayers, since they are not determined. According to the common opinion it suffices to recite five Pater, Ave, Gloria. Benedict XIV, Constitution Convocatis, § 51; Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 83.

One who in the City, or on the very journey to Rome for gaining the Jubilee, is seized by mortal illness or is prevented by another legitimate cause, can gain the Jubilee by Confession and Communion with the due dispositions. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 14; Bull Properante ad exitum of Leo XIII, May 11, 1899; L., book 6, nn. 536-537; E.M.

What of the fast of Jubilee? For gaining Jubilee the fast must be observed, even by those who by the law of the Church are not bound to fasting, or who for a legitimate cause are dispensed from the law of fasting or from abstinence. If someone is legitimately impeded, he must obtain commutation from the confessor.

But one who has obtained from the confessor, for a just cause, the faculty of eating flesh-meat during the Jubilee fast could not at the same meal also eat fish. This permission granted by the confessor of eating flesh-meat cannot be extended to the evening collation, unless the confessor, having the due faculty, judges that someone ought to be dispensed altogether from the fast. But one who, by legitimate permission, can eat eggs and milk-foods can also eat fish at the same meal. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 10, 1869; Sacred Penitentiary, February 26, 1879; March 25, 1881; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 11, p. 527, vol. 13, p. 422; Benedict XIV, Letter to the Archbishop of Compostela, June 10, 1745.

The fast prescribed in Jubilee is the ecclesiastical fast, according as it is observed by the law of the Church. Therefore the evening collation and the morning morsel are permitted, besides the one meal. But the use of flesh-meat is prohibited, and in Lent also the use of milk-foods, if that still has force. St. Thomas, II-II, q. 147, a. 8, ad 3; Sacred Penitentiary, January 20 and April 28, 1865; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 1, pp. 174-175.

And if outside the time of Lent a stricter fast is expressly prescribed, then a double abstinence from flesh-meat and from milk-foods must be observed, even outside the time of Lent, notwithstanding an Indult, Privilege, or general custom permitting milk-foods or even flesh-meat on days of fasting and of precept of the Church. Sacred Penitentiary, January 16, 1886; February 26, 1879; March 4, 1879; March 31, 1879; March 25, 1881; August 31, 1881; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 11, p. 527, vol. 13, pp. 422-423, vol. 18, p. 333.

If the Bull of Jubilee designates the days on which the fast is to be observed, the designated time is to be observed, and the fast is valid for gaining Jubilee, although at the designated time the fast falls on one to be observed by precept. But if the Bull of Jubilee does not designate the time of the fast, the fast cannot be made on the same day on which, from another source, there is a fast to be observed by precept of the Church, unless this is expressly conceded in the Indult of Jubilee, or is permitted by a special concession. Sacred Penitentiary, July 2, 1881; January 15, 1886; April 10, 1886; L., book 6, n. 537.

If three fasts are prescribed on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, almost all readily agree that these three fasts are to be fulfilled in the same week, since they are prescribed after the manner of the fasts of the Ember Days. Cf. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 10, 1869. E.M.

What of almsgiving? Alms can be given by oneself and by another, provided that if it is given by another, one's own consent and intention are added. And thus the father of a family can give alms for himself, for his wife, for his children, for his servants. The superior of a convent or monastery can give alms for the whole convent or monastery, etc.

If nothing is prescribed, any alms suffices for the rich and for the poor. But if alms proportioned to one's fortune are prescribed, then indeed that which suffices for the poor does not suffice for the rich. Theodore of the Holy Spirit, I, p. 323; L., book 6, n. 538; La-Croix, nn. 1428, 1430; Laymann, chap. 8, n. 12; E.M.

What of the faculty of confessors for commuting the imposed works? Confessors can, for a just cause, commute the imposed works of Jubilee into other pious works which are not already owed, and therefore into others almost equal. Confession and Communion, and likewise prayers according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff, when they are separated from the visitation of the church, are excepted from this commutation. But for children who have not yet been admitted to First Communion, commutation into another pious work at the judgment of the confessor is permitted. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, §§ 53, 80; Constitution Convocatis, § 48.

One who without his own fault, from whatever cause, was impeded from approaching Communion can also obtain a delay from his own confessor. Thus commonly. Bouvier, Opusculum de Indulgentiis et Iubilaeo, chap. 3, § 4; Gury, n. 1066; Ballerini-Palmieri, Opus Morale, 3rd ed., vol. 5, n. 817.

A commutation of this kind seems to be made in Confession, cf. n. 1365, unless something else is declared, as in the Jubilee of the year 1865. Benedict XIV, Constitution Convocatis, § 25; Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 63; Leo XIII, January 30, 1886; Sacred Penitentiary, March 16, 1865; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 1, p. 176; L., book 6, n. 534, 15th. But if the Jubilee can be gained several times, then also for a legitimate cause the prescribed works can be commuted several times. Sacred Penitentiary, July 2, 1881; March 18, 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 18, p. 512.

Nevertheless in the Jubilee of the Holy Year 1900 the contrary was declared by the same Sacred Penitentiary, February 20 and May 10, 1900; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 12, p. 637, vol. 13, p. 64. And at the same time it was declared that although someone cannot obtain several commutations from the confessor, he can nevertheless gain Jubilee again by repeating the works imposed in the first commutation. Sacred Penitentiary, May 10, 1900; Monitore Ecclesiastico, vol. 12, p. 167. E.M.

What of other faculties of confessors? A confessor can absolve anyone from all sins and censures, even those reserved in a special manner to the Supreme Pontiff or to the Bishop, whether occult or public; whether the censures have been imposed by law or by man, with only the absolution of an accomplice and a false accusation of solicitation excepted. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, §§ 56-61; Constitution Sacramentum Poenitentiae, § 5; Constitution Convocatis, §§ 5-6; Sacred Penitentiary, June 1, 1865; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 8, p. 360; Pius X, Brief Universis, March 8, 1912; Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 5, p. 93.

Nevertheless in the Jubilee of the holy year 1900 a false accusation of solicitation was not excepted. And the absolution of an accomplice was excepted which had been given three times or more. Leo XIII, Bull Quoniam divinae, October 21, 1899.

But this absolution can be given only once, and only in the forum of conscience, after satisfaction has been made to the injured party and scandal repaired, and only in favor of those who wish to gain Jubilee and to fulfill the prescribed works. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, §§ 62, 86; Sacred Penitentiary, June 1, 1869; January 15, 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 5, p. 33, vol. 18, p. 334; L., book 6, n. 537.

Formerly heresy also was excepted; Benedict XIV, Constitution Convocatis, § 53; Constitution Inter praeteritos, §§ 38, 85; Holy Office, March 23, 1656. But at present heresy also is comprehended, after it has first been retracted and abjured. Sacred Penitentiary, June 1, 1869; January 25, 1875; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 5, p. 32, vol. 8, p. 266.

One who, after he has been absolved from reserved matters or has obtained a commutation of vows, afterwards, with changed will, does not wish to fulfill the imposed works of Jubilee, although he sins, but not gravely according to the common opinion, nevertheless remains absolved from reserved matters and dispensed from the vows. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 86; Constitution Convocatis, § 54; L., book 6, n. 537; Lugo, disp. 20, n. 100; Salmanticenses, chap. 13, n. 57.

Likewise one who has been absolved from reserved matters and dispensed from vows, and who received no absolution or a sacrilegious one, remains absolved from reserved matters and dispensed from vows. St. Alphonsus, book 6, n. 537, indeed denies this. But other grave doctors probably affirm it, and therefore, since the reservation would now be doubtful, it practically ceases. Cf. n. 806; Lugo, disp. 20, nn. 111-113; Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 62.

One who during the time of Jubilee has rightly completed Confession, although in it he forgot reserved sins, can afterwards, after the Jubilee, be absolved from those same sins, since he was then at least absolved from the reservation, or acquired a right to absolution. The same is to be said of dispensation from vows. L., book 6, n. 531, 537, q. 4; Ferraris, v. Iubilaeum, art. 2, n. 27; La-Croix, n. 1449.

Likewise the confessor can absolve the penitent from censures and from the reservation of sins, and dispense his vows, although the confessor must defer absolution to him, if nevertheless the penitent fulfills the admonitions of the confessor and performs the other prescribed works of Jubilee, being about to obtain absolution thereafter even after the Jubilee. L., book 6, nn. 535, 537.

If someone, in a Confession made for Jubilee which he has already gained, had no reserved cases, nor vows to be dispensed, he can still once be absolved from reserved matters and be dispensed from vows, if he can again gain Jubilee by again performing the prescribed works. Sacred Penitentiary, January 1, 1873. Hence the same Sacred Penitentiary, June 5, 1901, declared the contrary, having regard to the Constitution Temporis quidem, December 25, 1899, for the extension of the Jubilee of that year, by which the Jubilee could be acquired only once. Monitore Ecclesiastico, vol. 12, p. 489, vol. 13, p. 202.

In the Jubilee of the holy year the indulgence can be obtained several times, the imposed works being repeated; but someone can use the other graces only once. Therefore one who has already once been absolved from reserved sins and censures, and has gained Jubilee, although he afterwards repeats the imposed works in order again to gain Jubilee, cannot any longer be absolved from reserved matters.

But whether he can be absolved again if he has not yet gained Jubilee even once, since he has not yet performed all the imposed works, so that he may gain it at least once: some deny it, from Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 10, 1869; Sacred Penitentiary, June 1, 1869; January 25, 1875; January 15, 1886; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 5, p. 32, vol. 8, pp. 267, 359, vol. 18, p. 333; but others affirm it, unless the contrary is expressed in the Bull of Jubilee. When the doubt was proposed: "Whether during the time of the present Jubilee of 1901 it is lawful for confessors to use several times the extraordinary faculties granted to them toward the same penitent, who has not yet fulfilled all the works imposed for gaining the indulgence of Jubilee," the Sacred Penitentiary, January 25, 1901, answered: "In the affirmative." Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 33, p. 375. It answered the same on April 3, 1904; Monitore Ecclesiastico, vol. 16, p. 169; D'Annibale, part 3, n. 190, 2nd ed., and part 1, n. 348, 3rd ed. Cf. Benedict XIV, Constitution Convocatis, § 52; Constitution Inter praeteritos, §§ 67, 73, 77, 78, 79, 84, 85; Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 5, p. 279.

During the time of Jubilee, Regulars can, without any permission of their Superiors, confess to any regular or secular confessor approved by the Ordinary of the place, or approved only by his own Prelate; and they can be absolved by him even from cases reserved in their Order. Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, §§ 35-36; Sacred Penitentiary, January 30, 1886.

But nuns can also confess to any confessor, but one approved by the Ordinary of the place for nuns. L., book 6, n. 236; Ferraris, v. Approbatio, art. 2, n. 21. And the Sacred Penitentiary, January 11, 1900, declared: "The benefits of the Bull Aeterni Pastoris (of the Jubilee of the Holy Year) also pertain to nuns professed of simple vows, and it is lawful for them once to choose for themselves a confessor from those simply approved to hear the Confessions of secular persons." "The free choice of confessor, which is granted to regulars and nuns for the effect of the Jubilee, that is, if there is the intention of gaining Jubilee, can be exercised by them several times, until they have completed the works required for Jubilee." Sacred Penitentiary, June 9, 1901, ad 3.

Finally confessors can commute vows, or by commuting dispense vows, even sworn vows and vows reserved to the Apostolic See, except vows of chastity and of religion, and those in favor of a third party, and penal vows or vows preservative from sin; and they can dispense from irregularity arising from violation of censure, but not from others, in which, as in all the rest, the tenor of the Bull of Jubilee is to be attended to. Benedict XIV, Inter praeteritos, § 45; L., book 6, n. 536. And in those matters in which the Bull of Jubilee is not opposed, the rules handed down by Benedict XIV in the same Constitution Inter praeteritos are to be observed. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 15, 1852; Leo XIII, Bull Temporis quidem, December 25, 1899; E.M.

What is a privileged altar? A privileged altar is an altar to which the Supreme Pontiff has annexed a plenary indulgence, which, if the mind of the one granting and the use of the power of the keys are considered, would immediately free a soul from all the punishments of Purgatory; but if the effect of application is considered, it is understood as an indulgence whose measure corresponds to the good pleasure and acceptance of divine mercy. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 28, 1840; Benedict XIV, Instruction 56, n. 15.

This indulgence does not differ from other plenary indulgences which are applied to the departed, except insofar as it has a more certain effect. For, according to the common opinion of the doctors, it does not depend on the personal dispositions of the priest, but on the offering of the divine victim, since it is attached solely to the celebration of the divine sacrifice on such an altar. Hence a priest who, from a stipend received, must celebrate at a privileged altar, does not satisfy the obligation undertaken by celebrating at another altar and gaining a plenary indulgence annexed to some pious work or object; but he does satisfy if he enjoys the privilege of a personal privileged altar. Those who make the heroic act of charity have such a privilege. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 13, 1745; February 22, 1847; May 2, 1852.

For a privileged altar is one thing local, another personal, according as the privilege adheres either to a determined altar or to a person, in whatever altar he celebrates, whether privileged or not, whether fixed or portable. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 15, 1852; March 20, 1846.

What are the required conditions for a local privileged altar? It is necessary that the church or oratory in which it is present be blessed; it is not required that they be consecrated. But it is necessary that the altar be fixed, that is, that it cannot be moved from the place. Therefore, to establish the quality of a fixed altar, it suffices that in the middle of a stable and immovable altar, although not consecrated, there be placed a consecrated stone, even one that is movable. It suffices that the altar be wooden, by no means fastened to the wall, with a stone consecrated in the middle of the mensa, and specially dedicated to some Saint.

The indulgence is granted to the fixed altar itself, not to the movable consecrated stone, which can be substituted one for another as necessity or opportunity requires. Nor can the aforesaid indulgence be transferred from one fixed altar to another fixed altar in the same church or oratory without a special faculty. And the indulgence is lost even if the fixed altar itself is transferred from one church to another; but not at all if it is transferred from one place to another in the same church, while nevertheless remaining under the same invocation; or if because of age it is constructed anew, or is repaired as to the greater part, provided it is constructed again under the same title or invocation. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, April 22, 1752; January 30, 1760; November 17, 1764; December 15, 1841; April 24, 1843; March 20, 1846; March 26, 1867; September 27, 1843; September 16, 1723; June 27, 1836; April 24, 1843; July 15, 1902.

What are the conditions required for gaining the indulgence of a privileged altar? 1. The indulgence of a privileged altar cannot be separated from the application or fruit of the sacrifice of the Mass. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 25, 1897.

2. It is necessary to apply the Mass for the same soul for whom the Mass is celebrated. Holy Office, July 8, 1846; Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 31, 1848; December 18, 1885.

3. The indulgence cannot be applied except to one soul only, although someone celebrates Mass for several. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 28, 1840; February 29, 1864; June 19, 1880; December 19, 1885; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 13, p. 139, vol. 18, p. 340.

4. On days not impeded, the Mass of Requiem had to be read. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, April 11, 1840; February 22, 1847. On other days impeded by reason of the rite, one gained the indulgence by reading another Mass corresponding to the day. And this was valid also if someone did not read the Mass of Requiem by reason of the exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament, whether of the station of the church or of another solemnity. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, April 11, 1840; April 22, 1847; June 30, 1760; November 27, 1764; February 29, 1864, etc. But now from the Decree of the Holy Office, February 19, 1913, "for gaining the indulgence of a privileged altar, in the future there is no longer required, under pain of nullity, that a Mass of Requiem, or of a Feria or Vigil, be celebrated with the prayer proper for the departed; nevertheless this is laudably done, when it is lawful and fitting, by reason of piety toward the departed."

Note. When someone celebrates Mass at a privileged altar for some departed person, the Mass is of itself privileged, and it is not necessary that either the one offering the alms or the priest intend to apply the privilege. For an explicit intention of application is not required; an implicit one suffices. But when someone celebrates for several departed persons, if he does not explicitly apply the privilege to one determined soul, the aforesaid privilege does not thereby become useless. For then it is applied either to some soul as it shall please God, or to all, not fully to all, but partially to each. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 5, 1855; June 19, 1880; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 13, p. 141.

A Mass of the departed is to be celebrated only in black vestments: violet vestments cannot be used except in the case in which, on November 2, the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist is exposed for the public adoration of the faithful for the solemn Prayer of the Forty Hours. Sacred Congregation of Rites, June 27, 1868, General Decree.

A priest who has celebrated Mass for a departed person at a privileged altar, and has applied to him the indulgence of the privileged altar, can on the same day, by force of the sacred Communion performed in the sacrifice, gain another plenary indulgence for himself or for the souls of Purgatory; indeed he can gain several plenary indulgences for the souls of Purgatory, if sacred Communion is prescribed for gaining them. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 10, 1844. E.M.

What of Gregorian Masses and the Gregorian altar? When a monk named Justus had died, St. Gregory pitied his state, because he had confessed that he had gravely offended the rule. Hence St. Gregory called another monk and said to him: Go therefore from this present day and for thirty continuous days offer the sacrifice for him; take care that no day be omitted on which the saving Victim is not offered for his absolution.

From this fact flowed the use of Masses which are named from St. Gregory, and which have special efficacy from the intercession of St. Gregory and from the particular destination of the Church.

But Gregorian Masses and the Gregorian altar are distinguished. The Gregorian altar is the altar of St. Gregory, on the Caelian Hill, in the City, which also is specially efficacious for the liberation of a soul from Purgatory when Mass has been celebrated upon it. And this same efficacy is also had by other Gregorian altars ad instar from a special concession of the Church.

A privileged altar is not to be confused with a Gregorian altar. A privileged altar has its effect for freeing a soul from the punishments of Purgatory from the use of the power of the keys. But a Gregorian altar has a special title to divine acceptance, namely the mediation of St. Gregory and the particular destination of the Church; but a concession of a plenary indulgence for Gregorian altars is not established. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 24, 1888; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 1, p. 254 ff.

Hence the confidence by which the faithful hold that the celebration of Mass at the altar of St. Gregory, in his church on the Caelian Hill, is specially efficacious, from the good pleasure and acceptance of divine mercy, for the liberation of a soul from the punishments of Purgatory, is pious and rational, and the practice of celebrating these same Masses is approved in the Church. The same is to be said of Gregorian altars ad instar. Likewise the confidence by which the faithful hold that the celebration of thirty Masses, which are commonly called Gregorian, is specially efficacious, from the good pleasure and acceptance of divine mercy, for the liberation of a soul from the punishments of Purgatory, is pious and rational, and the practice of celebrating these same Masses is approved in the Church. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 15, 1884; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 16, p. 508 ff. E.M.

The privilege of a Gregorian Altar was granted to the high altar, dedicated to Saints Benedict and Scholastica, of the Benedictine Crypt at Monte Cassino. Pius X, Brief Archicoenobium Casinense, February 10, 1913.

Gregorian Masses are to be celebrated on thirty continuous days, and laudably as Requiem Masses, when they can be celebrated.

It is not necessary that the aforesaid thirty continuous Masses, without any interruption, be celebrated by the same priest and at the same altar, although they must be applied for one and the same soul, whose liberation is implored. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 14, 1889. "Decree, December 11, 1912. The following doubts were presented concerning the thirty Masses which are called Gregorian, and also concerning the Altars, both of the church of St. Gregory on the Caelian Hill of the City and those existing elsewhere, which after the likeness of that one are called Gregorian:

I. Whether it is necessary that the thirty Masses which are called Gregorian be celebrated on thirty continuous days without interruption? And insofar as affirmative:

II. Whether in the case a priest satisfies who on the same day, twice or three times, either by himself, for example on the day of the Nativity of the Lord, or through others, resumes the celebration, so that all the Masses are celebrated within the space of thirty days? And insofar as negative:

III. Whether the same priest is bound to substitute another for himself who will celebrate some Mass of the tricenary?

IV. Whether someone satisfies the obligation of seeing to a Gregorian tricenary if he commits thirty Gregorian Masses, distributed to several priests, to be celebrated on the same day or within the space of a few days, for the said intention?

V. Whether on days occurring in the tricenary, on which a Mass of Requiem is permitted by the rubrics, it must itself be read in order to satisfy the burden of the Gregorian tricenary?

VI. Whether the Altar of St. Gregory on the Caelian Hill in Rome is truly and properly privileged?

VII. What conditions are required for obtaining the privilege of a Gregorian Altar ad instar?

VIII. Whether a personal privilege of a Gregorian Altar ad instar is granted? And insofar as negative:

IX. What is to be said of concessions of a personal Gregorian Altar perhaps already made?

Response. To I: In the affirmative, as in the decisions of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 14, 1889.

To II: In the negative. To III: In the affirmative. To IV: In the negative. To V: In the negative; nevertheless it can laudably be read, by reason of piety toward the departed, on days on which it is lawful and fitting. To VI: In the affirmative, according to the Rescript from the audience of His Holiness, dated February 18, 1752. To VII: Henceforth Gregorian Altars are not to be granted. To VIII: In the negative. To IX: Let them be considered as mere concessions of a simply privileged personal Altar."

What of the heroic act of charity with regard to the privileged altar? A personal indult of a privileged altar on each day of the year, as also the faculty of applying to the departed all indulgences granted and to be granted for the living, has been granted for the heroic act of charity toward the souls of Purgatory. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, Decree Urbis et Orbis, November 20, 1854.

This act consists in this: that one of Christ's faithful, either using some formula or only mentally, offers to God for the souls of Purgatory all satisfactory works which he himself will perform as long as he lives, and all indulgences which he can gain, and also all suffrages which in any way can come to him after death. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 18, 1885.

But an heroic act of this kind does not prevent someone from satisfying the obligations which he has, and from offering suffrages for this or that soul. The heroic act of charity can be revoked. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 20, 1907; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 40, p. 370 ff. E.M.

The Stations of the nurturing City. The Stations at Rome are those sacred places distinguished by relics of the Saints, which the faithful are accustomed to visit for gaining the indulgences which are determined for the appointed days. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 9, 1777. The days are found in the Roman Missal. And Regulars who have the privilege that, by visiting the churches of their own Order, they may gain the indulgences of the Stations, acquire them on the aforesaid days noted in the Roman Missal, and not also on others. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 7, 1678. The indulgences of the Stations of the nurturing City are contained in the Rescript of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 9, 1777, February 28, 1827.

Portiuncula. This is a plenary indulgence which those who visit churches of the Order of St. Francis gain toties quoties on August 2, from first vespers, from noon, by praying for some time in them, confessing sins, and approaching Communion, although in other churches, and on the vigil, indeed even on July 31 and 30. This indulgence in the church of St. Mary of the Angels near Assisi is not suspended during the Jubilee of the holy year.

It was granted that Christ's faithful could gain this indulgence also in other churches. And the concessions made have been prolonged without a day. Likewise provision for new concessions, also without a day, is committed to the respective Ordinaries, who can also, in place of August 2, establish the Sunday next following for gaining the aforesaid indulgence. Holy Office, May 26, 1911; Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 3, p. 234.

Scapular. Those wearing the scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel are piously believed to be preserved from eternal fire. Moreover they enjoy the Sabbatine privilege: that the Blessed Virgin frees those wearing it, on the Saturday after their death, from the punishments of Purgatory.

Soldiers can be aggregated to the confraternity of the Holy Scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, and gain its indulgences and graces, provided they impose upon themselves the aforesaid scapular already previously duly blessed, and also pour forth some prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pius X, January 4, 1908.

In place of a scapular, for gaining the respective indulgences, not excepting the Sabbatine privilege, there can be worn a medal of metal, around the neck or otherwise decently upon one's person. On the front side it must bear Our Lord Jesus Christ showing His Most Sacred Heart, and on the reverse the Blessed Virgin Mary. It must be blessed with as many distinct blessings as there are imposed scapulars, by a single sign of the cross, by any priest who has the respective ordinary or delegated faculty of blessing scapulars.

But it is not necessary that someone already be enrolled in the Scapulars; rather he can be enrolled afterwards. Also several medals can be blessed together, which the faithful have together in some assembly, by one sign of the cross, for each scapular. Holy Office, June 4, 1913.

Indulgences of Confraternities are acquired from the day of admission. Admissions to pious Confraternities made without the inscription of names and their transmission have been sanated. And His Holiness "declared that, while the obligation in conscience of inscribing and transmitting the names remains firm, according to the decrees and other prescriptions of the Holy See, the faithful, by the very fact that they are admitted by one legitimately deputed, are to be considered duly enrolled for this effect only: that they may be able to gain indulgences and become participants in other spiritual graces, even if their names, from whatever cause, have not been entered in the register of the sodality." Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, April 23, 1914; Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 6, p. 308.

Way of the Cross. The indulgences for the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross are those which someone would obtain if he personally visited the stations of the Way of the Cross in Jerusalem.

For acquiring the indulgences of the Way of the Cross, its legitimate erection is required, made by one having such faculty, either from the Holy See or from the Minister General of the Friars Minor. The aforesaid faculty must be given in writing for validity. The Friars Minor can erect them, namely either the superior of the place or another of his subjects by his commission.

Regularly it can be erected in churches and public or private oratories, and by special indult it can also be erected outside churches or oratories. The written consent of the pastor and of the superior of the church, religious house, or other pious place where the erection is to be made is required. But the consent of the pastor is not necessary if the place is exempt from him by law or in fact. Likewise the written consent of the Ordinary of the place is required for validity, unless it is a question of churches and houses of Regulars.

Fourteen crosses for the fourteen Stations are to be blessed, as is had in the Appendix of the Roman Ritual; and a document of the erection is to be drawn up and is to be preserved in the episcopal archive or in the archive of the place in which the erection was made.

According to the decrees of January 30, 1839, and November 23, 1878, the indulgences of this most holy exercise are annexed only to the crosses. Hence, according to the ancient and received practice, the crosses must stand out completely and conspicuously above the painted tablets. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 27, 1901, Congregation of Priests of the Heart of Jesus.

For gaining the indulgences, only this is required: to go from one station to another, meditating on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, insofar as this is possible from the multitude of the faithful and the narrowness of the place. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, February 20, 1841.

Those who are legitimately impeded from visiting the stations of the Way of the Cross can gain their indulgences by reciting fourteen Pater, Ave, and Gloria, and at the end five Pater, Ave, Gloria in memory of the Holy Wounds of Christ, and finally one Pater, Ave, and Gloria according to the mind of the Supreme Pontiff, while at the same time holding in the hand a Crucifix blessed by some Superior of the Friars Minor, or by another Priest who has obtained this special faculty from the Holy See. E.M.

Besides the indulgences which are acquired by going through the regularly erected Stations, or, when there is a just impediment, by shorter prayers before a Crucifix blessed by the Friars Minor, all other concessions are revoked, and by name those which regard the beads called beads of the Way of the Cross. Holy Office, July 24, 1912.

"Whether, unless something else is expressly had in indults, Indulgences to be gained begin from midnight, or rather from first Vespers?" Resp. "From midnight to midnight." S. Ind. C. 14 Dec. 1877. Cf. Acta S. Sed. Vol. 10, p. 563; Decreta Authent., nn. 201, 434.

"The heroic act of charity toward souls detained in Purgatory consists in this, that a Christian faithful person, whether with some formula employed or even only mentally, offers to God Almighty, for the souls of Purgatory, all satisfactory works which he himself, as long as he lives, will perform; and also all suffrages which after death in whatever way can come to him. Many Christian faithful most devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, with Father Gaspar Oliden of blessed memory, of the Order of Clerics Regular Theatines, as author or adviser, have been accustomed to deposit works of satisfaction and suffrages of this sort in the hands, in a certain way, of the Blessed Virgin, to be distributed by Her according to Her merciful good pleasure in favor of the souls of Purgatory.

This heroic Act of charity has more than once been approved by the Apostolic See; indeed, that it might become more useful to the dead, it was enriched with Indulgences, and those who emitted it were increased with privileges. These things Pius IX, Pope of holy memory, confirmed, increased, and extended to all the Christian faithful by Decree of the Sacred Congregation placed over Indulgences and Sacred Relics, given on 20 November 1854.

But now concerning the object of this oblation, concerning the essential conditions of the same act, and concerning the indulgences and Privileges annexed to the same, doubts have arisen from time to time. For it has been doubted whether among satisfactory works there should be comprehended also the Indulgences which a Christian faithful person, while he lives, can gain; and whether one who has elicited the heroic Act satisfies it, although he reserves for himself and applies to himself those Indulgences which are conceded for the living. Moreover a dispute has been raised with regard to the pious practice of making the oblation of satisfactions and suffrages into the hands of the B. Virgin Mary, some maintaining the necessity of this oblation into the hands of the Blessed Virgin for the obtaining of Indulgences and the use of privileges, others opposing it. Finally, some doubts have prevailed concerning the manner in which Plenary Indulgences can or ought to be applied to the souls of Purgatory by those who have emitted the heroic act of charity.

Wherefore, that those things which seemed obscure in this matter might become clear, and those which were uncertain might become certain, the following doubts were proposed to be decided by the Cardinal Fathers of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences:

1. Whether among the satisfactory works which in the heroic Act of charity are offered for the souls of Purgatory there are comprehended also Indulgences which have been declared by the Supreme Pontiffs applicable to departed Christian faithful?

2. Whether that oblation is satisfied by those who wish to reserve to themselves the Indulgences which are conceded for the living; or whether these Indulgences, in order to satisfy the pious purpose, must be applied to the Dead, according to the Indult conceded by the Supreme Pontiff to those emitting the heroic Act of charity?

3. Whether, 1st, it is an integral part of the heroic Act of charity, or a condition prescribed for participation in the privileges, that all one's own satisfactions and Indulgences be offered not only for the souls of Purgatory, but also be left to the Most Blessed Virgin to be distributed as it shall please Her? or, 2nd, whether this consignment, as it were, into the hands of the Virgin is to be held merely as a pious devotion accessory to the Act, to be commended to the Christian faithful?

4. Whether the Plenary Indulgences which Christian faithful emitting the heroic Act of charity gain, both on account of sacred Communion and on account of hearing Mass on Monday, must be applied to the souls which the B. V. Mary desires to free from Purgatory before others, or can be applied to any soul of Purgatory?

5. Whether the Plenary Indulgence of a personal privileged Altar, 1st, must be applied by the priest who has emitted the heroic Act of charity to the soul for which he celebrates Mass? or, 2nd, can be applied at will to any Deceased person? or, 3rd, must be applied to the souls which the B. V. Mary desires to free from Purgatory?

Resp. To the 1st: Affirmatively. To the 2nd: Negatively to the first part; Affirmatively to the second. To the 3rd: Negatively to the first part; Affirmatively to the second. To the 4th: Provision has been made in the foregoing. To the 5th: To the first part, Affirmatively; for in this manner the privilege of the Altar is conceded by the Supreme Pontiff; to the second and third part, Provision has been made in the response to the first part." S. Indulg. C. 19 Dec. 1885.

Whether Confession can avail if it is fulfilled even on the eve of the feast for which the indulgence has been conceded; whether likewise Communion can be performed on the vigil of the feast? Resp. Affirmatively. Indeed, both Confession alone, and Confession and Communion, can be performed on the day which immediately precedes the following day for which any Indulgence has been conceded, not only by reason of an occurring feast, but also from whatever other cause, or of a pious exercise, or of a solemnity, etc.; nevertheless the manner and time prescribed in fulfilling the other enjoined works being observed. Thus S. C. Ind. 19 May 1759, 12 June 1822, 6 Oct. 1870, 12 Jan. 1878; S. C. de P. F. 5 Jan. 1777. Cf. Acta S. Sed. Vol. 6, p. 157; Vol. 10, p. 563; Decreta Authent., nn. 201, 426, 434.

The clause with contrite heart signifies the mere disposition of the state of grace, which, if perchance it has been lost, must previously be acquired again by at least an act of perfect contrition; which is not to be elicited by those who are already in the state of grace as though it were a part of the enjoined work. S. C. Ind. 17 Dec. 1870. Acta S. Sed. Vol. 6, p. 388.

"Since the S. C. Indulg., on the day 31 of the month of March, in the year 1759, was of the opinion that sacramental confession, when it is appended in Briefs for the obtaining of an Indulgence, must by all means be performed even by those who are not conscious to themselves of mortal sin, and also that the aforesaid Confession could avail even if it were fulfilled on the vigil of the feast... very many supplicant petitions, both of religious Communities and especially of Nuns, and also of Parish Priests and of some Bishops for their Dioceses, have been presented, in which there was set forth the very great difficulty which sometimes, indeed very often, occurs for sacramental confession to be performed either on the feast, or at least on the vigil. Wherefore, that so profitable a treasure of Indulgences might be rendered conveniently obtainable by the faithful, they earnestly supplicated that he deign, from apostolic benignity, to provide by some opportune remedy. These prayers having been referred to the aforesaid S. C., the doubt was proposed in it: Whether and how counsel is to be given to the Most Holy One concerning the execution or declaration of the aforesaid Decree in the case? And the response was: Counsel is to be given to Our Most Holy Lord, that he deign to concede an Indult to all the Christian faithful who, striving to cleanse their soul by frequent Confession of sins, have been accustomed to approach the sacrament of Penance at least once in the week, unless they are legitimately impeded, and are not conscious to themselves of any mortal fault committed by them after the aforesaid last Confession, so that they can obtain all and whatsoever Indulgences, even without actual Confession, which otherwise, according to the definition of the aforesaid Decree, would be necessary for gaining them. Nevertheless nothing is innovated concerning Indulgences of the Jubilee, both ordinary and extraordinary, and others conceded after the manner of a Jubilee, for obtaining which, just as also the other enjoined works, so also sacramental confession is to be performed at the time prescribed in their concession. The Most Holy One, greatly desiring to satisfy the pious desires and wishes of the good, and to bestow the graces of Indulgences especially on those who, by living piously and holily, are made more worthy of the gifts of Divine mercy, benignly assented, and commanded the aforesaid Indult to be expedited and published in the form subscribed." S. C. Ind. 9 Dec. 1763.

"Whether the aforesaid privilege avails also for those who are not accustomed to confess at least once in the week, but more rarely: yet they have confessed within the week before the feast to which the Indulgence is annexed? Resp. Negatively." S. C. Indulg. 12 March 1855.

"The Decree of 9 Dec. 1763 remaining firm for those faithful who approach confession at least once in the week, but for the other faithful, in places in which, on account of a scarcity of Confessors, the faithful cannot frequently be cleansed by sacramental confession, let the said Decree be communicated to those asking, and, a word having been had with the Most Holy One, let it be extended to all Christian faithful of either sex: whence Confession performed within the week before the feast can avail for gaining the Indulgence, the other enjoined conditions having been fulfilled, and provided that they are conscious of no mortal fault committed after the Confession performed; nothing being innovated concerning Indulgences conceded in the form of a Jubilee, as in the cited Decree of 9 Dec. 1763. The Most Holy One benignly approved the opinion of the S. C. and commanded it to be published." S. C. Ind. 12 June 1822.

"Lotharius Kubel, Bishop of Leuce and Capitular Vicar of the Archdiocese of Freiburg, on 14 Jan. 1877, when he had asked from this S. C. placed over Indulgences and Sacred Relics, that there, on account of the scarcity of Priests, confession made twice in a month, the things to be observed being observed, could avail for gaining the Indulgences occurring within the aforesaid time, just as also other Dioceses rejoice in such a concession by apostolic Indult, the grace was conceded; but in that manner and form in which it is customary, namely by rescripting: The Most Holy One, yielding to the prayers, benignly assented for the Indult sought, so that Presbyters and the other faithful of the Archdiocese of Freiburg, who are accustomed to perform sacramental Confession within one or two weeks of each month, can gain all and singular plenary Indulgences conceded in that interval of time, without sacramental Confession, provided, etc. But the aforesaid Bishop, doubting whether under the word week seven days or eight are to be understood, and whether the words within two weeks ought to be taken so that a twofold Confession within the month suffices, or rather that Confession is to be performed in every course of fourteen days, approached the S. C. as a suppliant, asking that it deign to resolve these doubts:

1. Whether the prescribed Confession for each several week ought to be performed within seven, or rather within eight, days? 2. Whether the words within two weeks are to be strictly interpreted, so that confession must be performed within fourteen days, or rather whether a twofold confession in the month suffices? Resp. To the 1st: Affirmatively to the first part, that is, the prescribed Confession must be performed in each running space of seven days; Negatively to the second part. To the 2nd: Affirmatively to the first part, that is, the prescribed Confession must be performed in each running space of fourteen days. Negatively to the second." S. C. Indulg. 15 Nov. 1878.

"For a greater declaration of this matter, it is now asked: 1. Whether a Christian faithful person who is accustomed to perform Confession every week and on a fixed day, e.g., Saturday, satisfies the burden of the prescribed confession? 2. Whether a Christian faithful person satisfies the burden of the prescribed Confession who, in those places for which the Indult is in force, is accustomed to perform Confession on alternate weeks and on a fixed day, e.g., Saturday. Resp. To the 1st: Affirmatively. To the 2nd: Affirmatively." S. C. Indulg. 25 Feb. 1886.

"Whether, if to the same pious work, which cannot be repeated by the faithful, Indulgences are annexed under various titles, all can be gained?" Resp. Affirmatively, provided the enjoined works truly cannot, or are not accustomed to, be repeated, such as confession, unless it is necessary from elsewhere," namely in the case of relapse. S. Indulg. C. 14 Dec. 1877; Acta S. Sed. Vol. 10, p. 563.

Someone can gain several Plenary Indulgences on the same day, the conditions, namely, having been fulfilled, whether the indulgences occur on one day because of a feast, or whether someone through his own devotion has affixed them to such a day of the week or month. But one is bound to visit the Church or public Oratory, when such visitation is required, as many times as there are Indulgences to be gained. Nor indeed does it suffice that in one and the same Church as many prayers or visitations be repeated as there are Indulgences to be gained, unless after each visitation one exits from the Church and enters it again. S. C. Ind. 29 Feb. 1864. Acta S. Sed. Vol. 1, p. 116.

"When, for gaining Indulgences, prayer is prescribed for a determined end, e.g., for the extirpation of heresies, etc., is an explicit intention, expressed each time, required? Resp. Negatively." S. C. Indulg. 22 Feb. 1847.

"It is established in custom that the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist is solemnly carried by pastors of souls, only on some principal feasts within the year, to the faithful who are habitually infirm chronics, unable to go out from the house because of some permanent physical impediment; and therefore faithful of this sort are deprived of so many plenary Indulgences which they would obtain if, the enjoined conditions having been fulfilled, they could more frequently approach the sacred Eucharistic table. And so very many curates of souls and very many other ecclesiastical men offered most humble prayers to Our Most Holy Lord Pius Pope IX, that he deign from apostolic benignity to provide concerning this; and, a faithful report concerning all these things having been made by me, the undersigned Substitute of the Secretariat of the S. C. Indulg., to the same Most Holy One, in the audience held on the day 18 Sept. 1862, the Most Holy One, looking to the spiritual utility of the flock entrusted to him, clemently indulged that the aforesaid Christian faithful, excepting nevertheless those who dwell in community, can acquire all and singular plenary Indulgences already conceded or to be conceded in the future, and which otherwise they could acquire in the places in which they live, if they were not in that physical state, for whose acquisition sacred Communion and the visitation of some church or public oratory in the same places is prescribed, provided that, truly penitent, confessed, and all other conditions, if any have been enjoined, having been fulfilled, in place of Holy Communion and visitation they faithfully fulfill other pious works to be enjoined by the respective Confessor." S. C. Indulg. 18 Sept. 1862.

"1. Can the prayers prescribed by the Supreme Pontiff for gaining a plenary Indulgence be satisfied by prayers already obligatory, e.g., by the Canonical Hours? 2. Are five Pater and Ave, which are customarily recited, sufficient for fulfilling the intention of the Supreme Pontiff, when it has been prescribed that a church or altar be visited, and prayers there be poured forth, as, for example, for gaining a plenary Indulgence it has been prescribed for those associated to the Work of the Propagation of the Faith? Resp. To the 1st: Negatively. To the 2nd: The prayers required in concessions of Indulgences for fulfilling the intention of the Supreme Pontiff are at the choice of each faithful person, unless they are particularly assigned." S. C. Indulg. 29 May 1841.

Those performing Confession and receiving the Most Holy Eucharist in Paschal time can, by this Confession and Holy Communion, gain a plenary Indulgence for gaining which, among other things, Confession and Communion is prescribed; "provided that the Indulgence to be gained is not in the form of a Jubilee, for which alone a particular Confession and Communion is required." S. I. C. 1 May 1844, 19 March 1841. Cf. N. 1068.

"Whether in erections of this sort, which are made outside the ambit of Convents of the Friars of the Order of St. Francis, as much of the Observance as of the Reformed and Recollect, there is required the license of Ordinaries, and also the consent in writing of parish priests and other Superiors? Resp. Affirmatively." S. C. Indulg. 28 Aug. 1752.

"1. Whether erections of the Stations of the Way of the Cross are null, which were made without the consent in writing of the Parish Priest in hospitals, churches, chapels, and houses of Congregations of Sisters, by law not exempt from parochial jurisdiction, but in fact, according to the custom prevailing in France, administered independently from the parish priest by a chaplain nominated by the Bishop. 3. Whether the consent of the Ordinary in writing is required under penalty of nullity in individual cases for each erection of stations, or whether it suffices that it be given generically for stations to be erected in a certain number of churches or oratories without specific designation of place? Resp. To the 1st: Negatively. To the 3rd: Affirmatively to the first part, Negatively to the second. S. C. Indulg. 21 June 1879.

"The S. C.... judged that it must be prescribed that, in erecting Stations of this sort in the future, both the deputation of the priest erecting and the consent of the local Superior, as well as the deputation, consent, and license of the respective Ordinary, or Prelate, and Parish Priest, and also of the Superiors of the church, monastery, hospital, and pious place where an erection of this sort shall happen to be made, as aforesaid, must be expedited in writing and not otherwise, and must be shown whenever there shall be need, under penalty of the nullity of the erection itself to be incurred by the very fact." S. C. Indulg. 3 Aug. 1748.

"Concerning the erection of the Way of the Cross, the necessary and opportune faculties having first been obtained from the Apostolic See, all and singular things which regard such erection are to be done in writing, namely both the petition and the concession of the same erection; the instrument of these is to remain in the codices, or in the acts of the Episcopate, and at least a testimony is to be inserted in the codices of the parish, or of the place, where the aforesaid stations have been erected." S. C. Indulg. 23 Sept. 1841.

"There is no determined time for drawing up the document of erection, but the reason is plain of itself, that this be done as quickly as possible, lest doubt arise in the future concerning the aforesaid canonical erection." S. C. Indulg. 10 Feb. 1844.

"Whether the indulgences annexed to the exercise of the Way of the Cross can be gained as many times in the day as that exercise is repeated? Resp. It is not established." S. C. Indulg. 10 Sept. 1885.

Note: By force of special faculties, the S. C. Indulg. on 31 July 1881 convalidated all Stations of the Way of the Cross hitherto invalidly erected.

"Most Blessed Father, Fr. Bernardinus of Portu Romatino, Minister General of the whole Order of Friars Minor of St. Francis, prostrate at the feet of Your Holiness, humbly sets forth that very often the faithful who are prohibited by a legitimate impediment from performing the exercise of the Holy Way of the Cross are also impeded from gaining the indulgences annexed to the exercise of the Way of the Cross by using a Crucifix blessed for this effect, because they do not possess one, as happens in poor families, in hospitals, and in other pious places of this kind.

Hence, that devotion toward the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ may be increased more and more, and lest the faithful, especially souls detained in purgatory, because of the exposed lack of a Crucifix, be shut out from participation in the aforesaid indulgences, the Orator supplicates with earnest prayers that Your Holiness deign benignly to extend to the Crucifixes commonly called of the Way of the Cross the indult conceded by Pius Pope IX of holy memory with respect to the Rosary, on the day 22 Jan. 1858 (Decret. authent., n. 384), so that all Christian faithful of either sex, reciting in common the prescribed twenty Pater, Ave, and Gloria, may be able to gain the indulgences annexed to the exercise of the Way of the Cross, although they do not hold in the hand the blessed Crucifix, and that it suffice that only one person, whoever that person may be from the community, hold it in the hand, and that all the rest, all other cares being put aside, compose themselves for making prayer, together with the person who holds the Crucifix. Which grace, etc.

Our Most Holy Lord Pope Leo XIII, in the audience held on the day 19 Jan. 1884 by the undersigned Secretary of the Sacred Congregation placed over Indulgences and Sacred Relics, benignly assented for the grace according to the things sought, according to the tenor of the Indult already conceded for the recitation of the Most Holy Rosary, namely that the Christian faithful of whom in the prayers should so compose themselves for performing the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross together with the person who holds the Crucifix, that they can gain the indulgences of the Way of the Cross. The present is to be valid in perpetuity without any expedition of a Brief. All things whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding."

What things are to be observed by Orders of Regulars, Archconfraternities, and Congregations in instituting or erecting and aggregating Confraternities or Congregations? Resp. Cf. Decree of the S. C. Ind. 8 Jan. 1861. Ordinaries of places can freely designate Parish Priests as Rectors or Moderators of pious Confraternities, and other pious unions canonically erected. S. C. Ind. 8 Jan. 1861; Decreta Authent., nn. 388, 389; Acta S. Sed. Vol. 2, p. 57 ff., 362; Wolfgang Muehlbauer, Decr. Authent., s.v. Confraternitas.

"Whether valid is the enrollment of the faithful in the Confraternity of Carmel, which is made by Priests indeed having the faculty, but without the form prescribed in the Ritual and Breviary of the Order of Carmelites having been observed? Resp. Affirmatively, provided that the priests having the faculty do not fail in substantials, namely in the Blessing and Imposition of the habit and in the reception into the Confraternity." S. C. Ind. 24 Aug. 1844. The same holds also for the other scapulars. S. Indulg. C. 27 Apr. 1887. Cf. Acta S. Sed. Vol. 1, p. 241 ff., 367 ff.; Vol. 4, p. 219 ff., 237 ff.; Vol. 6, p. 330 ff.; Vol. 19, p. 558.

Whether the imposition of a Scapular made upon a little child, not yet having the use of reason, is valid? Resp. Affirmatively. S. C. Ind. 29 Aug. 1864.

Whether Scapulars are valid if the parts of each Scapular are so arranged that one depends from the shoulders, another from the breast, although all are connected by one cord? Resp. Affirmatively. S. C. Ind. 29 Aug. 1864. But the Scapulars must be distinct, "not indeed one single scapular, on which small pieces of cloth of diverse color are sewn." S. Indulg. C. 27 Apr. 1887. The Scapular of the B. V. M. of Mount Carmel, for the sake of honor and devotion, is to be blessed and imposed separately and distinctly, and not cumulatively and commingled with the other four or more scapulars. The contrary Indult, previously given in perpetuity, has been revoked and restricted to a decade. S. C. Indulg. 27 Apr. 1887. Cf. Acta S. Sed. Vol. 19, p. 554 ff.

"From the Indult of Gregory XVI of holy memory, 30 Apr. 1838, it is no longer necessary for acquiring indulgences that the names of the faithful who receive scapulars of the B. M. V. of Mount Carmel be inscribed in the book of the Confraternity: it is asked whether the same must be said of other Scapulars approved by the Holy See? Resp. Negatively." S. Indulg. C. 18 Aug. 1868. This Gregorian Indult was revoked by the Holy Father Leo XIII on 27 Apr. 1887. Acta S. Sed. Vol. 19, p. 556. Those receiving and wearing the blue scapular of the B. M. V. Immaculate, or the red one of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, do not constitute a Confraternity. S. Indulg. C. 27 Apr. 1887.

1. Certain nuns, who daily recite, according to their Constitutions, the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, would like to add at the end of the same office commemorations of St. Joseph, St. Francis, and St. Anthony of Padua. Can they?

R. They can indeed add commemorations of St. Joseph, but as regards the other commemorations there is need of a special Indult. Monit. Eccles., v. 6, p. 1, p. 68. But according to Ephemerides liturgicae, July 1892, p. 115, the Indult which permits adding the commemoration of St. Joseph is not general, but for a particular case on account of a pre-existing practice. Cf. S. R. C., Feb. 27, 1883, Rhedonen., ad 3.

2. Veronica asks whether, for gaining the indulgences of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Sabbatine privilege attached to the scapular of the same Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, it is necessary to recite the aforesaid office in the Latin language.

R. Affirmatively. S. C. Indulg., Aug. 18, 1868; May 6, 1887; Sept. 13, 1888. A. S. S. v. 21, p. 191; I. M. 1367.

1. Humbertus, a parish priest, when several persons are present who ask that various scapulars be imposed on them, lest it be wearisome to the people and he himself be too much fatigued, all things having been duly performed, says once, in the plural number, the formula, receive, brothers or sisters, etc., imposing the scapular successively and without interruption on all present, without repeating the aforesaid formula in the singular number for each. Is this licitly and validly done?

R. Affirmatively. Thus from the S. C. Indulg., Apr. 28, 1891, Collect. S. C. de P. F. n. 2175.

2. The same Humbertus, since it is often almost difficult to impose scapulars in the ordinary manner around the neck of women and nuns, then imposes them on one shoulder only. - Is such an imposition valid?

R. Affirmatively. S. C. Indulg., Sept. 26, 1892. A. S. S. v. 25, p. 319.

3. Tecla asks from her confessor that he be willing to commute for her into another pious work the works enjoined for gaining the indulgences of the scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and the Sabbatine privilege. But Lucas, her confessor, does not know whether he himself has this power.

R. The confessor cannot make a commutation of this sort unless he expressly has the special faculty of making the aforesaid commutation. But this faculty is ordinarily given, together with the faculty of blessing and imposing the scapular, to an approved confessor. Yet it is not necessary that the commutation be made in confession. St. Alph., l. 6, n. 534, XV.

1. Copiosus, a priest, a stipend having been received, promised that he would celebrate thirty Gregorian Masses for the soul of the priest Iustus, recently deceased. But after ten Masses had been celebrated, he interrupted celebrating them for three days, since on those days he had received a very rich stipend for the application of the Mass. Then he celebrated another ten Masses not on the same altar, but on another altar, an unforeseen impediment having supervened. Finally, since he himself could not celebrate the remaining ten Masses, he committed them to another priest, who on days not impeded did not celebrate the Mass of Requiem, but according to the rite of the current day. - Did he act rightly?

R. Copiosus did not act rightly by interrupting the Masses. For the thirty Gregorian Masses, from the institution of St. Gregory himself, who first commanded that they be celebrated for the soul of a deceased monk, are to be celebrated on thirty continuous days, so that no day be omitted. - But that not all those Masses were celebrated on the same altar does not harm the special efficacy of the thirty Masses of St. Gregory. For St. Gregory prescribed nothing concerning the place of celebration, but only determined the time, on thirty continuous days, of offering the divine sacrifice. And this is confirmed from the S. C. Indulg., Jan. 14, 1889. - Likewise, it does not harm the aforesaid efficacy that the thirty Masses are not celebrated by one and the same priest. For although St. Gregory imposed upon one and the same priest that those Masses be celebrated, nevertheless from his words it clearly appears that their efficacy is to be sought only from the continued celebration of Mass for thirty days, and not from the priest celebrating: Take care that no day be omitted on which the saving Host is not offered for his absolution. And this is also confirmed from the S. C. Indulg., Jan. 14, 1889. - Finally, as regards the rite, it seems altogether more probable that the aforesaid Masses, on days not impeded, are to be celebrated in the proper rite for the dead, since St. Gregory says that the saving host is to be offered for the absolution of that deceased person, which in the obvious sense also includes the rite for the dead, when namely the rubric permits this; otherwise it will be enough to celebrate in the rite proper to the day. M. E. v. 12, p. 404 seqq.

1. Candidus, a priest, asks: 1.º Whether a plenary indulgence at the article of death is acquired, during life, by the sick person when he has fulfilled all the enjoined works, or after his death. 2.º Whether, if someone then fulfills several pious works to which a plenary indulgence at the article of death is attached, he gains all these indulgences.

R. To the 1st. In the Case, someone does not acquire the plenary indulgence after his death; for then it would no longer be an indulgence for a living person at the article of death, but for a deceased person. Likewise the sick person does not acquire it while his life is still lasting, when, for example, he has already fulfilled all the works; for if in reality he does not immediately die, there would not be a true article of death, but only, at most, a presumed one. S. C. Indulg., Apr. 23, 1675. Therefore the sick person does not acquire it except at the true article of death, which consequently death itself in reality follows. The reason is that the end of the Supreme Pontiffs granting a grace of this sort is that for those dying nothing remain to be expiated after this mortal life, and that, by this remission of sins, being truly contrite for sins, they be brought immediately to possess eternal beatitude.

To the 2nd. From the very nature of the plenary indulgence at the article of death, explained in the above manner, it is clear that the sick person acquires it only once. Nevertheless, those several works to which this same indulgence is attached are useful for making it more secure. If perhaps the sick person does not gain it by one work, he can gain it by another work. Nor is it valid to say that someone can gain one such plenary indulgence for himself, another or others for the souls of Purgatory. For it is clear from the very nature of a plenary indulgence at the article of death that it is altogether personal and is applied only to the dying person.

"17. The treasures of the Church, from which the Pope grants indulgences, are not the merits of Christ and of the Saints. - 18. Indulgences are pious frauds upon the faithful and remissions of good works; and they are among those things which are lawful, and not among those which are expedient. - 19. For those who truly obtain them, indulgences do not avail for the remission of the punishment due before divine justice for actual sins. - 20. Those who believe that indulgences are salutary and useful for the fruits of the spirit are deceived. - 21. Indulgences are necessary only for public crimes and are properly granted only to the hard and impatient. - 22. Indulgences are neither necessary nor useful to six classes of men: namely, to the dead or dying, the sick, those legitimately impeded, those who have not committed crimes, those who have committed crimes but not public ones, and those who perform better works. - 40. Souls freed from Purgatory by the suffrages of the living are less blessed than if they had made satisfaction for themselves." Propositions of Martin Luther condemned by Leo X.

"60. Through the sufferings of the Saints communicated in indulgences, our offenses are not properly redeemed; but through the communion of charity their sufferings are imparted to us, so that we may be worthy to be freed by the price of the Blood of Christ from the punishments due for sins." Proposition of Michael Baius condemned by Saint Pius V.

"16. It is not fitting to seek indulgences for the punishment due to one's own sins, because it is better to satisfy divine justice than to seek divine mercy; since the former proceeds from pure love of God, while the latter proceeds from interested love of ourselves, and is neither pleasing to God nor meritorious, because it is to wish to flee the cross." Proposition of Michael de Molinos condemned by Innocent XI.

"40. The proposition asserting that an indulgence, according to its precise notion, is nothing other than the remission of a part of that penance which was established by the canons for the sinner; as though an indulgence, besides the bare remission of canonical punishment, does not also avail for the remission of the temporal punishment due before divine justice for actual sins: False, rash, injurious to the merits of Christ, long ago condemned in article 19 of Luther. - 41. Likewise, insofar as it adds that the Scholastics, puffed up by their subtleties, introduced an ill-understood treasury of the merits of Christ and the Saints and substituted for the clear notion of absolution from canonical punishment the confused and false notion of the application of merits; as though the treasures of the Church from which the Pope grants indulgences are not the merits of Christ and the Saints: False, rash, injurious to the merits of Christ and of the Saints, long ago condemned in article 17 of Luther. - 42. Likewise, insofar as it adds further that it is still more lamentable that this chimerical application was wished to be transferred to the departed: False, rash, offensive to pious ears, injurious to the Roman Pontiffs and to the practice and sense of the universal Church, leading into the error branded with a heretical note in Peter de Osma and again condemned in article 22 of Luther. - 43. Finally, insofar as it most shamelessly inveighs against certificates of indulgences, privileged altars, etc.: Rash, offensive to pious ears, scandalous, insulting to the Supreme Pontiffs and to the practice frequented by the whole Church." Propositions of the Synod of Pistoia condemned by Pius VI.

"I also affirm that the power of indulgences was left by Christ in the Church and that their use is most salutary for the Christian people." Tridentine Profession of Faith.

"42. It is foolish to believe in the indulgences of the Pope and bishops." Article of John Wycliffe condemned by the Council of Constance.

"6. The Pope cannot remit to any man the punishment of Purgatory." Proposition of Master Peter de Osma condemned by Sixtus IV in 1479.

"Whether one who has the faculty of blessing crosses, rosaries, etc., and applying indulgences to them can also bless crosses and rosaries for himself and, by using these, also gain the indulgences for himself? - Response. Affirmative." Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, 16 July 1887.

"1. Whether indulgences which a bishop grants avail only within the limits of his diocese or also outside it? 2. Whether they can be acquired within the limits of the diocese also by faithful who are not subjects of the bishop granting the indulgences? 3. Whether subjects of the bishop granting indulgences can gain them also while they are staying outside the diocese? - Response. To 1. Affirmative to the first part; negative to the second, unless there is question of subjects of the bishop granting them and of personal indulgences. To 2. Affirmative, provided that the indulgences have not been granted to some particular class of persons. To 3. Provision was made in 1." Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, 26 May 1898.

"When it was reported to Our Most Holy Lord that an ancient custom was generally in force in the regions of Latin America, although no written document concerning it exists, namely, that Archbishops grant eighty days of Indulgence instead of forty days as by law; and when the same Most Holy Lord was petitioned by the Archbishops attending the American Plenary Council in the City that He might deign to ratify and confirm that custom; His Holiness, wishing to establish a certain and uniform discipline in Latin America and to pursue the Churches of that region with particular love, graciously decreed by His Apostolic authority that henceforth all the Archbishops of Latin America may freely enjoy and use the privilege of granting eighty days of true Indulgence in the customary form of the Church. Concerning these matters, the same His Holiness ordered the undersigned Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs to issue this Decree without the dispatch of any Brief and commanded that it be entered into the acts of that Sacred Congregation." 4 July 1899.

"The Pontifical jubilee of Leo XIII, of happy memory, celebrated everywhere with solemn rejoicing by the Catholic world, certainly furnished a fitting occasion on which several sacred Prelates, especially from the Neapolitan and Sicilian region, in order to consecrate the auspicious event with a certain new pledge of piety and religious fruit, earnestly offered petitions in jointly signed letters that their faculty in bestowing indulgences might be somewhat increased by the Apostolic See. - These petitions, interrupted by the death of that excellent Pontiff, but again and humbly presented, after consultation with the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics, by the undersigned Cardinal, Prefect of the same Congregation, in an audience held at the Vatican on 28 August of this current year, as soon as Our Most Holy Lord Pope Pius X learned of them, He testified that He had nothing more greatly among His desires than to honor the glorious memory of His Predecessor with a worthy token of honor in this matter also, and moreover fully to extend His own paternal charity toward all ecclesiastical orders. Therefore, His Holiness, having received a report of everything, deigned not only to assent to the aforesaid desires, but also graciously to decree that henceforth the Most Eminent Fathers, Cardinals, may grant an indulgence of two hundred days in their titular churches as well as in their Dioceses, Archbishops one hundred days, and finally Bishops fifty days, provided nevertheless that all things observed by them up to the present in grants of indulgences of this kind are observed. He willed this grant to remain perpetually in force also for future times. Anything whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding.

"Given at Rome, from the Secretariat of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics, on 28 August 1903."

"1. It is fitting that one who desires to obtain the faculty of blessing chaplets, crosses, rosaries, medals, etc., with the application of the Apostolic indulgences and those of Saint Bridget should present a petition furnished with commendatory letters from his own Ordinary if he belongs to the secular clergy, but, if he is a religious, from the Superior of his Order or Institute approved by the Holy See.

"2. In order that the aforesaid faculty be exercised validly, it will be necessary that the priest be approved for hearing sacramental Confessions, at least of men.

"3. For the lawful exercise of that faculty, the consent of the Ordinary of the place in which one wishes to use it is required, the Decree of this Sacred Congregation of 8 June 1888 remaining in force with respect to exempt religious. It is desirable that this consent be express; nevertheless, tacit or implicit consent also suffices, and, in some case when it cannot practically be done otherwise, even consent prudently presumed suffices." Instruction of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, 14 June 1901; A. S. S., vol. 34, p. 124 ff.

"1. Whether, for applying indulgences to crosses, rosaries, etc., any rite is necessary besides the sign of the cross made by a priest who has received this faculty. 2. Whether the indulgence granted attaches only to the figure of Christ made of metal, wood, or any other material, so that it can be transferred from one cross to another without danger of losing the indulgence conferred upon it? - Response. To 1. Negative. To 2. Affirmative." Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, 2 April 1840.

"1. Can one who has obtained the faculty of blessing crosses, sacred medals, and prayer chaplets with the application of indulgences lawfully use that faculty publicly, for example, in a church or oratory before the faithful gathered there and holding in their hands the objects to be blessed, if the clause privately is in the indult of the faculty?

"2. When the clause in the customary form of the Church exists in the indult, does it suffice to form the sign of the cross by hand over the objects to be blessed, without pronouncing the words of the formula of blessing and without sprinkling holy water?

"3. If a formula is necessary, does any formula suffice, provided that it is approved by the Ordinary, or must the formula of the Roman Ritual necessarily be employed?

"4. When the clause in the customary form of the Church does not exist in the indult of the faculty, does it suffice to form the sign of the cross by hand over the objects to be blessed?

"Response. To 1. Negative. - To 2. Affirmative. - To 3 and 4. Answered in the second." Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, 7 January 1843.

"Whether the aforesaid declarations also comprehend both the blessing of chaplets or rosaries of Saint Dominic which are blessed by the Fathers of the Order of Preachers, and the chaplets of the Seven Dolors which are blessed by the Fathers of the Order of the Servants of Mary; so that priests who obtain, either from the superiors of the aforesaid Orders or immediately from the Apostolic See, the faculty of blessing the aforesaid chaplets can accomplish this by the sign of the cross alone; or whether, for the validity of the act, the formula of blessing together with sprinkling with holy water must altogether be employed. - Response. For the Rosary and Seven Dolors chaplets the formula must be observed, since the responses of the Sacred Congregation of 11 April 1840 and 7 January 1843 do not comprehend the cases treated in the proposed doubt." Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, 29 February 1864.

"Among the other duties entrusted to this Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics, this one is preeminent: namely, to distinguish true Indulgences from apocryphal ones and to proscribe the latter. It has discharged this duty by very many Decrees concerning apocryphal Indulgences, issued up to the present time and contained in the authentic collection of Decrees. But although this Sacred Congregation has always been vigilant from the very beginning of its institution concerning the publication of Indulgences, lest false ones creep in among the Christian people, nevertheless, since even in our age there are not lacking those who, moved either by ill will or even by irrational zeal, do not fear to spread among the faithful false, or at the least very suspect, Indulgences annexed either to prayers or to pious exercises, it has therefore come about that several Prelates have approached this Sacred Congregation so that it might issue its judgment concerning certain Indulgences. They did this principally, moved by the cause that not only might true Indulgences be distinguished from false ones, but especially that the way might be closed to the enemies of the Church for calumniating her and despising the heavenly treasury of Indulgences.

"Therefore, in order that this Sacred Congregation might apply a present remedy to this evil, insofar as it could be done, it resolved to establish certain rules or norms by which, when they were kept before the eyes, an easy way might be opened not only to Ordinaries of places but also to the Christian faithful themselves for discerning what judgment should be made concerning certain Indulgences which are commonly published among the people and display a doubtful mark of authenticity.

"When this proposal of the Sacred Congregation was reported to Our Most Holy Lord Leo XIII, His Holiness approved it and ordered it to be put into execution as soon as possible.

"Therefore, the Sacred Congregation, employing the study of the Most Reverend Consultors, took care that an Index of the aforesaid rules be worked out; it then submitted this Index for examination by the Most Eminent Fathers, Cardinals, in a general Congregation assembled at the Vatican on 5 May 1898. But they, after maturely weighing the aforesaid Index, reserved it, with some changes, to be weighed again by themselves in another Congregation.

"This was done in the General Assembly held at the Vatican on 3 August 1899, in which the Most Eminent and Most Reverend Fathers judged that the Index should be proposed as below:

"Rule 1. All indulgences contained in the most recent Collection published by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences are authentic.

"Rule 2. General indulgences which are not presented in the aforesaid Collection, or which are said to have been granted after the Collection was published, are to be regarded as authentic only when the autograph document of their grant has been authenticated by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, to which it must be presented, under penalty of nullity, before they are published.

"Rule 3. Let those Indulgences be regarded as authentic which were granted to religious Orders and Congregations, Archconfraternities, Confraternities, Archsodalities, Sodalities, pious Unions, pious Societies, certain more celebrated Churches, Pious Places, and Objects of devotion, and which are contained in Summaries authenticated and approved by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and printed by its authority or permission.

"Rule 4. Let neither general nor particular Indulgences be regarded as authentic which are contained in books, booklets, summaries, sheets, cards, or even images printed without the approval of the competent authority; this approval is to be granted after diligent authentication and distinctly expressed.

"Rule 5. All Indulgences of a thousand or several thousand years, at whatever time they are said to have been granted, are apocryphal or now entirely revoked.

"Rule 6. Let plenary Indulgences which are asserted to have been granted to those reciting only a few words be regarded as suspect; excepting Indulgences at the point of death.

"Rule 7. Indulgences circulated in printed or handwritten booklets, sheets, or cards in which, for frivolous or even superstitious causes and uncertain revelations, or under illusory conditions, Indulgences and graces exceeding use and measure are promised, are to be rejected as apocryphal.

"Rule 8. Sheets and booklets in which the liberation of one or more souls from Purgatory is promised to the faithful who recite one or another prayer are to be rejected as fictitious; and the Indulgences customarily added to the aforesaid promise are to be regarded as apocryphal.

"Rule 9. Indulgences asserted to be of more recent grant are to be regarded as apocryphal or at least gravely suspect if they are extended to an unusual number of years or days.

"His Holiness approved these rules on 10 August 1899 and commanded them to be published by a general Decree.

"Given at Rome, from the Secretariat of the same Sacred Congregation, 10 August 1899."

"On Rule 1. This rule regards the collection commonly called Collection of Prayers and Pious Works for Which the Holy Indulgences Have Been Granted by the Supreme Pontiffs. - Rome, Printing Office of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, 1898.

"The foundation of the rule is manifestly evident from the very end which the Sacred Congregation set before itself in publishing that book. For already in the year 1877, when the first edition of the Collection of which we speak was being prepared for official publication by this Sacred Congregation itself, this declaration was read in the preliminary Decree: 'The Supreme Pontiff graciously consented that an authentic compilation or Collection of each and every prayer and pious work which up to the present day had been enriched or augmented with indulgences should be most diligently prepared by the Secretariat of the same Sacred Congregation.' Therefore, that first edition, and afterwards likewise the second edition in the year 1886, was declared authentic by the same Sacred Congregation; but now in the Decree prefixed to the third edition of the year 1898 it is read thus: 'Our same Most Holy Lord Pope Leo XIII approved by His Apostolic authority a Collection of this kind printed by the Printing Office of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith; and it is therefore to be held by all as the genuine and authentic Compilation of Indulgences hitherto granted for all the Christian faithful and for certain groups of them designated therein.'

1041. • Indulgence, as the word itself indicates, is the same as favor, condonation, mercy, remission. For an indulgence is the condonation of the penalty due to sins through the application of the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints; for Christ our Savior offered His satisfactions to God the Father for the full remission of our sins. These satisfactions of infinite value, to which are also added the satisfactions of the Blessed Virgin and the superabundant satisfactions of the Saints, are called the treasure of the Church, in which we participate through Indulgences.

Definition. An indulgence is the remission of temporal penalty due to God for sins remitted as to guilt, granted by a legitimate minister outside the Sacrament of Penance through the application of the treasure of the Church.

Division. An indulgence is distinguished in manifold ways:

1. Plenary or partial, insofar as the whole temporal penalty is remitted, or only a part of it.

2. Personal, local, or real, insofar as it is granted immediately to persons, for example, to a Confraternity; or is attached to some place, for example, a Church, Oratory, etc.; or is joined to some thing, for example, an Image, Cross, Rosary, etc.

3. Temporary or perpetual, insofar as it is granted for a determinate time or without any prescribed term.

1042. Principles. - I. The Church has true power to grant Indulgences. This is of Faith against the Protestants. For Christ, as is evident from Sacred Scripture, gave the Church full power of binding and loosing, both in the internal forum and in the external spiritual forum. Thus Christ Himself said to Peter, Matthew 16:19: Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. Therefore He gave Peter, that is, His Church, the power of loosing whatever is bound, and therefore also the power of freeing from the penalty due to sins. To this is added the definition of the Council of Trent, session 25, Decree On Indulgences, where those who assert either that they are useless or that the Church lacks the power to grant them are condemned by anathema. It is further evident from the universal tradition and perpetual practice of the Church.

1043. • II. The Prelates of the Church alone have the power to grant Indulgences. For this faculty can belong only to those who have power over the mystical body of Christ and who can dispense the treasure of the Church.

Hence:

1. The Pope alone can grant Indulgences with respect to all the faithful, for he alone has jurisdiction over all the faithful. Suarez; Lacroix, no. 1317.

2. Bishops can indeed by common law grant Indulgences to their Diocesans. But their power is so restricted by the Decree of the Fourth Lateran Council, canon 62, that ordinarily they can grant only Indulgences of forty days, and on the day of the consecration of a Church, of one year.

3. A delegate can grant the same Indulgences as the one by whom he was delegated ¹. The reason is that acts of jurisdiction can be exercised through delegates, as is acknowledged by all.

¹ Understand this according to the measure which the delegating person has prescribed for the delegate.

4. Cardinals can grant Indulgences of one hundred days in the Churches of their titles; Nuncios, however, can grant to their subjects Indulgences of one hundred, two hundred, or three hundred days, but of less than one year. Lacroix, no. 1322.

5. Prelates inferior to a Bishop cannot grant any Indulgences; neither can Vicars General, except by express delegation of the Bishop; nor Capitular Vicars while the See is vacant; much less can Pastors. Lacroix, no. 1323.

1044. • III. Four things are required in the subject for gaining Indulgences:

1. That he be baptized, because the treasure of the Church cannot be dispensed to infidels; and that he not be excommunicated, because otherwise he is deprived of the communion of spiritual goods.

2. That he be a subject of the one granting ², as is evident from what has been said.

² Nevertheless, travelers are not excluded from Indulgences which have been granted generally in some place to those visiting a Church, altar, image, etc. Marchant, apud Diana, tome 4, tract 5, resolution 50, no. 4.

3. That he fulfill the works enjoined within the prescribed time, because Indulgences are granted under this condition.

4. That he be in the state of grace, at least when he performs the last prescribed work, because the penalty is not remitted unless the guilt has been remitted. St. Alphonsus, no. 433, etc.

1045. Questions. - QUESTION 1. Is the grant of an Indulgence made without cause valid?

Reply. Negatively. The reason is that the Prelates of the Church are only delegates of Christ for dispensing the treasure of the Church. But Christ cannot ratify the lavish distributions of His treasure made by prodigal dispensers. Furthermore, it does not belong to the faithful, nor to simple Priests, to judge concerning the sufficiency of the cause for which an Indulgence is granted; for they ought simply to judge it to be just. St. Alphonsus, book 6, no. 532, etc.

QUESTION 2. Is venial sin an obstacle to gaining an Indulgence?

Reply. Negatively, unless the matter concerns an altogether plenary, or most fully plenary, Indulgence. The reason is that although the penalty due to this sin cannot be remitted, nevertheless the penalty due for other sins already blotted out can be remitted; for just as it is not repugnant that the guilt of some venial sin be remitted without the guilt of others being remitted, so neither is it repugnant that the penalty of remitted venial or mortal sins be blotted out, although the penalty for one or more venial sins remains to be discharged. Thus St. Alphonsus, book 6, no. 534, etc.

1046. • QUESTION 3. Can an Indulgence which is granted as PLENARY be obtained at least PARTIALLY if there is an obstacle preventing it from being obtained in its entirety, for example, an attachment to some venial sin?

Reply. Affirmatively. The reason is: 1. because, from what was said in the preceding question, some unremitted venial sin does not prevent the penalty due for other sins from being remitted; 2. because the Supreme Pontiff, in granting a plenary Indulgence, is not presumed to will to restrict it only to those to whom all venial sins are remitted, but rather is deservedly considered to grant it according to the capacity of the subject, so that at least the penalty which can be remitted is remitted, namely, the penalty of remitted sins. For otherwise plenary Indulgences would often be of no benefit, since the faithful rarely cast off every, even the least, attachment to any venial sin and conceive sufficient sorrow for all venial sins in such a way that they obtain the remission of all. Hence it would come about that partial Indulgences were preferable to plenary ones, which is repugnant to common sense. St. Alphonsus, book 6, no. 534.

Nevertheless, some teach that a plenary Indulgence is not granted except plenarily or most fully, as they say, so that it must obtain either the whole effect or none. But this opinion does not appear probable.

1047. • QUESTION 4. What is understood by Indulgences of ten or fifteen days, years, forty-day periods, etc., etc.?

Reply. According to the common opinion, there is to be understood a remission of as much penalty as formerly was remitted, or would have been remitted, through canonical penance of the same duration. Thus, for example, through an Indulgence of seven years, as much penalty is remitted as was remitted through a penance of seven years customarily imposed according to the ancient Canons. But how much canonical penances availed before God, and how much partial Indulgences of so many days or years now avail, is altogether unknown to us, because we do not know what proportion our satisfactions bear to the penalty due to our sins. Thus commonly.

QUESTION 5. Does one gain Indulgences who does not completely perform the work prescribed for them?

Reply 1. Negatively, if he omits a notable part of the work, such that according to moral estimation he does not perform it as to its substance; because he is not considered simply to satisfy the required conditions.

Reply 2. Otherwise, if he omits a very small part, because then the prescribed work is considered to be performed morally, or as to its substance. But a very small part must be taken relatively. Thus, in the Rosary, omission of one Pater and Ave seems very small; but it is otherwise if five Paters and Aves are required, because omission of a fifth part of the work is notable. Thus St. Alphonsus, book 6, no. 534; Voit, no. 658, etc.

1048. • QUESTION 6. Can Indulgences be applied to the deceased, and how?

Reply 1. They can be applied if the following two conditions are present: 1. that they be specially granted in the Rescript of the Pontiff as applicable to them; 2. that there be an intention of making such an application. Thus all; Suarez, disputation 53, section 4.

Reply 2. Nevertheless, an Indulgence cannot be applied to the deceased by way of absolution, but only by way of suffrage, namely, by beseeching God that He may benignly will to accept such an application and apply it to the souls in Purgatory. The reason is that the Pontiff does not have jurisdiction over the souls of the deceased. Hence he cannot absolve them from penalties as though by a sentence. Thus Lacroix, no. 1336; Lugo, disputation 27, no. 58.

1049. • QUESTION 7. Does an Indulgence infallibly benefit the souls in Purgatory to whom it is applied?

Reply. It is disputed.

FIRST OPINION. It affirms. The reason is that Christ gave the Church infallible power by these words: Whatsoever thou shalt loose..., etc. But the grant of an Indulgence for the deceased is truly an act of the keys, since it proceeds from Apostolic authority; and a key always opens when the requisite conditions have been met. Therefore, an Indulgence is always efficacious and infallible for the deceased as well as for the living, provided the requirements are present. Thus Suarez.

SECOND OPINION. It denies. The reason is that there is no divine promise by force of which God is considered certainly to accept an offered Indulgence. Hence He appears to admit it for application according to His good pleasure alone. Moreover, the Church maintains the practice of celebrating Masses for many years and for the same souls, for example, anniversary Masses, even at privileged altars, or altars to which the privilege of a plenary Indulgence adheres. But that practice would be empty if they were freed immediately by the first Mass applied to them. St. Alphonsus, no. 534; Billuart, Appendix, article 6.

It is certain, however, that Indulgences benefit the deceased at least for the most part; for otherwise the Church would do something useless in applying them to the deceased, which certainly cannot be said without impiety.

1050. • QUESTION 8. Must a special application be made to certain determinate souls, or does a general application suffice?

Since Indulgences are one of the means by which satisfaction can be made for the punishment owed to sins, it will not be useless to discuss them briefly:

¹ St. Thomas, Suppl., q. 25-27; F. Mayron, De Indulgentiis; Suarez, disp. XLIX sq.; Lugo, disp. XXVII; E. Amort, De Origine, progressu, valore ac fructu Indulgentiarum, 1735; St. Alphonsus, n. 531-538; Baller. P., t. V, De Suffragiis et Indulgentiis; Lehmk., n. 524-564; Konings, n. 1777-1801; Genicot, n. 401-415; Noldin, n. 300-326; Melata, De Indulgentiis, Rome, 1892; Bouvier, Traité dogmatique et pratique des Indulg., 10th ed., Paris, 1855; Schneider, Die Ablässe, ihr Wesen und Gebrauch, Paderb., 1884; Maurel, S.J., Le Chrétien éclairé sur la nature et l'usage des Indulg.; Beringer, S.J., Die Ablässe, ihr Wesen und Gebrauch, rendered into French by E. Abt and A. Feyerstein, Les Indulgences, Paris, 1890; Lepicier, Indulgences, London, 1895, rendered into French: Les Indulgences, leur origine, leur nature, leur développement, Paris, 1903; Decreta authentica S. Cong. Indulg., 1883; Raccolta di Orazioni..., Rome, 1898.

1° concerning Indulgences considered in general;

2° concerning the Indulgence of the Jubilee;

3° concerning certain Indulgences in particular.

Division.

1° On their notion and existence;

2° On the authority granting Indulgences;

3° On the subject of Indulgences;

4° On the suspension, translation, and cessation of Indulgences.

599. 1° Definition. Indulgence (from indu-licentia)² has the same sound as mildness, condonation; as it is used here, it is usually defined: the remission of temporal punishment, owed to sin, valid before God, made through the application of the treasury of the Church, by a legitimate Superior, outside the sacrament.

² Cf. M. Bréal, Diction. étymolog. latin, Paris, 1885, p. 134.

It is declared: (a) remission of temporal punishment, but not of guilt, whether past or future, whether mortal or venial, as Protestants falsely assert; since, although in some old formulas there occur words by which an indulgence is granted from guilt and from punishment, these nevertheless were inserted not by the Church but by some questors, against the will of the Roman Pontiffs, who reproved an abuse of this kind;¹ hence deservedly Cardinal Cusanus in the provincial Synod of Magdeburg said: "The Apostolic See has never been accustomed to give indulgences under the words from punishment and guilt." Nor is it an obstacle that in some Apostolic Letters indulgences granted are said to be unto the remission of sins: for these words are understood by all concerning the remission of the punishment owed to sins; nor is anyone ever freed from punishment unless he has first been absolved from guilt.²

¹ Cf. Clementin., bk. V, tit. 9, c. 2.

² A few older theologians, such as Paludanus, had said that venial guilt can probably be remitted through indulgences; but this singular opinion is commonly rejected; for from what was said, n. 197, venial guilt is remitted through contrition.

(b) Valid before God; namely the remission of punishment has force not only in the external forum, before the Church, but also in the internal forum, before God; otherwise, as St. Thomas says,³ the Church would harm sinners more than help them, because, by absolving them from imposed penances, she would condemn them to graver punishments, namely those of purgatory.

³ Supplem., q. 25, a. 1.

(c) Through the application of the treasury of the Church; for, in remitting punishment, the Church nevertheless offers to God a payment, or some compensation, drawn from her own treasury: for there is a spiritual treasury, formed from the superabundant satisfactions of Christ and of the Saints, whose supreme dispenser is the Pontiff, and from which, for a just cause, the debts of the faithful can be paid; therefore he who grants an indulgence does not simply relax temporal punishment, but furnishes to the penitent something from which he may pay, by applying to him the superabundant satisfactions of Christ.

(d) By a legitimate Superior ...; hence not any man whatsoever can grant indulgences, but only those to whom the care of the treasury of the Church has been committed, namely the Pontiff or a general Council for the universal Church, Cardinals in the church of their title, and Bishops for their own diocese; yet it is said outside the sacrament, so that in this way an indulgence may be distinguished from sacramental satisfaction.

600. 2° Species. Indulgences are divided: (a) by reason of effect, into plenary and partial: by the former the whole punishment which remains to be expiated is remitted, by the latter some part of the same punishment. Hence indulgences of forty, or one hundred days, seven years, etc., are granted; this must be understood not in the sense that so many days or years of Purgatory are remitted, but in the sense that so much of the punishment owed is condoned as would have been remitted by forty or one hundred days of canonical penance, such as flourished in the first centuries of the Church. Hence the measure of the remission of the punishment itself remains unknown to us, and depends much on the fervor with which the conditions necessary for gaining Indulgences are fulfilled. - Sometimes an indulgence of six or seven years and as many quarantines is granted; the name quarantine signifies so many Lenten fasts, so that the sense is that there is granted a remission of punishment which corresponds not only to six or seven years of canonical penance, but also to as many Lenten fasts added over and above.

601. (b) By reason of subject, they are divided into indulgences for the living and indulgences for the departed, or those which are applicable to the souls of Purgatory.¹ Indulgences are granted to the living by way of juridical absolution, which nevertheless at the same time includes payment of the debt from the treasury of the Church; for these truly are subject to the jurisdiction of the Church; but to the departed by way of suffrage, or of payment of debt: for since these are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Church, ecclesiastical Superiors cannot directly apply an indulgence to them, but can only offer to God the satisfactions of Christ and of the saints and ask Him that, according to His mercy, He accept them as the payment of the price owed for the sins of the departed. Therefore the departed do not gain indulgences, properly speaking; but the living are permitted by the Church to apply to the departed certain indulgences which they themselves gain; however, in what measure they are in fact applied to the souls of Purgatory is unknown, and depends on the will of God alone.

¹ "All indulgences granted by the Roman Pontiff are applicable to souls detained in purgatory, unless the contrary is established" (Code, c. 930).

But the living cannot apply indulgences to other living persons, since the Supreme Pontiff, on whose will the matter depends, has not up to this time granted this faculty; and this indeed is consonant with reason: for if indulgences could be applied to the living, not a few would become more sluggish, thinking that others would make satisfaction for them.

602. (c) By reason of mode, indulgences are personal, real, or local: personal, when they are immediately granted to persons or communities; real, which are immediately attached to some thing, for example, to a rosary, or prayer beads, a medal, an image of the Crucifix, etc.; local, which are immediately attached to a pious place, or to some thing which is placed in a determinate place.

603. Here it is useful to explain what must be understood by those formulas which are sometimes found in grants of indulgences. Toties quoties signifies, from a special grant, that the faithful can gain the indulgence as many times as they repeat the pious works to which it is attached. Now there are many partial indulgences of this kind; but generally plenary indulgences can be acquired only once in the day, with a few exceptions, for example, the indulgence which is called of the Portiuncula, which those visiting, on the day of August 2, the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, or other churches to which the same privilege has been granted, gain. - A perpetual daily plenary indulgence, which is granted to those visiting some church, must not be understood in such a way that it can be acquired daily, but only once in the year, on any day of the year, to be chosen by the judgment of each one, unless nevertheless it is expressly said in the grant that it is acquired daily.

604. Errors. That there is in the Church the power of granting indulgences was denied: (a) by the Waldenses, the Wiclefites, and also Peter of Osma, who taught that the Pontiff cannot bestow indulgences, nor liberate from purgatory;¹ (b) by Protestants: for Luther indeed at first seemed to censure the abuses of the questors of indulgences, but soon attacked indulgences themselves as useless and pernicious, and pious frauds invented for obtaining money. Modern Protestants assert the same, indeed many do not blush to affirm that indulgences are nothing other than a license to sin purchased by money paid.²

¹ Cf. Denzing., n. 615.

² This calumny is refuted no less pleasantly than eloquently by J. H. Newman, The Present Position of Catholics in England, London, 1889, p. 108 sq. Today, however, most Protestants soften these false accusations, saying that abuses of this kind flourished not in our times, but only in past centuries; nevertheless they attack indulgences as pernicious in their effects; thus Littledale, Plain Reasons, p. 102; Lea, op. cit., vol. III, p. 569 sq.

605. Thesis: The Church enjoys the power of granting indulgences, whose use is especially salutary for the Christian people. It is of faith from Trent:¹ "Since the power of conferring indulgences has been granted by Christ to the Church, and she has used power of this kind, divinely handed down to herself, even in the most ancient times: the Sacrosanct Synod teaches and commands that the use of indulgences, especially salutary for the Christian people and approved by the authority of Sacred Councils, is to be retained in the Church, and condemns with anathema those who either assert that they are useless, or deny that there is in the Church the power of granting them."

¹ Decree concerning Indulgences, ap. Denzing., n. 862.

606. 1° The power of granting indulgences flows, by way of corollary, from three dogmas, namely, from the superabundance of the satisfactions of Christ, from the power of the keys, and from the communion of saints.

(A) That the satisfactions of Christ, as being of infinite value, were superabundant, we have already proved in the Treatise on the Incarnate Word, n. 192. Moreover, according to the common doctrine which the Supreme Pontiffs have confirmed, some among the Saints performed more satisfactory works than were necessary for making satisfaction for their own sins: thus the Blessed Virgin, who never, not even venially, sinned, and otherwise suffered many things patiently; so also many virgins, who lived an angelic rather than a human life; martyrs, who willingly embraced such bitter torments; and many others, who, free from every mortal sin, unceasingly crucified their members. From all these satisfactory works, performed in union with Christ, there arose as it were an immense treasury of satisfactions.²

² Code, c. 911.

Clement VI, in the year 1343, thus explains this doctrine; for concerning Christ he says:³ "For not by corruptible gold and silver, but by the precious blood of Himself, the unspotted and immaculate Lamb, He redeemed us; and He, innocent, immolated on the altar of the cross, is known to have poured forth not a small drop of blood, which nevertheless because of the union with the Word would have sufficed for the redemption of the whole human race, but copiously, as a certain stream ... How great a treasury, therefore, from this, lest the mercy of so great an effusion be rendered superfluous, empty, or excessive, He acquired for the Church militant, the pious Father willing to treasure up for His sons, so that thus there may be an infinite treasury for men, and those who have used it have become participants of God's friendship." Afterwards, concerning the saints, he adds: "To the heap of this treasury indeed the merits of the Blessed Mother of God and of all the elect, from the first just man even to the last, are known to provide aid; concerning its consumption or diminution there is in no way to be feared, both because of the infinite merits of Christ, as has been said, and because, the more persons are drawn to justice from its application, the more the heap of their merits increases." Hence therefore it is clear that the treasury of satisfactions which can be applied to Christians is inexhaustible.

³ Extrav. Unigenitus, Extrav. commun., l. V, t. 9, c. 2, p. 1304, ed. Friedberg.

607. (B) From another side, the power of the keys, whose existence we proved, n. 20 sq., in its amplitude includes the faculty of remitting not only guilt, but also the punishment annexed to sin, namely by applying to penitents certain satisfactions of Christ or of the saints, drawn from the aforesaid treasury. This is inferred from the texts cited above.¹ Namely Christ said to Peter, the prince of the Apostles: "Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven"; for in the former part of this text, to Peter and the Apostles is conferred the power of binding the faithful by any spiritual bond whatsoever, by retaining sins and imposing canonical penalties; therefore in the latter part, whatsoever thou shalt loose, there is likewise given the power not only of absolving sins, but also of relaxing canonical penalties with prudence; for there is a parallelism between each part. This is confirmed from other words of Christ: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them" ...; for there is conferred there a most ample power of remitting sins, without any restriction; moreover sin involves three things, the debt of guilt, the debt of eternal punishment, the debt of temporal punishment; therefore the power conferred on the Church embraces these three things. Now the two former are taken away through the sacrament of Penance; the third can be taken away outside the sacrament, namely by condoning punishment through indulgences.

¹ Matt., XVI, 19; John, XX, 23.

608. (C) But the reason why the satisfactions of Christ and of the saints can be applied to penitents is drawn from the communion of saints. For all the faithful are so intimately joined under one head, Christ, that they form one body, and therefore all the good works of the just are as it were proper to each one, and can yield to their utility: "For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, nevertheless are one body, so also is Christ ... And if one member suffers anything, all the members suffer with it; or if one member glories, all the members rejoice together."¹ Now, if the matter is so, the satisfactions of Christ and of the Saints, overflowing into others who are debtors to divine justice, can be derived to them, the authority of God which has been committed to the Church acceding; for, as St. Thomas says,² "those things which are common to some multitude are distributed to individuals of the multitude according to the judgment of him who presides over the multitude; hence, just as someone would obtain remission of punishment if another had made satisfaction for him, so also if the satisfaction of another is distributed to him by one who has power."

¹ I Cor., XII, 12-26.

² Supplem., q. 25, a. 1.

The matter is illustrated by a comparison. In a well-ordered Republic, the President has the power sometimes of softening the severity of laws and penalties, when the common good demands this, or when amendment of the guilty person has been manifested by certain signs; but the Church is a well-ordered society, indeed nobler and more perfect than other societies, since she promotes the supernatural good of souls; therefore it was fitting that the rulers of the Church should enjoy the power, for a just cause, of condoning something of spiritual debts; and this is done by taking away or diminishing punishments through indulgences.

609. 2° The thesis is proved historically.³ The historical progress of indulgences is intimately connected with the evolution of penitential discipline; and in it three stages can be distinguished.

³ Cf. A. Boudinhon, Sur l'histoire des indulgences, in Rev. de l'Institut cathol. de Paris, May 1902, p. 238-257.

(A) In the first epoch, which extends up to the seventh century, the granting of indulgences appears under the form of mitigation of public penance. That this penance was laborious and long-lasting has already been shown above, n. 151. But sometimes something of canonical penance, imposed by the authority of the Church, was remitted. (a) This was done especially in view of the intercession of martyrs. Tertullian is a witness of this matter; while he was still Catholic, he wrote these things:¹ "Which peace, not having it in the Church, some have been accustomed to entreat from the martyrs in prison; and therefore you also ought on this account to have, foster, and guard it in yourselves, so that perhaps you may be able to furnish it also to others." This practice afterwards, having fallen into the error of the Montanists, he reproved;² but even this very thing demonstrates that this practice existed and had been approved by the Roman Pontiffs. St. Cyprian likewise testifies to this, by declaring that those "who have received letters from the martyrs can be helped by their prerogative before God."³ Besides, the matter is so evidently established that it is denied by no one today. Now the relaxation of canonical penance was nothing other than the relaxation of the punishment owed to sin, since penance was ordered to the remission of this punishment.

¹ Tertull., Ad martyr., c. 1; P. L., t. I, p. 621.

² De pudic., c. 22; P. L., t. II, 1026.

³ St. Cyprian, ep. 18, t. II, p. 523, ed. Vind.; cf. ep. 21, 33, 36, and De lapsis.

(b) The same kindness was shown to those who by a laudable and fervent life redeemed their sins; thus the Council of Ancyra (314) decreed (can. 5): "We have determined that Bishops, the manner of conduct having been examined, have the power either of using clemency, or of adding more time. But before all things let both the preceding life and that which has followed be examined, and thus let clemency be imparted to them." Likewise Nicaea I (can. 12): "As many as, by fear and tears and penance, or by good works, demonstrate their conversion by the things themselves, not by simulation, these, after fulfilling the defined time of hearing, then at length may communicate with the faithful in prayer. Afterwards, however, it will be lawful for the Bishop to think something more humane concerning these."

(c) Punishments also were relaxed for the dying, so that they might be able more quickly to enter heaven; if they recovered, they were bound to pay certain penalties, but not all. Moreover in all these cases, the Church, by relaxing canonical penance, certainly did not wish to hand penitents over to graver punishments of purgatory, and therefore was using the power of condoning part of the satisfaction owed to sin.

610. (B) In the second period, from the seventh to the eleventh century, indulgence appears under the form of commutation of canonical penance into other works which were judged equivalent. For then a certain special penance was inflicted for each sin, as was noted above, n. 116. Now works of this kind were sometimes commuted into certain pious works, especially prayers, flagellations, and alms. Thus, according to St. Peter Damian, St. Dominic Loricatus, on each day of Lent, by subjecting himself to blows of rods, and by completing three psalters, was considered to do penance of one hundred years.¹ In the same age, to those who visited the basilicas of the Apostles at Rome, part of canonical penance was condoned. For Nicholas I says concerning a certain homicide: "Certain things [of penance] we have moderated, because he devoutly hastened to ask the suffrages of the prince of the Apostles, our nourisher."² Likewise, in the ninth century, Sergius II granted to those visiting the church of Saints Sylvester and Martin, on the feasts of several saints, an indulgence of three years and three quarantines: this is established from a marble tablet, placed in this church, which Baronius describes, at the year 847. Again, in the Vallicellian sacramentary, drawn up in the same century, mention is made of an indulgence of certain days and years. In the eleventh century, Leo IX condoned to those who had assembled for the consecration of the metropolitan church of Besançon the third part of their penance. - In these or similar cases, a certain part of canonical penance was commuted into pious pilgrimages or other works of this kind.

¹ Ap. Migne, P. L., t. CXLIV, p. 1015.

² Apud Ivo, P. L., t. CLXI, p. 700. - Some hold that certain indulgences were granted by Gregory the Great to those who visited the stations (the principal churches) of Rome. This is related by St. Thomas (in IV, dist. 20, q. 1, a. 3, sol. 2) and William of Auxerre (Summa, l. IV, tr. 6, c. 6); yet Morinus denies this (op. cit., l. X, c. 20, n. 10), because nothing concerning this matter appears in the letters or sermons of St. Gregory. Whatever the case may be, this practice is very ancient; for Boniface VIII commemorates it (year 1300), in the Bull of the Jubilee: "The faithful relation of the ancients has it that to those approaching the honorable basilica of the prince of the Apostles of the City, great remissions and indulgences of sins were granted." (Extravag. commun., l. V, t. 9, c. 1, p. 1303, ed. Friedberg.)

611. (C) In the third age, from the eleventh century, indulgences properly so called are now granted, or the total or partial remission of punishment owed to sin, yet after certain works determined by a legitimate superior have been posited. This was done especially for promoting expeditions into the Holy Land: thus Urban II, in the Council of Clermont, in the year 1095, decreed (can. 2): "Whoever shall have set out for the sake of devotion alone, not for the attainment of honor or money, to liberate the Church of God at Jerusalem, that journey shall be reputed to him for all penance." An indulgence of this kind was also granted to those who fought against heretics, especially the Albigenses. Afterwards, in the thirteenth century, Lateran IV (1215) decreed that indulgences not be extended too much, and thus abuses be prevented. - But the matter became more universal from the institution of the Jubilee. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the jubilee was instituted or confirmed by Boniface VIII, who granted a plenary indulgence and other spiritual favors for the year 1300 and for each following hundredth year; afterwards Clement VI decreed that the jubilee be celebrated every fiftieth year, beginning from 1350; finally Paul II wished that it have place every twenty-fifth year, beginning from the year 1475. Afterwards the Pontiffs began to grant extraordinary jubilees, or an indulgence after the manner of a jubilee, for grave causes. Soon they became accustomed to bestow plenary or partial indulgences for promoting pious works, namely the erection of churches or hospitals. On this occasion certain abuses crept in, from the fact that questors, or preachers of indulgences, in order to obtain more abundant alms, amplified beyond measure the force and efficacy of indulgences. But Trent eradicated this abuse by abolishing questors.

From all these things it is gathered how greatly Protestants are deceived who, with Chemnitz, say that Catholics "cannot bring forward either any testimonies of the Fathers, or any examples of the ancient Church, that such doctrine or use of such indulgences ever existed at any time in the old Church up to the years after Christ's birth 1200."

612. (D) Difficulties are solved. (a) The granting of indulgences frees man from the debt of making satisfaction, and therefore mutilates the sacrament of Penance, which involves some satisfaction; therefore it must be rejected.

Resp.: I deny the supposition, for indulgences prudently granted do not exempt the penitent from sacramental or extra-sacramental satisfaction, but are granted to those sincerely contrite so that they may have that from which they may satisfy more promptly and efficaciously. For no one can gain indulgences unless he performs certain prescribed works and sincerely repents.

(b) The adversaries insist: Facility in satisfying for all sins through some prayers or works generates spiritual sloth, since there is no proportion between the prescribed works and the punishment remitted.

Resp. I deny the subsumed proposition: for external works which are prescribed, although they are light in themselves, suppose interior dispositions of contrition and firm purpose, which exclude sloth; for, as Cajetan says (De suscipient. indul., q. 1), indulgences are not profitable to those neglecting to satisfy by themselves, because they are unworthy of indulgence, but to those whose will is so prepared for satisfying that the work is not delayed unless impeded. Thus, for example, he does not gain a plenary indulgence unless he is free from every affection toward venial sins. But when these things have been posited, the facility of the work enjoined is rather a certain kind of allurement, by which penitents are drawn to procure perfect interior dispositions: and thus there are promoted contrition of heart, zeal for prayer, frequentation of the sacraments, and the practice of works of mercy.

613. (c) They insist again: the granting of indulgences tends to diminish the time of purgation in this or the other life; but this is against the order intended by God.¹

¹ Littledale's argument returns to this (op. cit., p. 109): "God loves these souls, and detains them in Purgatory, not that they may pay punishments, but that they may be purified. We confidently admit that God punishes them with the greatest mercy, kindness, and efficacy. Hence their untimely departure from Purgatory brings them no advantage, unless nevertheless it is admitted that the Roman Church is wiser and kinder than God Himself, and that she snatches the victims from the divine hands, so to speak!"

Resp. I deny the minor: for to God, who loves penitent souls, nothing is more acceptable than to diminish this time of purgation; on the one hand indeed, as a wise Legislator, He established that no one would enter the kingdom of heaven except after the payment of the punishment owed to sin; but on the other hand, as a merciful Father, He wishes to spare penitents; therefore if someone satisfies for others, he performs a work pleasing to God, namely by helping Him to reconcile the rights of justice and mercy.

(d) The granting of indulgences has furnished occasion for innumerable abuses; for the Roman Pontiffs, without any reason, did not blush to bestow indulgences of one hundred, one thousand, and more years, indeed to sell them for money, thus committing the most shameful crime of simony. Resp. We do not deny that some abuses crept into the granting and preaching of indulgences; but those abuses were neither universal nor frequent, and were several times reproved by the Roman Pontiffs and Councils; thus in the eleventh century, Gregory VII, to the Bishop of Lincoln asking an indulgence of delicts, agreed, yet under this condition, that by adhering to good works he should bewail the excesses committed;² in the twelfth century, Gregory VIII declared to the faithful of Benevento that it was safer that they do penance than that they obtain even a remission of the third part of penance; in the thirteenth century, Lateran IV reproved the laxity of certain Bishops in granting indulgences; and Trent (sess. XXV concerning Indulgences) established that the office of holy indulgences be dispensed holily and incorruptly to all the faithful, and proscribed all abuses which through ignorance or superstition had crept into various dioceses. Now a thing good and useful in itself must not be eradicated because of some inconveniences which arise from it, but the inconveniences themselves are to be prevented, insofar as it can be done; and this indeed the Church has done when opportunity was given.

² Cf. Baronius, Annales ecclesiast., at the year 1703, n. 71; Drouin, l. cit., § 4, where these and other facts are related.

But what is added concerning the selling of indulgences rests on a false supposition. Money which sometimes was given, or even now sometimes is given, for example on the occasion of a jubilee, for gaining an indulgence, is not and never was the price of the indulgence; for it was alms prescribed as a pious work, and to be turned to good uses, for defeating the Turks who were disturbing the peace of Europe, for the erection and endowment of churches, hospitals, and other institutes of this kind. From another side, only a few indulgences are granted under this condition; for most require only merely spiritual works.¹

¹ Some Protestants go farther, and assert as certain that absolution from sins is sold for money; in proof of this they exhibit the taxes of the Chancery, which must be paid when absolution from censures is sought. But here they confuse two things plainly distinct: absolution from sins in the internal forum, which can never be procured by money; and absolution from censures in the external forum, for which sometimes alms are demanded, either so that expenses for the dispatching of letters of absolution may be paid, or as a charitable compensation for scandals given: in which case money thus collected is to be expended for pious uses. J. H. Newman refutes this splendidly (op. cit., p. 112-113).

614. Corollaries. (a) Indulgences can be applied to the faithful departed detained in purgatory by way of suffrage, that is, not by way of absolution, but by way of satisfaction and payment of debt, insofar as the satisfactions of Christ and of the Saints, stored up in the treasury of the Church, are offered to God in compensation for the punishment to be expiated by the departed. "For there is no reason," says St. Thomas,² "why the Church can transfer the common merits, on which indulgences rest, to the living and not to the dead." For Christ satisfied for all, and His satisfactions can be applied both to the living and to the departed by him who enjoys legitimate authority. In reality, the Roman Pontiffs, already at least from the ninth century, granted indulgences of this kind; thus John VIII (878) and John IX (900).¹ Hence Pius VI condemned as false, rash, and offensive to pious ears the proposition of the Synod of Pistoia asserting "that still more lamentable is this: that this chimerical application [of indulgences] has been willed to be transferred to the departed." (Denzing., n. 1405.)

² Suppl., q. 71, a. 10.

¹ Cf. Mabillon, preface in century VI Bened., n. 108.

Yet power of this kind is so exercised that these indulgences are directly applied to the living by way of juridical absolution, and only indirectly to the dead, by way of payment of debt. For, as St. Thomas says (l. cit.), directly and principally he receives the indulgence who does that for which the indulgence is given; hence, since the dead cannot do anything of those things which are prescribed, indulgences cannot directly have force for them. Therefore the granting of an indulgence for the departed comes to this: that, by force of the authority of the Church, the living faithful person, who performs the pious work to which it is attached, can apply to the departed the remission of punishment which, by gaining the indulgence, he acquires.

615. (b) Indulgences have force not only before the Church, for taking away canonical penalties, but also before God for remitting temporal punishments owed to sins. This is certain from the condemnation of the contrary opinion which the Synod of Pistoia had defended.² For, as St. Thomas rightly observes,³ the opinion of the adversaries is expressly against the privilege given to Peter, to whom it was said that what he remitted on earth would be remitted in heaven. Hence the remission which is made as to the forum of the Church also has force as to the forum of God. Moreover the Church granting indulgences of this kind would harm rather than help, since in purgatory punishments would have to be endured which she would remit on earth.

² Ap. Denzinger, n. 1403.

³ Suppl., q. 25, a. 1.

616. 1° Principle. For granting indulgences there is required the power of jurisdiction in the internal forum, with authority over the treasury of the Church, and a reasonable cause. It is said:

(a) The power of jurisdiction, because here there is question of a judicial act, but not of the conferral of a sacrament; (b) in the internal forum, because temporal punishment is remitted not only before the Church, but also before God; (c) with authority over the treasury of the Church, because an indulgence is not only absolution, but also payment of some debt, by the help of satisfactions which are contained in the treasury of the Church; (d) and with reasonable cause, and indeed for validity, as all confess; for ecclesiastical Superiors are only administrators of the treasury of the Church, and therefore cannot distribute it unless a just cause accedes, and without prejudice to the right which God has of exacting some punishment from sinners. But because nothing is required of a steward except that he act according to the rules of prudence, that cause will be sufficient which shall seem to Superiors just and proportionate.

A just cause can be to promote the recitation of certain prayers or the fulfillment of pious works, by granting indulgences, so that prayers may be poured forth or works performed more frequently and fervently; or some public utility, or gratitude toward those who have labored for the good of the Church; in one word, whatever can promote the good of souls or the extension of the Church.

617. 2° Corollary. Indulgences can be granted by:

(A) The Supreme Pontiff, who has supreme authority over the treasury of the Church, and can grant indulgences to the faithful of the whole Catholic world, plenary and partial, for the living and for the departed. Moreover all indulgences granted by the Roman Pontiff, unless another thing is established, are applicable to those living in Purgatory (can. 930). Likewise he can bestow them in whatever way seems good to him, by an oracle of the living voice¹ or in writing, immediately or mediately through the organ of some Congregation. Faculties which once, concerning this matter, were granted to the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, today pertain to the Sacred Penitentiary.¹

¹ "Those who have obtained from the Supreme Pontiff grants of indulgences for all the faithful are bound, under penalty of nullity of the grace obtained, to deliver authentic copies of the same grants to the Sacred Penitentiary." (Code, c. 920.)

¹ With the right of the Holy Office saved "of seeing those things which regard dogmatic doctrine concerning indulgences or concerning new prayers and devotions." Code, c. 258, § 2.

"Besides the Roman Pontiff, to whom the dispensation of the whole spiritual treasury of the Church has been committed by Christ the Lord, only those can by ordinary power bestow indulgences to whom this has been expressly conceded by law."²

² Code, c. 912.

618. (B) Ecclesiastical Superiors inferior to the Pope cannot grant indulgences applicable to the departed;³ - nor add other indulgences to crosses, medals, etc., blessed by the Pope or by another delegate, or to acts or to a sodality⁴ to which indulgences have already been attached, unless new conditions are imposed; - nor divide the same act of piety into parts, and grant to each part all the indulgences which they can bestow; - nor commit to others the faculty of granting indulgences, unless this has been expressly granted to them by the Apostolic See.⁵ Moreover they must observe the norms which the Roman Pontiff himself follows in granting indulgences. These things having been posited:

³ Code, c. 913, n. 2.

⁴ Code, c. 913, n. 3.

⁵ Code, c. 913, n. 1.

(a) Residential Bishops, from possession having been taken, have the right of granting indulgences of fifty days in the places of their jurisdiction.⁶ When a church or altar is consecrated, the consecrating Bishop, although he lacks jurisdiction in the territory, grants an indulgence of one year to those visiting the church or altar on the day itself of consecration, but on the anniversary day fifty days, if he is a Bishop; one hundred, if an Archbishop; two hundred, if a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.⁷

⁶ Code, c. 349, § 2, n. 2.

⁷ Code, c. 1166.

Archbishops in their own diocese and in their own province can grant an indulgence of one hundred days.⁸

⁸ Code, c. 274, n. 1.

(b) Cardinals "enjoy the faculty of granting indulgences of two hundred days, to be gained even toties quoties, in places or institutes and for persons of their jurisdiction or protection; likewise in other places, but only by those present, to be gained each time⁹."

⁹ Code, c. 239, § 1, n. 24.

We shall speak: 1° concerning those to whom indulgences can be granted, 2° concerning the conditions for gaining indulgences.

619. 1° Indulgences cannot be granted except to those who are: (a) baptized, because the power of the Church is not exercised over those who are outside; (b) not excommunicated,¹ since all separated from her by that very fact are deprived of the goods which pertain to the communion of Saints; (c) subjects of the one granting, even outside the territory, since an indulgence is an act of jurisdiction, and by law it has been established that pilgrims can gain local indulgences; the same must be said of Regulars, even exempt, who in favorable matters are not excluded from episcopal jurisdiction;² (d) capable of sinning, since the punishment owed to sin cannot be remitted when no sin has been committed; therefore children before the use of reason and those perpetually insane are incapable.

¹ Code, c. 925, § 1.

² Code, c. 927.

620. 2° Conditions necessary for gaining indulgences:

(A) The state of grace,³ at that moment of time at which the indulgence is to be gained, namely generally at that instant at which the last prescribed work is performed: for temporal punishment cannot be remitted while guilt and eternal punishment have not yet been remitted.

³ Code, c. 925, § 1.

This indeed is certain as to indulgences for the living; but it is disputed as to indulgences for the departed, and when the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences was questioned concerning this matter, it responded:⁴ "Let him consult approved authors." Now Suarez⁵ holds that the state of grace is not required; for one gaining an indulgence for the departed obtains this effect not for himself, but for another: for this the execution of the prescribed work suffices; but Lugo with others more probably affirms,⁶ because the departed person does not acquire an indulgence except insofar as some living person gains it and applies it to the departed; moreover the living person cannot gain the same unless he is in the state of grace. - Yet an exception can be admitted for the indulgence of a privileged altar, which is applied to the departed by the priest, not as a private person, but insofar as he represents the Church.

⁴ Decret. authent., n. 341, February 22, 1847.

⁵ Suarez, disp. LIII, sect. 4, n. 5-6.

⁶ Lugo, disp. XXVII, n. 75.

Moreover, if there is question of a plenary indulgence to be gained totally, detestation of all venial sins is required, since the punishment owed even to venial sin cannot be remitted unless first the fault itself is forgiven. Yet if the plenary indulgence is not obtained totally, because of affection toward some venial sins, it can be acquired partially, insofar as the punishment of those sins concerning which contrition is had is remitted.¹

¹ Code, can. 926.

621. (B) The intention of gaining indulgences, not indeed a special one, by which someone intends specifically to gain this or that indulgence; but a general one, by which someone wishes to acquire all the indulgences which he can, even if he does not know whether they are attached to such or such a work. Nor is an actual intention required, but a virtual intention suffices, indeed more probably a habitual one, namely one which has once been elicited and not retracted. Yet an interpretative intention, which in reality does not exist, does not suffice, whatever a few may have said to the contrary;² for books concerning Indulgences published with special approval of the Holy See require a true intention.³ - Indeed it is an excellent counsel to renew daily the intention of gaining all and each indulgence which can be acquired in the course of the day, so that the works to which indulgences are attached may be performed more promptly and more fervently.

² Baller. P., n. 27.

³ Cf. Raccolta, Introduction, p. VII-VIII.

622. (C) The fulfillment of the prescribed works; for this is the condition under which indulgences are granted, so that, the condition not being fulfilled, the effect is not obtained. Hence here neither ignorance, nor impotence, nor good faith excuses:⁴ for there is question of a benefit to be obtained, to which there is no right; therefore no injury is done if, the condition lacking, the indulgence is not granted.

⁴ Raccolta, p. VIII.

Yet if only a very small part of the enjoined work is omitted, for example, one Pater and Ave in the recitation of the rosary, the indulgence is acquired, because in a moral matter a little is reputed as nothing. - Moreover, with the consent of the Confessor acceding, certain other works can be substituted for the prescribed works, when these cannot morally be fulfilled.⁵

⁵ Code, can. 935.

623. The prescribed works must be performed according to the manner and circumstances determined by the Superior.

(a) As to the manner, the works must be fulfilled personally, i.e., by the very person who intends to gain the indulgence, except alms, which can be given through another, provided that one gives from his own goods; - by a morally good act, because God evidently cannot be placated by a sinful act; therefore an act intended solely toward an evil end would not profit; but if to a work good in itself there were mixed some venial sin, suppose that of vainglory, the indulgence could nevertheless be obtained; - by a work not otherwise strictly obligatory, unless the contrary intention of the one granting is established; for regularly we cannot by one action satisfy two obligations, each of which demands individual actions; thus those who are bound to the canonical hours cannot through them satisfy the prayers prescribed for gaining a plenary indulgence;¹ but Paschal communion suffices for satisfying the precept of annual communion and for gaining the indulgence of the papal blessing;² likewise, from a recent decree, June 14, 1901, a penitent, fulfilling prayers and other works imposed by the confessor for penance, enriched with indulgences, can at the same time both satisfy the penance and gain the indulgences.³

¹ Thus the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 29, 1841, Decret. authent., n. 291, ad 2.

² Decreta authent., n. 288, March 19, 1841; and n. 327, May 10, 1844.

³ Ap. Acta S. Sedis, XXXIV, p. 125-126. Cf. Code, c. 932.

If from various titles various indulgences have been attached to some thing or work, regularly not all the indulgences can be acquired unless the enjoined works are renewed; thus if to one crown both Apostolic indulgences and indulgences of the Rosary have been applied, both cannot be obtained unless the rosary is recited twice.⁴

⁴ Code, c. 933.

(b) As to the circumstances, the works must be performed in the place and time predefined, in the manner to be explained below. Here we shall set forth only the manner of computing time, according to the decisions of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences. - Commonly indulgences are affixed to the natural day; now the natural day is computed from midnight to midnight; hence, unless another thing is expressly said, we can gain indulgences affixed to such a day from midnight.⁵ - But sometimes an indulgence can be acquired, as often happens on feasts, during the whole ecclesiastical day, i.e., from first vespers, namely from the time at which vespers are commonly accustomed to be publicly recited⁶ (the middle hour between noon and sunset) until sunset of the following day, i.e., the evening twilight which often endures one hour after sunset.

⁵ Decreta authent., n. 434, January 18, 1878.

⁶ Raccolta, p. XVII; hence the opinion holding that the ecclesiastical day begins at the second afternoon hour does not seem sufficiently safe. Cf. Melata, op. cit., p. 54.

624. (D) Among the various prescribed works, the principal ones are confession, communion, visitation of a church, certain prayers, concerning which we shall note a few things.

(a) Confession, when it is required, must be performed even by those who are in the state of grace; it must be sacramental, or in order to absolution, although it is not necessary to receive absolution. - If several indulgences to be gained on the same day require confession, one confession suffices for acquiring them all. Indeed, "the faithful of Christ who are accustomed, unless they are legitimately impeded, at least twice in the month to approach the sacrament of penance, or to receive holy communion in the state of grace and with a right and pious mind daily, although once or twice through the week they abstain from the same, can obtain all indulgences, even without actual confession which otherwise would be necessary for gaining them, except indulgences either of the ordinary and extraordinary jubilee or after the manner of a jubilee."¹

¹ Code, c. 931, § 3.

Moreover, "for gaining any indulgences whatsoever, a confession perhaps required can be made within the eight days which immediately precede the day to which the indulgence has been affixed," or "even within the entire following octave."²

² Code, c. 931, § 1.

(b) Communion can be received on the vigil of that day to which the indulgence is annexed or "even within the entire following octave."³

³ Ibid.

(c) Visitation of a church is prescribed for certain indulgences. If the visitation of some determinate church is enjoined, for example, the parish church, this indeed must be visited, unless a legitimate commutation has been made; otherwise, the visitation can be made in any church or public oratory whatsoever, and indeed "from noon of the preceding day, until the midnight which closes the appointed day."⁴

⁴ Code, c. 923.

Moreover, by force of a privilege granted by Pius X, on January 14, 1909, the faithful of either sex, who, for the pursuit of perfection or for the sake of instruction or education or even of health, live a common life in houses lacking a church or public chapel, established with the consent of the Ordinaries, and also all persons dwelling there for ministering to them,⁵ whenever the visitation of some non-determined church or of some indeterminate public oratory is prescribed, can visit the chapel of their own house, in which by law they can satisfy the obligation of hearing Mass.

⁵ Thus the Code, c. 929. Cf. Holy Office, June 24, 1909. A. A. S., I, 210.

(d) Prayers to be recited are generally prescribed for plenary indulgences and sometimes for partial ones. Mental prayer does not suffice, but at least certain vocal prayers are required. These indeed are not determined, but are permitted to the judgment of anyone; the shortest prayer does not suffice, but five Pater and Ave, or something equivalent, are required.

"If a particular prayer has been assigned, indulgences can be acquired in whatever language the prayer is recited, provided that the fidelity of the version is established from the declaration either of the Sacred Penitentiary or of one of the Ordinaries of the place where the language into which the prayer is translated is common; but indulgences entirely cease because of any addition, subtraction, or interpolation. For the acquisition of indulgences it is enough to recite the prayer alternately with a companion or to follow it with the mind while it is recited by another."¹

¹ Code, c. 934.

(e) "Confessors can commute into other works the pious works enjoined for gaining indulgences for those who, detained by a legitimate impediment, cannot perform the same."² "Indulgences annexed to feasts or sacred supplications or novendial, septenary, or triduan prayers, which are performed before or after the feast or even while its octave lasts, are understood to be transferred to that day to which feasts of this kind are legitimately transferred, if the transferred feast has an office with Mass without solemnity and external celebration and the transfer is made in perpetuity, or if the solemnity and external celebration is transferred either for a time or in perpetuity."³

² Code, c. 935.

³ Code, c. 922.

(E) Indulgence or blessing in the article of death: 1) "The parish priest or another priest who assists the sick has the faculty of granting them the apostolic blessing with plenary indulgence in the article of death, according to the form handed down by approved liturgical books; let him not omit to impart this blessing."⁴

⁴ Code, c. 468, § 2.

2. This indulgence is altogether distinguished from the plenary indulgence which all can gain in the article of death, without any blessing, who hold some object to which Apostolic indulgences are attached, or who are members of a Confraternity to which such a privilege has been granted.

3. From the concession of Pope Pius X, March 9, 1904, any Christian can gain for himself a plenary indulgence for the instant of his death, provided that he recites the prescribed formula, by which he receives death with all its distresses with an even and willing soul, and fulfills the other conditions (confession, communion).

N. B. The deaf-mute and the mute can gain indulgences for which vocal prayer is desired: if public prayers are enjoined, by devoutly joining themselves to the praying people and praying mentally; if visitation of a church is privately prescribed, by praying there mentally; if prayers are to be recited privately, by performing the pious works which the confessor, in place of prayers, shall enjoin,⁵ or by pouring forth the enjoined prayers by signs, or mentally, or by reading them without any pronunciation.⁶ (Cf. Can. 936.)

⁵ Decret. authent., n. 355, March 15, 1852.

⁶ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 18, 1902.

628. 1° On Suspension. Indulgences can be suspended in a twofold manner: (a) from the very nature of the matter, when one of the essential conditions required for gaining them ceases for a time, for example, when the stations of the Way of the Cross are removed so that they may again be placed in the same place; (b) extrinsically, or from the will of the one granting, an example of which is had in the time of Jubilee, when almost all other indulgences are suspended, from the things to be said below.

629. 2° On Translation. It can occur in two ways, as to place and time.

(a) As to place, a local indulgence is transferred when the competent Superior orders it no longer to be gained in the place to which it had been attached, but in another determinate place; this is done especially when the community which held the former place migrates to another.

(b) As to time, when an indulgence granted for some time is transferred to another; this especially has place in indulgences granted for some feast. Now an indulgence annexed to some feast is transferred whenever the external solemnity is transferred, although the office and Mass are not transferred;¹ but if there is question of feasts which are accustomed to be performed without solemnity, when the feast is transferred in perpetuity, the indulgence is transferred;² but when the feast is transferred by accident, the indulgence remains affixed to the day. - Yet such an indulgence cannot be acquired twice; for example, if someone at Rome has gained the indulgence annexed to the feast of the Immaculate Conception, he cannot acquire the same at Paris if he is in that city at the time when the transferred solemnity is celebrated.

¹ Decret. authent., n. 360, August 9, 1852.

² Decret. authent., n. 435, January 12, 1878.

630. 3° On Cessation. Indulgences can cease:

(a) Through the death of the one granting, if this has been expressed in the grant itself either explicitly, or implicitly, for example, if the clause at my good pleasure or another similar one has been added, but not at the good pleasure of the See, because the See does not die.

(b) Through the revocation of the competent Superior sufficiently promulgated.

(c) Through the death of the person, or the legitimate extinction of the College, to which they had been granted; but if some College has been illegitimately suppressed, and afterwards revives, the indulgences likewise revive.

(d) Through the destruction of the place or things to which the indulgences were attached, if it is total physically and morally; but not if the thing in common estimation, although physically renewed, remains morally the same. Hence they are not lost if the thing is renewed even totally by successive repairs, indeed if an altar is destroyed, yet in such a way that a new one is built in the same place and under the same title.³

³ Decret. authent., n. 317, April 24, 1843.

N. B. Through the transfer of ownership of a movable thing, for example, a rosary, to which an indulgence is attached, the indulgence now no longer ceases; for the decree of Alexander VII forbidding that transfer has been abrogated by the Sacred Penitentiary (February 18, 1921).

631. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Jubilee was instituted or confirmed by Boniface VIII, who granted a plenary indulgence and other spiritual favors for the year 1300, and for each following hundredth year; afterwards Clement VI decreed that the Jubilee should be celebrated in each fiftieth year, beginning from 1350; finally Paul II willed that it should have place in each twenty-fifth year, beginning from 1475.

¹ Besides the works already cited on Indulgences in general, cf. Navarrus, Comment. de Jubilaeo, Rome, 1575; Viva, de Jubilaeo, Padua, 1709; Theodoricus a S. Spir., Tract. historico-theologicus de Jubilaeo, Rome, 1750; Loiseaux, Traité Canonique et pratique du Jubilé, Paris, 1859; P. Bastien, O.S.B., Tr. de Jubilaeo, Brussels, 1901; H. Thurston, S.J., The Holy Year of Jubilee, St. Louis, 1900.

Division:

On the notion and species of the Jubilee;

On the works to be executed for gaining the Jubilee;

On the faculties granted during the time of the Jubilee;

On the suspension of graces during the time of the Jubilee.

632. 1° Notion. The Jubilee is nothing other than a plenary indulgence, heaped up with various privileges by the Roman Pontiff. Therefore it differs from a plenary indulgence only accidentally, namely by reason of the solemnity and the privileges which are annexed to it.

633. 2° Species. The Jubilee is twofold, ordinary and extraordinary.

(a) The former, which is also called the major Jubilee, or simply the Jubilee, is that which recurs in each twenty-fifth year. Generally it is first celebrated at Rome through an entire year, which is called the holy year; then in the following year it is extended to the whole world for a shorter time, commonly for six months. At Rome it begins from the first Vespers of the Nativity of the Lord, which precede the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 100th year of each century, and it is concluded at the second Vespers of the Nativity of the following year.

(b) The latter, or extraordinary Jubilee, which is also called minor, is that which the Roman Pontiff, according to his judgment, grants for some time, on account of a grave cause. Thus commonly each new Pontiff grants a Jubilee after his exaltation, and besides, in the greater necessities or solemnities of the Church. This Jubilee is customarily celebrated at the same time at Rome and throughout the whole world.

(c) Besides each of these Jubilees, which is universal, as granted to all the faithful, there is sometimes given a particular Jubilee, which is granted to some province or place; such is the Jubilee granted to the Aniciensis church whenever the feast of the Annunciation falls on the day of Parasceve.

(d) Sometimes also plenary indulgences are given in the form or after the manner of a Jubilee, for giving greater honor to some place and for more greatly exciting the piety of the faithful; these indeed do not differ from ordinary indulgences except by reason of solemnity.

Here it must be noted that the rules to be observed in a Jubilee, whether ordinary or extraordinary, were handed down by Benedict XIV,¹ and that they are to be observed even today in all things in which a special Bull published for each Jubilee does not stand against them.²

¹ Bull Peregrinantes, May 5, 1749, by which the Jubilee is proclaimed; Bull Cum nos super, May 17, 1749, where indulgences and faculties are suspended; Bull Convocatis, November 25, 1749, by which faculties are granted to the Penitentiaries of the City; Bull Inter praeteritas, December 3, 1749, concerning questions and controversies about the works enjoined; Bull Paterna caritas, December 17, 1749, by which provision is made for Nuns, Oblates, etc.; Bull Benedictus Deus, December 25, 1750, by which the Jubilee is extended to the whole world; Bull Celebrationem, January 1, 1751, concerning the extension of the Jubilee.

² Decret. authent., n. 353, March 15, 1852.

634. For gaining the Jubilee various works are prescribed, namely for the ordinary Jubilee: confession and communion, and also visitations of churches; for the extraordinary Jubilee: in addition, fasting and alms. - In executing these, no order is required, provided that the last work is performed in the state of grace. But the general rule is that works already owed from some other source do not suffice.³

³ Bull Inter praeteritos, n. 53.

Nor is it necessary that all be completed in the same week, even for an extraordinary Jubilee;⁴ nor in one and the same place, so that confession can be made in one place and communion in another, provided that the special rules established by the Bishop of that place are observed.⁵

⁴ Sacred Penitentiary, March 16, 1865, in Acta S. Sedis, I, p. 176.

⁵ Sacred Penitentiary, January 15, 1886.

635. 1° On confession and communion. (a) Apart from a special concession, one cannot satisfy the paschal precept and gain the Jubilee by one confession and communion.⁶ Yet, with respect to confession, one can first confess in order to gain the Jubilee; and if afterwards, within the year, he has admitted no mortal sin, he will not be bound to confess, since the law of annual confession obliges only those who are conscious of grave sin (n. 245). Nor is absolution required, if one is in the state of grace, unless it is expressly said in the Bull, as in the year 1851, "having confessed their sins and having expiated them by sacramental absolution."

⁶ Sacred Penitentiary, January 25, 1875, in Acta S. Sedis, VIII, pp. 266-267; cf. p. 361.

(b) Confession and communion must be made during the time of the Jubilee, but not on the vigil, unless from first Vespers, when it is already customarily begun at Rome.

(c) He who, after confession has been performed, falls into mortal sin before he has completed the last work, must repeat confession, so that by sacramental absolution he may recover grace;¹ nor is it sufficient for him to elicit perfect contrition.

¹ Bull Inter praeteritos, n. 79.

636. 2° On the visitation of churches. Which churches are to be visited, and how often, the Supreme Pontiff designates in the City, and the Bishop of each diocese outside the City.

(A) Thus for the year 1900, Leo XIII prescribed² that the four basilicas of Blessed Peter and Paul, St. John Lateran, and St. Mary Major should be visited at least once in the day for twenty continuous or interposed days, whether natural or ecclesiastical, by inhabitants residing at Rome; for at least ten days by pilgrims. But if those residing in the City, or on the journey itself, are prevented by illness or by another legitimate cause from making certain or all visitations, they can nevertheless gain the Jubilee by performing other works enjoined by confessors.

² Bull Properante, in Act. S. Sedis, XXXI, p. 644 sq.

(B) Outside the City, (a) Bishops determine, according to the Bull of the Pontiff, how many churches and how often they are to be visited. In places where there is one church, they can grant that all the prescribed visitations be made in this church; this power was given to them in the year 1852 in a general manner,³ so that they enjoy it even if the Bull of the Jubilee is silent concerning this matter. They can also designate a public oratory, if Mass is habitually celebrated in it.⁴

³ Decret. authent., n. 353, March 15, 1852.

⁴ Sacred Penitentiary, January 15, 1886, in Act. S. Sedis, XVIII, p. 334.

(b) If the same church must be visited several times, this can be done on the same day or on distinct days, unless in the Bull of the Jubilee it is defined otherwise. But visitations made in the same church must be so distinguished from each other that each time it is necessary to go out from the church in order that a new visitation can be made.

(c) Regulars cannot gain the Jubilee by performing the prescribed visitations in their own church, unless they have obtained a special privilege from the Roman Pontiff.⁵ But if they are legitimately impeded from visiting the churches designated by the Ordinary, each one can obtain commutation from his own confessor.

⁵ Sacred Penitentiary, 1875, in Act. S. Sedis, VIII, p. 554.

(d) Often also the number of visitations is diminished by instituting processions, with the license of the Bishop, from a special privilege granted by the Holy See. In which case the faithful who, because of the narrowness of the church or oratory, remain outside the doors and pray with the others, form one body morally, and therefore satisfy the visitation for gaining the Jubilee, provided, however, that all who can be contained in the church enter it. Likewise, if because of a legitimate reason processions are made with vestments not choral, without a cross, with psalmody in a low voice, or even without any chant, this is valid.¹

¹ Sacred Penitentiary, in Act. S. Sedis, VIII, p. 554; vol. XXXIV, p. 638; vol. XXXV, p. 43.

637. 3° On fasting. (a) In extraordinary Jubilees a fast of three days is usually prescribed; this imports abstinence from meat; indeed also from eggs and lacticinia, if it is prescribed for the time of Lent. Sometimes, outside Lent, the same strict fast (i.e., abstinence not only from meat, but from eggs and lacticinia) is imposed, namely whenever in the Bull it is said, "using fasting foods²."

² Since in certain regions it is very difficult to observe such a fast, Bishops can approach the Holy See, so that this mandate may be softened.

(b) That fast must be distinct from the fast already established by the Church, unless otherwise is declared in the Bull explicitly or implicitly.

(c) Often the three fasts are enjoined to be performed in the same week, on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; but if no day is assigned, they can be made at any time whatsoever, outside days of fasting by precept.

(d) A fast of this kind must be observed even by those who otherwise are excused from the law of fast; but if they are not able to fast, the confessor can commute this work into another.³

³ Decret. authent., n. 425, July 10, 1869, ad 8.

638. 4° On alms. (a) If it is prescribed "according to the judgment or devotion of each one," any donation will be sufficient, provided that it is not so small that it is reputed as nothing; but if it is prescribed "according to the means of each one," it is necessary that there be some proportion between the alms and the fortune of the person; whence an obol will indeed suffice for a poor person, but not for a rich person; indeed the poor can obtain from the confessor a commutation of the alms into another work.

(b) Alms can be made through another, for example, through a superior, if there is question of the members of some community, or through the father of a family, if there is question of a wife or children, or through a rich person in the name of a poor person; provided, however, that the alms is bestowed with their knowledge.

Character of the article

86. 1. By this first article concerning indulgences, severity is exercised against apocryphal indulgences, yet in such a way that simple faithful are burdened with no excessive weight. Wherefore:

Force of the law

2. The spreading of apocryphal and proscribed or revoked indulgences is strictly prohibited; to ecclesiastical Superiors is commended the care of taking them from the hands of the faithful; but upon the faithful themselves who have received such sheets or booklets nothing is directly enjoined. Therefore it will be sufficient if they obey commands which are promulgated concerning this matter by their Superiors. Thus the common opinion.

What apocryphal, proscribed, revoked indulgences are

3. Apocryphal indulgences are those which have not emanated from legitimate power; proscribed, those which have been pierced by a positive decree; revoked, those which were legitimate but afterwards abrogated.

Norms for discerning apocryphal Indulgences

4. On August 3-10, 1890, the Sacred Congregation promulgated these norms, by which true Indulgences could be distinguished from counterfeit ones:

Rule I. All indulgences which are contained in the most recent collection published by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences¹ are authentic.

Rule II. General indulgences which are not exhibited in the above-said collection, or which are said to have been granted after the Collection was published, are then only to be held as authentic when the autograph document of the granting of the same has been recognized by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, to which, under penalty of nullity, it must be exhibited before they are published.

Rule III. Indulgences granted to Orders and religious Congregations, Archconfraternities, Confraternities, Archsodalities, Sodalities, pious Unions, pious Societies, certain more celebrated Churches, pious Places, and Objects of devotion, which are contained in Summaries recognized and approved by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, and published in print by its authority or permission, are to be held authentic.

Rule IV. Indulgences, whether general or particular, are not to be held as authentic which are contained in books, in booklets, in summaries, in sheets, in little papers, or even in images, printed without the approval of competent authority; which approval is to be granted after diligent review, and distinctly expressed.

Rule V. Apocryphal, or now entirely revoked, are all indulgences of a thousand or many thousands of years, at whatever time they may be said to have been granted.

Rule VI. Plenary indulgences are to be held suspect which are asserted to have been granted to those reciting only a few words: excepting Indulgences at the moment of death.

Rule VII. As apocryphal are to be rejected indulgences which are carried about in booklets, sheets, or little papers, printed or manuscript, in which, from slight or even superstitious causes and uncertain revelations, or under illusory conditions, indulgences and graces exceeding usage and measure are promised.

Rule VIII. As counterfeit are to be rejected sheets and booklets in which there is promised to the faithful reciting one or another prayer the liberation of one or several souls from Purgatory; and Indulgences which are commonly added to the said promise are to be held as apocryphal.

Rule IX. Indulgences of more recent asserted concession, if they are extended to an unusual number of years or days, are to be held as apocryphal, or at least as gravely suspect.

¹ The collection is entitled: Raccolta di orazioni e pie opere per le quali sono state concesse dai Sommi Pontefici le Indulgenze, Rome, Propaganda Fide, 1898.

Which authority is competent

87. 1. From the declaration of the Sacred Congregation of the Index, August 7, 1897,¹ competent authority must be understood according to the norms of the prior law, to which by this pronouncement the present article seems tacitly to have referred us back; but the norms can be exhibited briefly thus:²

Concerning apostolic Indulgences

The catalogue of Indulgences which individual Supreme Pontiffs commonly annex to crosses and things which receive the Apostolic Blessing (les Indulgences papales) cannot be published or again edited without license of the Holy See.³

Concerning summaries

New Summaries, or collected Indulgences from various grants, must be approved by the Sacred Congregation set over Indulgences and Sacred Relics.⁴

Yet for summaries of confraternities which are customarily erected by the Superiors of Orders, and of archconfraternities or primary congregations which exist outside the City, the approval of the Bishop of the place where the Orders or archconfraternities have their principal seat suffices.⁵

Summaries already approved and particular Indulgences, provided these are established from an apostolic Brief or Rescript, can be published by the authority of the Bishop.⁶

The law of Benedict XIV is recalled

Benedict XIV gave more severe decrees concerning the spreading of indulgences, since he wished no summaries or books of indulgences to come to light unless approved by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences. Wherefore where our article has: "without the license of competent authority," he had written: "without the license of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences." But afterwards a more benign usage prevailed, confirmed by the decrees themselves of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences. Pennacchi discusses the history of this discipline.

What if censure has been omitted?

2. Yet if, the due review having been omitted, these books, summaries, etc., are published, they are not proscribed. Pennacchi⁷ proves this broadly, and it follows from the general canon which we handed down above. The distinguished Palmieri, on this place, is of the same opinion.

What of images destined for remembering death, first Mass?

3. Images composed for the pious memory of a deceased person, or of a priest's first Mass (souvenirs pieux, de 1° Messe), although they contain one or another prayer which they praise as endowed with an Indulgence, are not sheets of Indulgences. Wherefore, as usage sufficiently proves, they are immune from this rule.⁸

¹ C. Gennari, Monit., cited place, p. 67, had thought that the old Decrees were abrogated, and that nothing was now required except the license of the Bishop.

² Pennacchi, cited work, n. 55, pp. 319, 327, hands down the documents at length.

³ Thus Leo XIII (Rescr. auth. S. C. Indulg., pp. 345-348); thus our Most Holy Lord Pius Pp. X, August 28, 1903, A. S. S., t. 36, pp. 125-128.

⁴ Authentic Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, n. 383.

⁵ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 8, 1861 (Decr. auth., n. 388).

⁶ Authentic Decrees, n. 383.

⁷ Cited work, n. 55. Against this, Hollweck, p. 36, note 3, and p. 37, on account of the reason rejected above in n. 52: because the article is contained in the chapter concerning the prohibition of books.

⁸ Hollweck, p. 36, note 3. Thus also Boudinhon, cited work, p. 155.

(cc. 911-936)

Utility. - By accurate knowledge of indulgences, the confessor will not only distribute more fully and securely to the faithful the spiritual riches of the Church, but also, every appearance of superstition excluded, will inculcate right and solid devotion, and will prepare weapons for himself to refute the enemies and calumniators of the Church.

— Appendix XIII belongs to this section. Historical. Cf. Appendix XIII.

— C. 911 defines an indulgence: "the remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins already deleted as to guilt, which ecclesiastical authority from the treasury of the Church grants for the living by way of absolution, for the dead by way of suffrage."

Therefore an indulgence says remission before God, and not before the Church, for example of punishment due from a judicial sentence; remission of punishment, not of guilt itself. If sometimes, in the more ancient monuments, speech is made about pardoning sins, this has a suitable explanation, insofar as by the name of sin there is designated not only the guilt of fault but also the guilt of punishment; remission of temporal punishment, because eternal punishment is freely pardoned with grave guilt; due for sins already deleted as to guilt, for no punishment is remitted in the forum of God while guilt remains; which ecclesiastical authority, by force of the mission entrusted by Christ, "whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them"; from the treasury of the Church, that is, from the satisfactions chiefly of Christ, secondarily of the saints, entrusted to the Church; for the living, by way of absolution, or of true jurisdiction, which therefore confers an inviolate title of obtaining the indulgence; for the dead, by way of suffrage, that is, by praying, indeed with most efficacious prayer, yet subject to the laws of prayer.

Insofar as it is given by absolving the living, and is directed to the full extinguishing of sin, it is closely connected with the sacrament of Penance. How this bond is also historically confirmed we saw in n. 545, on sacramental Penance, and cf. the Appendix. Therefore the chapter on indulgences is aptly placed here. Moreover the same canon decrees that all the faithful should esteem indulgences highly.

Namely, the power of the keys handed over to the Church also has force for remitting the punishments of sins. But its dispensation must be reasonable. Now absolution from punishments becomes reasonable from the fact that at the same time payment is offered from the treasuries of the Church, and the good work, namely devotion, etc., which seems to ecclesiastical Superiors to be promoted for the end of the Church, is given or promoted by its own quasi-reward. Therefore, in present discipline, an indulgence granted to the living grows together, as it were, from three elements: absolution, full or partial, from punishments; payment of the debt, from the treasuries of the Church; and performance of a good work as a condition, which together with payment makes the absolution reasonable.

When application is made for the dead, the Church, after the prescribed work has been fulfilled by the faithful person, offers to God her intercession together with payment of the debt, that souls may be freed wholly or partly from purgatorial fire. For the most part she permits the option to the living person either of gaining the indulgence or of applying it to the dead. Sometimes, however, the indulgence is granted either for the living person alone or for the dead alone. The Church could permit application to another living person, but hitherto has not permitted it. That these things may be better understood, cf. the historical Appendix and also above, n. 545.

— Conditions of a valid concession. The power of the Church is demonstrated in the dogmatic school. But neither licitly nor validly is an indulgence granted without cause, since power has been given for dispensing, not for dissipating or squandering; but "whatever cause is present which tends to the utility of the Church and the honor of God, is a sufficient reason for granting indulgences" (St. Thomas, 4 Sent., d. 20, q. 1, art. 3, q. 2). Nor is strict proportion required between the work and the indulgence, since the work is the condition and not the cause of the remission. Yet some fittingness between the indulgence and its conditions is necessary, that is, the fittingness which makes the concession reasonable. This is to be measured not only from the difficulty of the work, but also from the intended end and the relation of the work to that end. Thus public protestations of faith in the primacy of the Roman Pontiff yield not a little to the glory of God, so that a very great indulgence can be offered to those voluntarily present.

— I. Variety of indulgences. 1. A plenary or total indulgence is distinguished from a partial indulgence. A plenary indulgence, obtained completely, takes away every temporal punishment due for sins. Such also is the indulgence of jubilee, which nevertheless differs accidentally from another plenary indulgence on account of the annexed privileges of dispensing in certain vows, absolving from censures and from reserved things, and the greater hope of truly obtaining the whole indulgence, on account of the greater works required as conditions, and on account of the common effort of Christian society (cf. Beringer-Steinen, Die Ablasse, I, 26 and II, 1008).

A partial indulgence is one of one or several years, or days, or quarantines. Here, however, there are not understood years, etc., which someone would have to remain in purgatorial fire, but years of canonical penance, with the efficacy of expiation of those years nevertheless preserved. That is, he who gains an indulgence of 100 days obtains the same remission of punishments to be paid to God which he would have obtained through one hundred days of canonical penance. But through certain Lenten times penitential discipline was more severe and more expiatory. Wherefore an indulgence of seven quarantines merits express mention.

Yet since the canonical discipline of penances was of various severity according to the variety of places and times, and no one has hitherto defined the times and places to which the concession refers, one must confess that partial indulgence labors under a certain uncertainty which could happily be removed.

Therefore it is clear that the estimation of a plenary indulgence formally differs from the estimation of a partial indulgence.

Yet a different signification is obtained by partial indulgence in c. 926, by which we are warned, according to the opinion already previously received, that a plenary indulgence has force as partial if the whole cannot be obtained.

For if, because of imperfect disposition of the subject, the fruit could not be anything except partial, we think that the punishments due for sins from which the penitent is alien in affection are entirely taken away, but that punishments remain for the sins, namely venial ones, toward which he has preserved an inordinate affection. Therefore partial indulgence signifies here complete expiation of certain sins, but not of all. How much is obtained when imperfect execution of the works has stood in the way of plenary fruit, we cannot define.

Formerly sometimes there was granted a plenary indulgence and so many years. Then, for him who did not gain the whole indulgence, there was available the partial indulgence of the customary form; or the plenary indulgence was converted into a partial one of the customary reckoning. Yet this kind of formula is explained differently by different authors (cf. Bellarmine, Controv., De indulg., c. 9).

2. According to its duration, an indulgence is distinguished as perpetual or temporary.

3. According to the object to which it is attached, it is either personal, which can be acquired only by certain persons, either simply or by means of enrollment in a religion, confraternity, etc.; local, which is obtained by all but only in a certain place; real, which is attached to possession or use of some thing. And it can also be mixed, so that some quality of the person and some possession or use of the thing are necessary. Such, before the last declaration of Benedict XV, were the so-called apostolic indulgences. For, after the first use of a thing enriched with these indulgences, this thing could not thereafter, with the possessor changed, benefit the new possessor.

4. There is an indulgence of ordinary form and a jubilee, or one in the form of a jubilee, which in some way imitates a jubilee in conditions and privileges.

The jubilee itself is ordinary or greater, and extraordinary or lesser. The ordinary, announced by Boniface VIII for individual centuries, by Clement VI for individual fifty-year periods, by Urban VIII for individual thirty-three-year periods, from Paul II, in 1475, was accustomed to be celebrated every twenty-fifth year. In the beginnings the jubilee was offered to be gained in the City alone; from the year 1500, under Pope Alexander VI, everywhere now opportunity is given of enjoying it, yet after the "holy" year celebrated at Rome. Yet in the year 1875, it was granted simply Urbi et Orbi.

An extraordinary jubilee is granted outside that time for some grave cause. For the end of a jubilee is not the indulgence, but the common good of the Church to be promoted by this reason.

How it differs accidentally, as to force and efficacy, from a plenary indulgence, we said in n. 619. In a jubilee the norms given by Benedict XIV in various Constitutions are to be observed, especially in the Constitutions Peregrinantes and Inter praeteritos, insofar as there is no derogation from them by the Bull of the jubilee. Confession and Communion distinct from annual and Paschal confession and Communion, and visits of churches, are accustomed to be prescribed. In an extraordinary jubilee, fasting with abstinence and alms are added. In the holy year itself, other indulgences, at least for the living, and faculties of absolving from reserved things and of dispensing, were accustomed to be suspended; yet again broad ones are conceded for those who intend to gain the jubilee. But suspensions of this kind are tempered more and more by exceptions.

5. Some indulgences are applicable to the dead; others profit only the one gaining them. They can never be acquired for others living in this life. But all indulgences granted by the Roman Pontiff, unless something else is established, are applicable to the dead (c. 930).

We judge that this holds equally of future indulgences and of past ones. The indulgence which has its name from a good death is not applicable to the dead.

But all indulgences acquired by him who has made the heroic vow in favor of the souls in purgatory become applicable to the dead; and he himself enjoys the daily personal privilege of the altar.

By the name of vow is indicated here a purpose, indeed perpetual but revocable without sin, by which someone renounces every satisfactory fruit of his works and the suffrages which after death will be offered for him, in favor of the souls in purgatory, whether of the souls which he himself defines in some way once or successively, or of the souls to which the Blessed Virgin wishes them to be applied. For this handing over into the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not essential; nor by his heroic act is someone prohibited from offering prescribed or otherwise due suffrages for definite dead persons.

The plenary indulgence which on the Commemoration of all the dead is available to be gained as often as the work is done cannot be acquired by the living except for the dead.

— In the Church, "the Pope principally, but others insofar as they receive power from him, either ordinary or delegated," can grant indulgences. Thus already St. Thomas, Quodlibet 2, art. 16, because the treasury of the Church "is in the dispensation of him who presides over the general Church"; and from c. 912, others besides the Roman Pontiff cannot bestow indulgences by ordinary power unless this has been expressly granted to them by law.

But those inferior to the Roman Pontiff cannot: 1. commit to others the faculty of granting indulgences, unless this has been expressly granted to them by the Holy See; 2. grant indulgences applicable to the dead; 3. add other indulgences to the same thing or act of piety or sodality to which indulgences have already been granted by the Apostolic See or by another, unless new conditions to be fulfilled are prescribed (c. 913).

Therefore there is here a certain right of prevention, by which the first one granting inhibits the power of another who is inferior to the Supreme Pontiff. But when a new condition is added, the indulgence is now not granted simply to the sodality or thing, so that the prohibited cumulation is avoided. The exclusion of indulgences applicable to the dead from the power of those inferior to the Supreme Pontiff was not so established before the Code (cf. for example Lehmk., II, 669). If any such indulgences applicable to the dead were then validly granted, we do not judge that they have perished.

— Cardinals can grant an indulgence of 200 days, even as often as the work is done, simply "in places or institutes and for persons of their jurisdiction or protection"; but in other places only to be gained by those present, on individual occasions (c. 239, §1, n. 24).

A Metropolitan can grant 100 days in the dioceses of suffragans as in his own diocese (c. 271, 2°).

A residential bishop from possession taken can grant 50 days in places of his jurisdiction (c. 349, §2, 2°). This can also be done by Vicars Apostolic and Prefects Apostolic, within the limits of their territory and while the office lasts, even if they lack episcopal character (c. 294, §2).

When a church or altar is consecrated, the consecrating bishop, although he lacks jurisdiction in the territory, grants an indulgence of one year to those visiting the church or altar on that day; but on the anniversary day, 50 days if he is a bishop; 100 if an archbishop; 200 if a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church (c. 1166, §3).

Nuncios and Apostolic Delegates have obtained broad faculties for the places of their mission of granting indulgences, even applicable by way of suffrage to souls detained in Purgatory. For a catalogue of these, cf. Epitome Iuris canonici, I, n. 715, p. 362.

But in the article of death, the pastor or another priest who assists the sick person can grant him the Apostolic blessing with plenary indulgence according to the prescribed form (c. 468, §2).

Priests enrolled in the Eucharistic priestly league can communicate in the sacrament of Penance, to the faithful who are accustomed at least five times in the week to approach the sacred synaxis, a plenary indulgence to be gained once in the week, and which seems to demand no other condition besides use of quasi-daily Communion. A priest can grant this for several weeks, at least as long as they confess to him (cf. Per., t. 2, p. 69; t. 3, p. 113 ff., or t. 2 and 3, p. 297-301).

— The Supreme Pontiff is accustomed to grant indulgences through the Sacred Penitentiary, to which a section concerning indulgences is annexed.⁽¹⁾ But a concession is either contained in a simple rescript, which then, if the concession is perpetual, has this clause: "These presents to be valid in perpetuity without any expedition of a Brief"; or it is expedited through the Secretariat of Briefs.

⁽¹⁾ For a long time there existed the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Relics, established by Clement IX, Brief In ipsis, July 6, 1669. This was suppressed by Pius X, Constitution Sapienti Consilio, June 29, 1908; and administration of indulgences was committed to the special section of the Congregation of the Holy Office. Benedict XV transferred to the Sacred Penitentiary the things which regard the use and concession of indulgences, "saving the right of the Holy Office of seeing those things which regard dogmatic doctrine concerning the same indulgences or concerning new prayers and devotions" (c. 258, §2).

But those who have obtained concessions of indulgences from the Supreme Pontiff for all the faithful are held by obligation, under penalty of nullity of the grace obtained, to bring authentic exemplars of those concessions to the Sacred Penitentiary.

Authentic exemplars, that is, a written document either signed by the hand proper of the Supreme Pontiff, or subscribed by a Cardinal or by a competent Official who testifies to the oracle of the living voice.

The clause "for all the faithful" is understood strictly, so that it regards only those indulgences which all the faithful everywhere and at every time, without special use of a blessed thing, can gain, but not those which demand a visit to a definite church (cf. Beringer-Steinen, Die Ablasse, I, 199, 200).

— The interpretation of indulgences must be broad or wide, with the propriety of words nevertheless preserved, because they are graces. Wherefore those are judged perpetual which are granted without limitation of time; and as often as the work is repeated, when there is not added: once in the day. Yet a plenary indulgence cannot regularly be obtained several times in the day by repeating the work (c. 928, §2). Since they are graces made, indulgences do not cease by the death of the one granting.

— Publication of indulgences. "New indulgences granted to churches, even of regulars, which have not been promulgated at Rome, are not to be made public without consulting the Ordinary" (c. 919, §1).

Promulgation at Rome is made regularly by insertion in Acta Apostolicae Sedis. But contrary to what several, for example R. P. Fanfani, De Indulgentiis, p. 25, seem to think, that prescription does not affect all indulgences, but those which are not merely personal, but granted to some church, altar, or group (ex c. 712, §1); nor is it a condition of validity, unless perhaps it is a question of indulgences which are communicated to a sodality by an archsodality (cf. Beringer-Steinen, I, 195-197).

— I. An indulgence is defined: the remission before God of temporal punishment due for sins already deleted as to guilt, which ecclesiastical authority from the treasury of the Church grants for the living by way of absolution, for the dead by way of suffrage (c. 911).

The mode of absolution is the use of jurisdiction given for binding and loosing. The mode of suffrage is prayer.

II. Indulgences are granted by the Pope, principally; by others, insofar as they receive power from him, either ordinary or delegated.

Those inferior to the Pope cannot, without express indult, commit to others the faculty of granting indulgences, or grant indulgences applicable to the dead, or add indulgences to the same thing already enriched except by prescribing new conditions.

Cardinals can grant 200 days; a Metropolitan, also in the dioceses of suffragans, 100; a residential bishop, 50 days. In the article of death, a pastor or priest assisting the sick person can impart the Apostolic blessing with plenary indulgence.

The Supreme Pontiff is accustomed to grant indulgences through the Sacred Penitentiary, to which a special section is annexed. And those who have obtained indulgences from the Supreme Pontiff for all the faithful must, under penalty of nullity of the grace, bring an authentic exemplar of the concession to the Sacred Penitentiary.

III. The interpretation of indulgences is demanded as wide or broad. Yet a plenary indulgence cannot regularly be obtained several times in the day by repeating the work.

IV. A new indulgence granted to a church, altar, or group, unless it has been promulgated at Rome, cannot be made public without consulting the Ordinary.

V. An indulgence is distinguished as plenary, by which, from the intention of the Church, every temporal punishment is taken away; and partial, which, unless it is a plenary indulgence acquired incompletely, gives the same remission which canonical penance done for the same time would have given; perpetual or temporary according to its stability; personal, local, real; of ordinary form, and a jubilee, or a plenary indulgence with annexed privileges of dispensing, absolving, and special conditions which give greater hope of gaining the indulgence fully. An ordinary jubilee is now granted every twenty-fifth year; an extraordinary one, outside the time, for some grave cause. An indulgence in the form of a jubilee imitates a jubilee in some way in conditions and privileges; indulgences are applicable to the dead or only to the living who gain them. Now all indulgences granted by the Supreme Pontiff, except the indulgence in the article of death, are of themselves applicable, just as all indulgences are which are gained by one who by heroic vow has renounced all his satisfactions and suffrages after death in favor of the dead. The indulgence after the manner of the Portiuncula which is available on the commemoration of all the faithful departed cannot be obtained except for the dead.

— The papal blessing, or the blessing which the Supreme Pontiff himself gives by himself or others give in his name, is according to itself a sacramental, to which often, yet not always, a plenary indulgence is connected.

Therefore one who asks the faculty of conferring this blessing will opportunely add express mention of the indulgence. Yet whenever the blessing of the Pontiff is not merely sent, but is to be conferred according to the rite prescribed in the Ritual, the plenary indulgence is judged to be annexed.

The Code now in c. 914 grants that bishops, each in his own diocese, can impart the papal blessing with a plenary indulgence, according to the prescribed form of the Ritual, twice in the year: on the solemn day of Easter, and on another solemn feast-day, to be designated by themselves, even if they have not celebrated solemn Mass, but have only assisted at it; but Abbots or Prelates Nullius, Vicars and Apostolic Prefects, even if they lack episcopal dignity, can do this in their territories on only one of the more solemn days in the year (c. 914).

Those Regulars who enjoy a similar privilege, that is, of imparting this blessing outside missions or adjuncts of this kind, cannot use it except in their own churches and in churches of nuns or tertiaries legitimately aggregated to their Order, nor on the same day and place on which the bishop confers it (c. 915). By place understand city, town (cf. brief of Leo XIII, July 2, 1882). The formula for Regulars is found in the Ritual, tit. VIII, c. 32, and there the blessing is said to be given with the words: "May Almighty God bless you," etc.

By this canon papal blessings are not touched which, for example, at the end of a mission are permitted to religious missionaries.

Concerning these, the Sacred Congregation of Rites, May 11, 1911, gave this rite and formula: one sign of the cross with a crucifix, using the formula: "The blessing of Almighty God," etc. Yet it is also lawful to use the formula of the Ritual (Beringer-Steinen, I, 799; II, 506, 507).

— Apostolic or Papal indulgences are those which, according to the list customarily promulgated at the beginning of each Pontificate, are annexed to things blessed for that end by the Supreme Pontiff or by him who has received power. Among these is found the plenary indulgence at the article of death, on account of which those things are said to be blessed with the indulgence of "a good death." To gain the indulgences it suffices to possess those things either on one's own person or in one's own house, and before them to recite the prescribed prayers, even if it is a question of a rosary.

— On the privileged altar. This privilege, conjoined with an altar, is a plenary indulgence of more certain efficacy, inasmuch as, on the part of the celebrant, only the application of the Mass is required.

With the exception of the Gregorian altar, other privileged altars seem to be traced back from the twelfth century. They seem first to have been granted by Paul III; but the greatest grantor was Gregory XIII (cf. Beringer-Steinen, Die Ablasse, I, n. 981).

Most altars are privileged for the dead alone. Yet there are some which have expressly been declared privileged for the living and for the dead. Then also the disposed living person for whom you celebrate directly obtains the plenary indulgence.

The application cannot be made except to him for whom the Mass is celebrated. If it is celebrated for several, the indulgence is not divided among several, but profits one only.

This last response concerns a privileged altar for the dead. And when asked whether or not the same would hold concerning the living, the Sacred Penitentiary judged that the solution of this question was to be awaited from the Holy Office. Yet we judge that the same must be said, because the nature of a plenary indulgence seems to be repugnant to division among several; one indulgence cannot profit several as plenary, nor can it of itself be divided into partial indulgences, since the reason of a partial indulgence is diverse (so also Beringer-Steinen, op. cit., I, 979). Moreover the indulgence of a privileged altar for the dead no longer demands that, on days on which it is lawful, you celebrate Mass with black appointments.

A local privilege is distinguished, which adheres to the altar: this must be fixed at least in the broad sense (cf. n. 344); and a personal privilege, which adheres to the person wherever he celebrates; or which also is granted for certain deceased persons: for example, of a Congregation.

On the day of the Commemoration of all the faithful departed, all Masses are privileged.

— The Gregorian altar is the privileged altar of St. Gregory which exists in the church on the Caelian Hill, and because of the liberation of the monk Justus it is judged to have been endowed by a peculiar title for divine acceptance. By this special efficacy, not by the value of many Masses, the Gregorian altar is equivalent to the Gregorian thirty, of which above, n. 304. That peculiar efficacy is to be attributed to the estimation made by the Church and to the intercession of St. Gregory (Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 15, 1884; cf. Beringer-Steinen, I, 675 ff.). There have also been granted privileged altars after the manner of the Gregorian; this is no longer granted after the response of the Holy Office, December 11-12, 1912, to VII (A. A. S., V [1913], p. 33; Beringer-Steinen, I, 975 ff.).

To avoid imprudent inscriptions, c. 918 commands that nothing be inscribed on the designated altar except: "A privileged altar, perpetual or for a time, daily or not." Nor, under pretext of the privilege, can a greater alms be demanded for a Mass to be said there.

Local Ordinaries and Major Superiors of exempt clerical religion can designate and declare one daily perpetual privileged altar, provided another is not had, in their cathedral, abbatial, collegiate, conventual, parochial, quasi-parochial churches, but not in public or semi-public oratories, unless they are united to a parochial church or subsidiary to it (c. 916).

— A plenary indulgence granted for feasts of the Lord or of the Blessed Virgin Mary is understood as granted for only the feasts of the universal calendar (c. 921, §1), while previously it was reserved for the principal feasts, and only partial indulgences were obtained on all feasts of the universal calendar; a plenary or partial indulgence assigned to feasts of the apostles is understood as granted for their natal feast (c. 928, §2).

When a feast has legitimately been transferred, the connected indulgences are transferred, if a perpetual transfer of the Office with the Mass is made; or if the solemnity and external celebration are transferred, even for a time only. If these later conditions are lacking, the indulgence remains affixed to the day, even if it is Friday in Parasceve (Sacred Penitentiary, February 18, 1921; A. A. S., XIII [1921], p. 165).

This external celebration demands no indult, unless a Mass is desired with rites or according to a calendar not permitted. Connected indulgences are those which are joined either to feasts or to supplications which are performed before the feast, after the feast, and during its octave (c. 922).

— 1. Indulgences annexed to rosaries or things are no longer lost because, after the first possessor using them, another employs them to gain indulgences; but then only do they cease if the rosaries or things altogether cease to be or are sold (c. 926, §1).

From a recent declaration, February 18, 1921, apostolic indulgences are now to be considered as merely real indulgences (A. A. S., XIII [1921], p. 164). Therefore, contrary to what R. P. Fanfani wrote, De indulgentiis, pp. 55, 71, 96, one who has already used a blessed rosary to gain indulgences can efficaciously and licitly hand the same over to another, who himself will gain the indulgences annexed to the recitation. But to avert every appearance of simony, it had already often been declared that indulgences perish by a sale which is subsequent to the blessing (cf. resp. July 16, 1887). But nothing prevents the merchant himself from seeing to it that rosaries already sold be blessed; nor does the price not yet paid prevent it.

The beads are blessed, but not the chain; therefore this can be changed while the indulgences remain intact; nor does it matter in what order the beads are replaced. Fanfani, pp. 75 and 95, seems to deny this⁽¹⁾.

To gain the indulgences of the Most Holy Rosary of the Friars Preachers, it is not enough for someone to hold it in the hand, unless he also turns the rosary. Yet in common recitation, it suffices that one turn the rosary. But there are also indulgences connected with possession or carrying of rosaries⁽²⁾. Once possession has been transferred, however, only those indulgences pass which are annexed to possession or use of the things, not those which require inscription in a confraternity, if the new possessor is not enrolled.

⁽¹⁾ "If the thread by which the grains are bound is broken and the grains are gathered together into a heap, the indulgences cease." So he himself, De indulgentiis, p. 95. Certainly, as long as the form of the rosary has been destroyed, the indulgences are suspended. But, when the rosary has been restored from the blessed beads, the indulgences are restored, just as when an altar or church has been repaired, the indulgences revive. R. P. Fanfani indeed alleges the Acta S. S. for the Society of the Most Holy Rosary, I, c. 5, n. 108, where these words are read: "If the thread is changed, the beads being confused without a thread, some hold that the blessing with the indulgences is lost. Nevertheless, according to the more common opinion, in this case the blessing with the indulgences is preserved, provided that from the same beads a rosary is made with a new thread."

⁽²⁾ When it is a question of apostolic indulgences, it is all the same whether you have a rosary or a small statue or a medal, provided you carry with you the thing thus blessed, or before it say the prescribed prayers, for example, recite the rosary. Beringer-Steinen, op. cit., I, 849.

2. The matter from which things to be enriched with indulgences are made must be solid, which will not be broken by falling. Therefore the matter of compact glass is admitted, but not of blown glass. That a few non-blessed beads be substituted for others does not remove the indulgences; indeed they are judged by that accession to be blessed, so that without detriment to the indulgences all can be changed successively in this way.

— Indulgences indeed cease when the place or group to which they were annexed has been destroyed. Yet:

1. a moral person is not extinguished when its members have been extinguished, unless it has ceased for one hundred years; and it is judged to remain in one surviving member (c. 102);

2. nor do indulgences cease which have been granted to a church which, having been utterly overturned, is built again within fifty years in the same or almost the same place and under the same title (c. 924, §1).

Because the cause is favorable, we judge it enough that within fifty years the building has begun to be made.

This revival, before the Code, was admitted without limitation, and can still be admitted for an altar if, after destruction, a new one is built in the same place and under the same title.

— A plenary indulgence at the article of death is obtained under various titles: a) from the apostolic blessing, which now any priest assisting the sick can confer (c. 468, §2), to be given, under penalty of nullity, according to the formula of Benedict XIV (Pia Mater, April 4, 1747), inserted in the Ritual, to the sick who ask for it, or who likely would have asked for it, or who have at least given signs of contrition, but not to the excommunicated and impenitent; and it is to be given only once in the same illness, even if a right to it is had under several titles, or it has been received in the state of sin; b) on account of frequent invocation of the name of Jesus, frequent recitation of acts of faith, hope, charity; or of the prayer "Angel of God"; c) on account of acceptance of death according to the formula of Pius X⁽¹⁾; d) on account of enrollment in many confraternities; e) on account of possession of a thing to which apostolic indulgences are annexed; f) on account of a personal concession from the Supreme Pontiff. He then desires the use of the Benedictine formula by the priest whom the sick man has asked for. Yet of itself in all cases b), c), d), e), f), no ministry or application is essential.

The conditions generally are that the sick person receive the sacraments, or if this cannot be done, be perfectly contrite, and especially that with a resigned mind he accept death from the hand of God, and with the mouth, if he can, otherwise with the heart, invoke the name of Jesus. Moreover the sick person must have with him the thing fortified with an apostolic indulgence, that is, not necessarily hanging from the neck, wrapped around the arm, or in the hand, but either in the bed or beside him, even if he does not remember that the thing is there⁽²⁾.

This indulgence obtains its effect in the last instant of life. If the sick man recovers, it is deferred to the true article of death. But several titles of this indulgence effect this: that the sick man, more stirred up to the best acts, may be better disposed for gaining this indulgence once.

⁽¹⁾ This formula is: "O Lord my God, even now whatever kind of death it may be, as it shall have pleased You, with all its anxieties, punishments, and sorrows, I receive from Your hand with an equal and willing mind" (A. S. S., XXXVI, 637).

⁽²⁾ Even a healthy man gains apostolic indulgences if he keeps the thing with him or in his own room and fulfills the prescribed conditions.

— The indulgence called totiens quotiens, with which images of Christ crucified are furnished, signifies this: not only the possessor of the image, but any of the faithful whatsoever can gain the plenary indulgence who at the article of death have kissed it or touched it in any way, provided that, having confessed and been refreshed by Holy Communion, or, if they could not do this, being at least contrite, they have devoutly invoked the most holy name of Jesus with the mouth, if they could, otherwise with the heart, and have patiently received death from the hand of God as the wage of sin (cf. declaration of the Holy Office, June 11, 1904; Periodica, VIII, 204).

They report, however, that a broader concession was sometimes made by Pius X, so that as many times as a kiss was fixed or the act was renewed, so many times a title of plenary indulgence was placed. It is clear that the later declaration did not derogate from the express signification of the Supreme Pontiff.

— To the exercise of the Way of the Cross are annexed all indulgences granted to those visiting the stations of Jerusalem. But how many and what they are is not known. Plenary indulgences, if there are any, can be acquired only once in the day; the others, when the exercise has been repeated, can of themselves be acquired even several times.

The indulgences adhere to the crosses, which must be wooden; with the indulgences preserved, they are transferred from one place to another of the same church. Nor does temporary removal harm; or the fact that a few crosses are substituted for blessed ones, as was said concerning the beads of a rosary (Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 22, 1842).

For those performing the Way of the Cross privately or in common, there is required for the indulgences: a) local movement from one station to another. Yet in a public exercise, to avoid disturbance or because of excessive difficulty, it is enough that the priest alone with two clerics or singers go around the stations, and either he himself or another priest recite the prayers from an elevated place. And this method can be observed in chapels of lay Congregations in such a way that one of the Brothers or one of the Sisters goes around (Anal. Eccl., 1902, p. 250); b) some mental consideration of the Lord's Passion in general. Yet in a public exercise it is recommended that the customary prayers not be omitted; c) visitation of the stations made morally in one continuous course. Yet a brief interruption, for example of ten minutes, will not harm. Indeed neither will a greater one, if it was for performing another work of piety: confession, Communion, Mass.

— Prominent images of the divine Savior affixed to the cross are sometimes furnished by a competent priest with the indulgences of the Way of the Cross. They are blessed with the sign of the cross alone. Yet they do not supply for the Way of the Cross except for those impeded by illness, or by difficulty of going to a place where there are stations. And besides at least some remembrance of the Lord's Passion, it is required that in morally one continuous course twenty Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes be recited: fourteen for the stations; five for the five wounds of Christ; one for the intention of the Supreme Pontiff (cf. A. A. S., X [1918], p. 31).

— 1. Scapulars, omitting also the scapular of Tertiaries, which is a diminished religious garment of the Order, are of two kinds; some, the older ones, are a vestige of religious dress and a sign of some aggregation to a religious institute and enrollment in its confraternity; others are merely emblems of devotion toward the Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Virgin, St. Joseph.

Scapulars must be of woven wool; the ribbons or cords can be of any matter, except for the necessity of red wool for the scapular of the Passion. For this alone an image is required. The scapular of the Most Holy Trinity must bear a cross not sewn with a needle. One who wears several must wear them sufficiently distinct. It is preferable that the scapular of the Most Holy Trinity be put in the first place; last, the scapular of the Lord's Passion; that they not be sewn together except at the upper part, and that each immediately adhere to the cords. Only the first time they are used do they need blessing.

2. The imposition of the scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, of the Seven Sorrows, and of the Most Holy Trinity is necessarily joined with enrollment in the confraternity.

Not rarely there is granted the use of a formula for the simultaneous blessing and imposition of various scapulars, nor is the scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel now excepted from that privilege.

3. After true scapulars have been imposed, not before, unless there is a special indult, in place of scapulars which are not of Tertiaries, with exception of dispensation (Periodica, XI, 81-83), metallic medals can be substituted, which on one side, the front, bear the image of our Most Holy Lord Jesus Christ showing His Most Sacred Heart; but on the reverse side, some likeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Moreover the medal must be carried decently on one's own person, not necessarily hanging from the neck. The medal must be furnished with as many distinct blessings, or signs of the cross, as there are scapulars it is destined to supply. One who can impose scapulars can bless medals to substitute for the same scapulars for which he is competent.

Yet, because in the decree Cum sacri of the Holy Office, December 16, 1910, he can do this only "with the limits, clauses, and conditions of the primitive faculty otherwise remaining firm," one who, as often happens, cannot impose a certain scapular in a place where there are religious to whom the imposition belongs of itself, will not be able in the same place to bless a medal for that scapular. But one who has obtained the blessing of medals by direct concession will have to attend to the clauses of the rescript (cf. A. A. S., 1911, III, p. 22; Beringer-Steinen, Die Ablasse, I, 938). Direct concessions, however, are no longer made.

It has been granted to soldiers that privately, with invocation of the Blessed Virgin, they impose on themselves the duly blessed scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel; indeed, that they directly assume a duly blessed medal, even if they have not yet been enrolled in the confraternity. By the very fact they have all the privileges and graces of those who have been duly enrolled in confraternities of scapulars, or who have received the scapular in the customary form, provided that the medal has been blessed for that scapular. Cf. the indults, Pius X, January 4 and March 30, 1908; March 22, 1916; and Beringer-Steinen, loc. cit.

N. B. But a distinct faculty is required for commuting the works prescribed for the Sabbatine privilege, of prompt liberation from purgatory, of the scapular of Mount Carmel. Simple wearing of the scapular suffices for the other utilities of that scapular.

One who has not thrown aside scapulars formally out of contempt, but has merely neglected even for a long time to put them on, recovers the privileges by resuming the scapular or medal.

— The indulgence called of the Portiuncula is a plenary indulgence totiens quotiens for those visiting definite churches. The properly so called and older one is Franciscan, August 2. The Holy Office, by decree of May 26, 1911 (Periodica, VI, 57), gave us hope of a new ordering. Meanwhile the faculty given on June 9, 1911 to local Ordinaries of designating churches and at least semi-public oratories in which the indulgence might be available is extended to all respective Ordinaries. Yet communities which have a church joined to their buildings must visit this, not the domestic chapel (cf. Periodica, V, 159; VI, 56 f.).

Several similar concessions afterward came, especially under the Pontiffs Leo XIII and Pius X, so that a plenary indulgence to be gained totiens quotiens is offered: for the feast of St. Francis of Paola, April 2, in churches of the Minims; for the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, in churches of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, also of the Third Order and Confraternities; for the feast of the Most Holy Body of Christ, in churches of the Priests of the Most Holy Sacrament; for celebration of the month of the Most Sacred Heart, on the last Sunday of the month of June, in all churches, indeed in semi-public oratories of seminaries and of pious communities; for the solemn commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, July 16, in churches of the Order of Carmelites and of Congregations of Tertiaries who join common life with simple vows; for the Dedication of the Basilica of the Portiuncula, August 2, in the places said above; for the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the month of September, in churches of the Order of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also of the Third Order, or where the Confraternity of the Seven Sorrows has been canonically erected; for the solemnity of the Most Holy Rosary, in all churches where the confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary has been canonically erected; for which is required visitation of the altar itself or at least of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary; for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, by extension of the Benedictine Portiuncula, in all churches and oratories, even semi-public. Yet the Benedictine Portiuncula gives opportunity for gaining a personal indulgence, while the extended indulgence can profit the dead alone (cf. Periodica, III, p. 150 [or II and III, p. 334], V, p. [16], and VIII, p. 205).

The Vatican Basilica enjoys the outstanding privilege of a daily indulgence after the manner of the Portiuncula.

— Probable fulfillment of the required condition, according to Suarez, Sanchez, and others, leaves the attainment of the indulgence uncertain; Ballerini-Palmieri, however, think that there is a general norm by which the Church, in practical matters, supplies defects which she can, if any have been committed from the use of a probable opinion (cf. Opus theol., V, p. 778).

1. The power of binding and loosing handed over to the Church avails not only for faults and for the eternal punishment joined with grave sin, but by an equal or stronger reason also for remitting temporal punishments. Yet it demands a discreet use, since the Supreme Pontiff himself is not simply the lord, but the administrator and prudent dispenser of the rights and goods of the Church. Concerning this matter this point occurs for observation: the relaxation of eternal punishment, which is joined by an indivisible bond with sanctifying grace restored, is always reasonable, on account of the supreme indigence of men, provided that the essential conditions are fulfilled. The same also is necessarily gratuitous, since it cannot be compensated by any satisfactory work, and it accompanies the very moment in which man becomes capable of satisfying, that is, the infusion of grace. By contrast, a gratuitous remission of every temporal punishment would be opposed to the present economy itself. For from the beginning celebrated penance is a laborious baptism. Therefore, since God is not accustomed to grant to penitents an immediate condonation of all temporal punishment, can the Church, by a gratuitous remission of sins even as to punishment, wish to make that divine disposition void? Wherefore satisfactory works were imposed on penitents for a fuller remission of punishments. Yet the imposed works themselves, whether indefinitely in the assumed perpetual state of the penitent, or later defined by the estimation of the minister, acquired a greater satisfactory force from the power and intention of the Church.

According to primitive discipline, by those penitential works satisfaction was made at the same time to the Church and to God.

2. When she mitigated these penances, whether by appointing smaller ones from the beginning, or by relaxing those already imposed, examples of which relaxation certainly occur already in the fourth century, the Church, by taking account of circumstances and by sparing spiritual weakness, could either merely not exact them, or truly, on account of an extraordinary fervor of contrition or expiation, remit them efficaciously. In the former case, the Church did not think that she was condoning anything in the forum of God (cf. the epistle of St. Cyprian to Antonianus, P. L., 3, 785, or Vind. 55, co. 2, pp. 638); but in the latter God held ratified in the heavens the sentence which the Church pronounced on earth concerning sin. Immediately also it appears that remission itself can be of a twofold kind. For the Church can relax defined penances, and then by her absolution so many punishments will be remitted in the forum of God as would have been expiated by the penances; or she can simply dispense indefinitely from every punishment owed, whatever it may be, so that the absolution ought to operate upon every temporal punishment.

The motive, moreover, of a more rapid or more benign reconciliation with the Church was also the letter of peace handed over by martyrs. And insofar as the intercession of the martyrs moved the bishop so that he truly remitted some of the penitential works, that concession was efficacious also in the forum of God, so that this remission, founded on the merits of the martyrs, came nearer to our present-day indulgences.

From the seventh century out of England and Ireland into the remaining parts of Europe there began to be propagated "redemptions," by which imposed penances could be commuted into other good works, especially prayer and almsgiving, whether synods expressly conceded this, or custom was tacitly admitted. (To this propagation the Germanic usage Wergeld, by which offenses were compensated by pecuniary compensation, seems to have contributed not a little). Those commutations, first conceded in particular cases, were soon permitted more generally (with perhaps the added assent of the penitential priest), "so that commonly the option was given to the penitent either of performing the penance or of choosing a redemption of this kind" (Morinus, Commentarius historicus de administratione sacramenti Paenitentiae, etc., L. 10, c. 16, n. 4).

In these beginnings indulgences more properly so called were preformed; these, having arisen in the eleventh century, no longer converted defined works into smaller ones, but in general, on account of a good work fulfilled, then remitted imposed or to-be-imposed penances wholly or in part. And just as the imposed works would have satisfied the Church and God, so that the very commutation of works was efficacious in the forum of God cannot seriously be doubted.

Not immediately, but gradually, the very relation to imposed or to-be-imposed penances was neglected.

The distinction of the power by which indulgences were conceded from sacramental jurisdiction was increased by St. Thomas by his explanation concerning indulgences (cf. Supplementum, q. 25-27), by which the Church does not simply remit temporal punishment, but at the same time offers an adequate payment of the debt from her treasury, constituted from the superabundant merits of Christ and the satisfactions of the saints.

This doctrine, accepted by the Supreme Pontiffs, became common in the Catholic school. And it has two consequences. Since, as St. Thomas says, the dispensation of the treasury of a society belongs to him who presides over the whole society, the power of conceding indulgences is recalled to the Supreme Pontiff. Then, since besides the good work which is performed, the inexhaustible treasury of merits is offered, there is no longer, as in commutations, some necessary proportion between the prescribed work and the expected fruit; rather a reasonable cause of offering, on account of such a work, the merits and satisfactions of Christ and of the saints suffices.

3. In an indulgence for the living, the Church at the same time absolves, using her jurisdiction, and offers payment; in an indulgence for the departed, she offers the same payment by way of suffrage or prayer, supported also by some work to be fulfilled by a living person, as Sixtus IV himself explained in his Bulls, of which the first is August 3, 1476.

4. Alexander II seems first to have conceded an indulgence for the living, in 1063, when he lightened penance and conceded remission of sins (as to punishments) to those who had destined themselves to go into Spain to fight against the Moors. Yet more celebrated is the indulgence, even plenary, which Urban II promulgated in 1095 in the Council of Clermont for crusaders. Observe that in both concessions the prescribed work was such that of itself it could avail for commutation.

Already from the thirteenth century the scholastics began to teach that there was power in the Supreme Pontiff that he might also concede indulgences to the departed. But only in the fifteenth century did Callixtus III grant the first indulgences for the departed. The first preserved Bull, however, is that of Sixtus IV, August 3, 1476.

5. Therefore, if by this sole note, otherwise essential, of the remission of temporal punishment owed and not paid we describe an indulgence, from the beginning the Church used such a power; but the full present-day notion says that the remission is outside the use of the sacrament of penance, not by way of commutation, nor by simple absolution, but, jointly with the use of jurisdiction upon the living or with the use of her intercession in favor of the departed, through the offering of the merits of Christ and of the satisfactions of the saints. The concession requires a just cause, which for the most part, though not necessarily, is found in the utility or excellence of the good work itself.

Observe that properly such indulgences are conceded nowhere in the Eastern Church; but Easterners can gain the indulgences of the Latins under the same conditions under which Latins can. Very recently, May 24, 1923, the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church obtained an indulgence for those reciting a little prayer for Russia (A. A. S., XV, 295).

Cf. Boudinhon, Sur l'histoire des indulgences, à propos d'un livre récent (Lea), Revue d'Histoire et de Littérature religieuses, 1898 (III, p. 454 ff.); Beringer-Hilgers, Die Ablässe; Galtier, Dict. d'Apologétique: v. Indulgences; Nicolaus-Paulus, Geschichte des Ablasses im Mittelalter, vom Ursprunge bis zur Mitte des 14 Jahrhunderts, I. Band, 1922.

538. Preliminary note. The treatise on indulgences is a certain complement of the treatise on penance. For it is Catholic dogma that, when guilt has been remitted, the whole punishment due is not always remitted. In satisfaction for this punishment, the confessor is bound to impose a salutary penance, which the penitent must fulfill. But even when the salutary penance has been fulfilled, all the punishment due has not yet always been remitted. Indulgences, however, are the most efficacious means of entirely destroying all punishment when guilt has been remitted. Hence moralists commonly treat indulgences as a complement of sacramental satisfaction and of the sacrament of penance. Since many controversies exist concerning indulgences which are freely disputed among theologians, it is worthwhile here to set forth briefly in one view those things which are beyond controversy and must be admitted by every Catholic. All these things are contained in the Council of Trent,¹ which defines: "Since the power of conferring indulgences was granted by Christ to the Church, and she has used this power divinely handed down to her even from the most ancient times, the holy Synod teaches and commands that the use of indulgences, most salutary for the Christian people and approved by the authority of sacred Councils, is to be retained in the Church; and it condemns with anathema those who either assert that they are useless or deny that there is in the Church the power of granting them."² Therefore two things must altogether be held by faith:

1. The power of granting indulgences was divinely handed down to the Church.

2. The use of indulgences is salutary and therefore is to be retained.

Furthermore, it is certain (on account of the condemnation of proposition 17 of Luther³ and proposition 41 of the Synod of Pistoia) that there exists a treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints, from which the Church can dispense indulgences.

We divide this treatise on indulgences into five articles: 1. the nature and division of indulgences; 2. the authority of granting indulgences; 3. the conditions required for gaining indulgences; 4. the jubilee indulgence; 5. certain indulgences in particular.

¹ Sess. 25, De indulg. (Denz., n. 989).

² Cf. also the condemned propositions 40-43 of the Synod of Pistoia (Denz., nn. 1540-1543).

³ Denz., n. 757.

Preliminary note. The number of indulgences is so great and the rules to be observed in gaining the individual indulgences are so manifold that it is altogether impossible to present them in a Manual of Moral Theology. Therefore works which treat professedly of indulgences must be consulted, such as, for example, Beringer-Steinen, Lepicier, Mocchegiani, and so forth. Here we briefly indicate two indulgences which frequently occur in priestly practice, namely, the indulgence at the moment of death and that of the privileged altar.

563. a) The indulgence or blessing at the moment of death.

Nature. Many confraternities grant their members a plenary indulgence at the moment of death. Similarly, many others can gain a plenary indulgence at the moment of death, for example, those who keep certain blessed Rosaries, crosses, or medals. We are not speaking here of those indulgences, but of the papal blessing at the moment of death, which the Roman Pontiff grants with a plenary indulgence.

1. According to the discipline in force, any priest who assists the sick can impart this blessing.¹⁰²

2. It cannot be given to hardened excommunicates and public sinners; it can and must, however, be given to all those who are capable of receiving sacramental absolution.¹⁰³

3. The conditions required that someone validly receive it are: a) The state of grace; and therefore at least an act of contrition must be elicited by the sinner; commonly, however, this blessing is imparted after confession and Viaticum. b) The dying person must at least mentally invoke the Most Holy Name of Jesus¹⁰⁴ and accept death from the hand of God with an equable and willing mind;¹⁰⁵ therefore the priest should prudently admonish the dying person concerning this twofold act. c) The formula prescribed by Benedict XIV must be employed under pain of nullity. Hence even those priests, for example, regulars, who follow a particular rite must employ the formula prescribed in the Roman Ritual; regulars can, however, add the name of their own founder in the Confiteor.¹⁰⁶ If the papal blessing is given after Viaticum and Extreme Unction, the Confiteor must be repeated, so that then the Confiteor is to be recited three times.¹⁰⁷ "But if the sick person is so near death that time does not permit either the making of a general confession or the recitation of the preceding prayers, let the priest immediately impart the blessing to him," beginning with the words: "Our Lord," and so forth.¹⁰⁸

4. The indulgence annexed to the papal blessing is acquired at the moment when death actually occurs, and consequently during the same illness this blessing cannot be given more than once, even if Viaticum and Extreme Unction are given several times. But if the sick person recovers and afterward, for any cause whatever, falls into a new danger of death, it is indeed lawful to repeat the papal blessing;¹⁰⁹ but this is not necessary, because the plenary indulgence is acquired, not at the time when the blessing is imparted, but at the time when death actually follows, as has been said.

¹⁰² Code of Canon Law, c. 468, § 2.

¹⁰³ Cf. Roman Ritual. This blessing can also be given to boys capable of malice, although they have not yet been admitted to First Communion.

¹⁰⁴ This is a condition sine qua non; cf. Decreta authentica Indulgentiarum, n. 237 ad 7.

¹⁰⁵ Thus the Bull Pia mater.

¹⁰⁶ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 7, 1882.

¹⁰⁷ Decreta authentica Indulgentiarum, n. 286 ad 6.

¹⁰⁸ Cf. Beringer-Steinen, loc. cit. I, n. 1028.

¹⁰⁹ Thus expressly the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences (Decreta authentica Indulgentiarum, nn. 263 and 300).

564. b) The indulgence of a privileged altar.

Notion and species. A privileged altar, as we speak of it here, is nothing other than a plenary indulgence annexed to a Mass said at a certain altar or by a privileged priest.

It is distinguished, first, into a privileged altar for the living and the deceased, and a privileged altar for the deceased alone. Today a privileged altar for the living and the deceased is very rarely granted. But if the inscription "privileged altar for the living and the deceased" is found on some altar, it is to be interpreted in this way: a plenary indulgence is granted both for the living (after the manner of jurisdiction), if the sacrifice of the Mass is applied for the living at that altar, and for the deceased (after the manner of suffrage), if it is applied for them.¹¹⁰ A privileged altar for the deceased is a plenary indulgence annexed to a Mass applied for some deceased person. These privileged altars are now most frequent.¹¹¹

It is distinguished, secondly, into a local, personal, and mixed privileged altar. A local privilege is annexed to a determinate fixed altar, so that all who celebrate at it can enjoy this privilege. A personal privilege is granted, not to some determinate altar, but to the priest himself, so that, celebrating Mass at any altar whatever, he may apply a plenary indulgence for the deceased person for whom he applies the Mass. All priests, for example, who have made the "heroic act of charity" enjoy a privilege of this kind.¹¹² A mixed privileged altar is called one which is partly local and partly personal; for example, an indult is granted that a plenary indulgence be annexed to Masses which are celebrated in this church for deceased members of such a confraternity.¹¹³

¹¹⁰ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 25, 1897.

¹¹¹ Cf. Code of Canon Law, cc. 916 and 917.

¹¹² Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, September 30, 1852.

¹¹³ Sometimes altars are granted after the manner of the altar of St. Gregory, which also have certain graces. We are not speaking of these here. Cf. Beringer-Steinen I, n. 975.

565. Conditions required for a privileged altar.

1. A local privileged altar must be fixed and not portable. In the matter of indulgences, however, all those conditions which are necessary for a fixed altar in the liturgical sense are not required for a fixed altar. For a privileged altar it suffices that it be in some manner stable and dedicated to some saint, containing a consecrated portable altar in the middle. Therefore it is not required that it be consecrated and that its table consist of one whole stone.¹¹⁴ Sometimes by a special indult it is granted that even a portable altar be privileged.¹¹⁵ Nothing prevents a personal privileged altar from being portable.

2. The plenary indulgence is not acquired: a) unless the Mass and the indulgence are applied for the same deceased person. Therefore the application of the Mass and the plenary indulgence cannot be separated from one another, so that the Mass is applied for A and the indulgence bestowed upon B;¹¹⁶ b) unless it is applied to one soul, although the Mass is applied for many.¹¹⁷ This holds also if, on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, a priest applies the Mass for all the souls in purgatory; and therefore it is to be counseled that the celebrating priest then designate in some manner the soul to whom he wishes to apply the indulgence, for example, to the most abandoned soul, or to the soul which God wishes to liberate first, and so forth; c) unless both the celebrating priest and the faithful person offering the stipend have elicited at least a virtual intention of gaining this indulgence for the deceased.¹¹⁸

3. A priest cannot accept a larger stipend for this sole reason, that he is to say the Mass at a privileged altar.¹¹⁹ If a priest obliged to say a Mass at a privileged altar has forgotten or neglected this, he has not, of itself, satisfied the obligation of justice, nor can he satisfy it by applying another plenary indulgence to the deceased for whom he ought to have celebrated at the privileged altar.¹²⁰ The reason is that other plenary indulgences do not seem to be as infallible and efficacious for the deceased as that which is joined with the sacrifice of the Mass. In practice, it is sometimes not expedient to accept Mass stipends with the strict obligation of celebrating them at a privileged altar, because it can easily happen that, for one reason or another, those Masses are not celebrated at a privileged altar. Then difficulties by no means small would arise. Indults of a privileged altar are not always of the same amplitude; therefore attention must first of all be given to the clauses added.

¹¹⁴ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 18, 1902.

¹¹⁵ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 13, 1841.

¹¹⁶ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 25, 1897, and January 23, 1901.

¹¹⁷ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, December 19, 1885; Sacred Penitentiary, July 6, 1917 (Acta Apost. Sed. IX, 440).

¹¹⁸ Holy Office, June 16, 1915 (Acta Apost. Sed. VII, 410).

¹¹⁹ Decreta authentica Indulgentiarum, n. 228; Code of Canon Law, c. 918, § 2.

¹²⁰ "Whether one who, for any reason whatever, does not gain the indulgence of a privileged altar can satisfy by applying another plenary indulgence to the deceased for whom he ought to have celebrated at the privileged altar? - In the negative." Thus the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 2, 1852 (Decreta authentica Indulgentiarum, n. 357 ad 2). This declaration must be observed, whatever the same Congregation otherwise answered for a particular case on February 22, 1847, as it itself explained on July 24, 1885. Hence the opposite opinion no longer seems sufficiently safe in practice. Cf. St. Alphonsus (Theol. mor., l. 6, n. 329, note II, and the note added by Gaudé).

566. Note. For gaining the indulgence of a privileged altar, a Requiem Mass, or a Mass of the feria or vigil with the proper collect for the deceased, is no longer required under pain of nullity (this is nevertheless laudably done when it is lawful and fitting out of piety toward the deceased). Thus the Holy Office, February 20, 1913.¹²¹ Therefore the earlier decrees establishing the contrary have been abolished, and by any Mass whatever (the other conditions having been fulfilled) the indulgence of a privileged altar can be acquired.

¹²¹ Acta Apost. Sed. V, 122.

567. Scholion. Rules for distinguishing true indulgences from apocryphal ones. Although the Supreme Pontiffs at all times have treated the whole matter of indulgences with the greatest vigilance, nevertheless apocryphal indulgences are sometimes circulated, to the harm of the faithful and the derision of the enemies of the Church. Therefore, on August 10, 1899, Leo XIII approved nine rules prudently elaborated by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences for distinguishing true indulgences from apocryphal ones:¹²²

Rule I. "All indulgences contained in the latest collection edited by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences are authentic." This rule concerns the collection commonly called the Raccolta.¹²³

Rule II. "General indulgences which are not presented in the aforesaid collection, or which are said to have been granted after the collection was edited, are to be held as authentic only when the autograph document of their grant has been reviewed by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, to which it must be presented under pain of nullity before it is published." This rule has now been changed slightly by the Code of Canon Law, c. 920; for all indulgences, whether general or particular (provided that they do not concern only the persons of the petitioners themselves), must be reviewed by the Sacred Penitentiary, and this under pain of nullity. Indulgences and faculties granted by the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, however, do not need such review,¹²⁴ as was already said above under n. 549.

Rule III. "Indulgences granted to orders and religious congregations, archconfraternities, confraternities, archsodalities, sodalities, pious unions, pious societies, certain more celebrated churches, pious places, and objects of devotion are to be held as authentic when they are contained in summaries reviewed and approved by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and printed by its authority or permission."

Rule IV. "Indulgences, whether general or particular, which are contained in books, booklets, summaries, sheets, small papers, or even printed images without the approval of the competent authority are not to be held as authentic; this approval is to be granted after diligent review and distinctly expressed."

The competent authority in general is the Sacred Penitentiary, with the following cases excepted, however, in which even the approval of the Ordinary suffices:

1. If it is a question of publishing the grant of some particular indulgence, or of publishing a summary of indulgences which has been taken from only one apostolic rescript.

2. If it is a question of a new edition of some summary already published by the authority of the Sacred Penitentiary, with the following excepted, however: a) the list of apostolic indulgences; b) any translation of the complete collection of the Raccolta. In these two cases the permission of the Sacred Penitentiary is always required.

3. If it is a question of publishing a summary of those confraternities which either have been committed to some religious institute or are aggregated to an archconfraternity; for then the review and approval of that bishop in whose diocese the institutes or archconfraternities have their principal seat suffices.¹²⁵

Rule V. "All indulgences of a thousand or several thousand years, at whatever time they are said to have been granted, are apocryphal or now altogether revoked."

Rule VI. "Plenary indulgences which are asserted to have been granted to those reciting only a few words are to be held suspect, with indulgences at the moment of death excepted."

The Supreme Pontiffs have been accustomed with great liberality to grant a plenary indulgence to the Christian faithful placed at the moment of death, because then a man most needs indulgences, and ordinarily time and strength for performing greater works are lacking.

Rule VII. "Indulgences are to be rejected as apocryphal when they are circulated in printed or handwritten booklets, sheets, or small papers, in which, from slight or even superstitious causes and uncertain revelations, or under illusory conditions, indulgences and graces exceeding measure and manner are promised."

An example of such a superstitious and false prayer is that prayer which is said to have been found in the tomb of Our Lord Jesus Christ and once revealed to Saints Elizabeth, Mechtilde, and Bridget, and which was rejected as apocryphal by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences on May 26, 1898.

Rule VIII. "Sheets and booklets in which liberation of one or more souls from purgatory is promised to the faithful reciting one or two prayers are to be rejected as fictitious; and the indulgences which are customarily added to the said promise are to be held as apocryphal."

Although in past centuries the Supreme Pontiffs sometimes granted an indulgence for the liberation of a certain soul, nevertheless this signifies nothing other than that a plenary indulgence was granted. The Supreme Pontiffs, however, never granted indulgences for liberating several souls from purgatory at the same time, and still less for a few short prayers.

Rule IX. "Indulgences asserted to have been granted more recently are to be held as apocryphal or at least gravely suspect if they are extended to an unusual number of years or days."

For a long time now the Church has granted partial indulgences, for example, of 30, 100, or 300 days, or of 1, 2, 3, 7 years, and so forth; but it is altogether foreign to the practice of the Holy See to grant, for example, an indulgence of 1,080 days, as was read to be annexed to a certain medal. Therefore the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences declared this indulgence apocryphal on February 23, 1856.¹²⁶ In our times, certain persons, led by bad zeal, calculate together all the indulgences granted to some prayer or confraternity, so that, this calculation having been made, at once a thousand or several thousand days and years of indulgence result. This manner of acting is to be reproved; for it often arises from an insane rivalry wishing thus to show that the indulgences granted to some confraternity are greater than those which have been granted to similar confraternities. It is to be desired that bishops by no means permit sheets or booklets of this kind to be printed, although the calculation may appear to correspond to the truth in every respect.¹²⁷

¹²² Cf. Analecta eccl. VII (1899), 494 ff., and the commentaries added there.

¹²³ Cf. above, n. 557.

¹²⁴ Holy Office, July 13, 1910 (Acta Apost. Sed. II, 575).

¹²⁵ Decreta authentica Congregationis Indulgentiarum, n. 388.

¹²⁶ Decreta authentica Indulgentiarum, n. 370.

¹²⁷ Thus Beringer-Steinen rightly says, loc. cit. I, n. 221, explaining this ninth rule.

Among the various ways of satisfying God for sins already remitted as to fault, INDULGENCES hold no lowest place, especially the Indulgences of the JUBILEE. - Hence we shall discuss here: 1. Indulgences in general; 2. Indulgences of the Jubilee; 3. Indulgences to be gained in the article of death; 4. the privileged altar for the dead.

1726. DEFINITION. An Indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment owed to God for sins pardoned as to fault, which the Church, outside the Sacrament, from a just cause, grants to the faithful through the application of the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints.²¹

DIVISION. An Indulgence is distinguished in many ways:

1. One is PLENARY, or total, which according to the intention of the one granting frees from all punishment; another PARTIAL, as are septenaries and quarantines, by which is understood that punishment to be taken away which would be taken away by a fast of 7 years or 40 days on bread and water, according to the Canons once customarily imposed.

2. One is PERSONAL, which is immediately granted to persons, for example to a Confraternity; another LOCAL, which is affixed to some place, for example a church, oratory, etc.; another REAL, which is attached to some portable thing, for example a Cross, Rosary, medal, etc. But a real indulgence is almost always also personal, since for the most part only the owner of the thing to which the Indulgence is annexed can gain it.

3. One is TEMPORAL, which is granted for a determined time; another PERPETUAL, which is granted in perpetuity or without any prefixed term.

1727. Principles. I. The Church has POWER of granting Indulgences, and has used this power from ancient times. - This is of faith, against Protestants, and is clear from Trent, sess. 25, Decree on Indulgences, where the Council condemns with excommunication him who should say that Indulgences are useless, or who should deny that this power exists in the Church. See the dogmatic authors.

Let the following be noted: 1. Only the Pope can grant plenary Indulgences, or Indulgences to the whole Catholic world. But he grants them either by himself or through delegates,

with this condition, however, that they then only obtain their effect when they have been recognized by the S. C. of Indulgences.¹

2. Bishops, but not Titular Bishops, can, from Lateran IV, grant to their diocesans Indulgences of 40 days; and an Indulgence of one year on the day of the dedication of a church. - These Indulgences are indeed perpetual, but they are valid for the living only, nor are they applicable to the dead.² Moreover it is forbidden that another new Indulgence of 40 days be attached to the same object or to the same act of piety by the successor of the Bishop.³

3. Cardinals can grant Indulgences of 100 days in the churches of their titles.⁴ What the faculties of Nuncios are in this matter must be recognized from Apostolic Letters.

4. Prelates, titular Bishops, and others inferior to a Bishop cannot grant any Indulgences unless from the express delegation of the Pontiff or Bishop.⁵ - The communication of merits of an Order, which Regular Superiors sometimes concede to distinguished benefactors, is not the bestowal of Indulgences, but is only, as Suarez says, an offering or donation of suffrages.⁶

5. Although Indulgences of a very excessive number of years, for example indulgences of a thousand, ten thousand years, are to be held as suspect, nevertheless some of this sort have been granted, nor can their authenticity be called into doubt. Cf., for example, the Bull of Innocent XI Nuper pro parte, of July 31, 1679, in which is contained the summary of Indulgences which were granted to the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. There, among others (cap. III, n. 3), an Indulgence of sixty thousand years is approved.⁷

1728. II. Indulgences, since they are graces, are TO BE INTERPRETED BROADLY, yet the propriety of the words being preserved (cf. n. 253). Therefore they are to be judged perpetual if they have been given without restriction of time; nor do those perpetually conceded cease through cessation of the cause. Yet good faith and error, even common error, do not supply for the defect of a prescribed condition.⁸

Let it be noted: 1. Unless this is expressed in the concession itself, whether explicitly or implicitly, for example by the clause until our good pleasure, Indulgences do not expire by the death of the one granting, nor before knowledge of revocation.⁹ (cf. n. 254.)

2. Indulgences annexed to some church do not cease when a new church is built in almost the same place and under the same title. But they cease if the building is made in another place, although nearby, for example in a cemetery and not in the place of the old church.¹⁰

And this same thing must be said of an Indulgence granted to those visiting the churches of Regulars. If it was granted with regard to the regular Family by which the churches were governed, the Indulgence, when the regular Family ceases, likewise ceases.¹¹

1729. III. To gain Indulgences, all the CONDITIONS which are prescribed must be fulfilled. - Moreover, the conditions to be fulfilled on the part of the SUBJECT are usually numbered as five.¹²

1. That he be a subject of the one granting; because the concession of an Indulgence is an act of jurisdiction, which affects subjects alone. - Yet strangers are not excluded from local Indulgences which are annexed, for example, to an altar, cross, church, as the common opinion holds.

2. That he not be bound by major excommunication, because this deprives one of communion in spiritual goods (cf. n. 1292, 4).

3. That he be in the state of grace, at least when the prescribed work is completed; because punishment cannot be remitted before fault. But it is greatly to be desired that all works be done in grace, especially if the Indulgence has been granted for placating God. - Wherefore let it be noted: The clause with at least a contrite heart, or with contrite hearts, which is customarily inserted in concessions of partial Indulgences, does not indicate the work enjoined, but the necessity of the state of grace for gaining the Indulgence. Hence it is not required that those who are already found in the state of grace elicit an act of contrition (S. C. Indulg., December 17, 1870).¹³

4. That he have the due intention. But an intention at least virtual is required as often as an Indulgence is granted with a certain intention to be proposed to oneself, for example of praying for the happy state of the Church, of gaining a Jubilee with the privileges annexed to it, or if the day of the Indulgence is left to the determination of our will, for example within the month, within the year. Otherwise, an interpretative intention seems sufficient, or certainly the intention elicited in the morning of gaining all Indulgences occurring through the day suffices. Thus commonly.¹⁴

5. That he perform INTEGRALLY the works enjoined, in the PLACE, TIME, and MANNER prescribed, because Indulgences are granted under that condition. - Nor does it suffice, unless this is expressly conceded, to furnish works already due under another title, for example the Lenten fast, recitation of the Breviary, etc.¹⁵

1730. Now indeed:

I. As to PLACE, this is often a condition: that a parochial church or public oratory be visited. - Wherefore it must be carefully noted, from the S. C. of Indulgences, August 22, 1842, in Verdunen.,¹⁶ that "an oratory, whether in monasteries, seminaries, or other convents, canonically dedicated, to which the Christian people is not accustomed publicly to have access, is not to be judged public." Yet sometimes it is granted to Religious or others that these oratories can be visited (cf. n. 1733, q. 7). - But if a certain church is prescribed, the parochial or another church cannot be chosen in its place, unless this is granted by special privilege.

For the rest, "several grave authors teach that for the prescribed visitation of a church, in order to gain an Indulgence, it suffices to pray before the door or cemetery if because of the multitude of men you cannot enter it: thus Suarez, Bonacina... Indeed Mazzotta and Croix with Lugo add: if you pray before the door of the church when it is closed."¹⁷

II. As to TIME: 1. It was decided by S. C. Ind., August 29, 1864: "That an Indulgence is acquired by the Christian faithful on the fixed and rightly constituted day in their diocese; by regular Orders on the day rightly constituted in their Calendar; by men who have enrolled in a Sodality which belongs to a Regular Order, that an Indulgence is acquired on the day rightly constituted in the Calendar of the diocese, or in the Calendar of the Order, if they enjoy a privilege of this sort, but not on both days."¹⁸

2. When the solemnity of a Feast is transferred, whether in perpetuity or for a time, in a legitimate manner, the Indulgence is understood to be transferred. - "But when only the Office with the Mass is transferred, and not the solemnity and exterior celebration of the Feast, the S. Congregation of Indulgences, by mandate of Pius IX, August 9, 1852, decreed that no translation of Indulgences occurs."¹⁹

3. When an indulgence to be gained once in a month or in a year is granted to those who previously have performed certain works or certain prayers through a month or through a year, the month is not necessarily to be computed from the first day to the last, nor the year from January 1 to December 31; but 30 days can be computed from any day, and 12 months from any month.²⁰

4. If an indulgence is granted in view of the mystery or Saint to be honored on that day, the works can validly be performed from first Vespers, namely from the time at which Vespers are customarily recited in choir, that is, about the second hour after noon of the preceding day, up to sunset, that is, the evening twilight of the feast day itself.²¹ - Otherwise, from midnight to midnight, as often as something else is not expressed in the Indult (S. C. Ind., January 12, 1878).²²

III. As to MANNER: 1. It is not necessary to recite prayers with knees bent, unless this is prescribed, as, for example, it is prescribed for the prayer Sacrosanctae outside the case of infirmity. - 2. The works must be done by the one who intends to gain the indulgence, except alms, which is validly given through another. 3. A merely material act does not suffice, but a human act is required.²³

IV. As to the INTEGRITY of the works to be performed, these two things are commonly asserted: 1. He who from inability or ignorance omits either the whole work or a notable part of it, for example if a child or old man does not fast, does not gain the indulgence, unless this work, on account of grave difficulty, by legitimate concession of the Pontiff, has been commuted for him into another. - 2. It does not harm if a small part of the enjoined work is omitted, because the work is still judged to be performed as to substance. But a small part is to be taken respectively to the whole work: thus in the Rosary the omission of one Pater and Ave seems small; but otherwise, if five Pater and Ave are required for an indulgence, and one Pater and Ave is omitted.²⁴

1731. IV. The special conditions which ORDINARILY are required for a plenary indulgence are CONFESSION, COMMUNION, and VOCAL PRAYERS. Wherefore we note:

1. CONFESSION, although it is not required for certain plenary indulgences, for example for the Indulgences of the Way of the Cross, is nevertheless for the most part required by this or a similar clause which is customarily appended to various Rescripts: "to the contrite and confessed." - Therefore confession is necessary even if someone has only venials; because it is required as a condition and prescribed work, as is clear from the Decree of the S. C. of Indulgences, approved by Clement XIII, May 19, 1759.²⁵ Nor indeed is absolution required except for mortal sins.

From the Indult of December 9, 1763,²⁶ and from the Decree of the S. C. of Indulgences, December 15, 1841,²⁷ it was established that those who are accustomed to confess each week, that is, in any passing space of seven days, as the S. C. declared on November 23, 1878,²⁸ can gain all Indulgences occurring through the week, for gaining which sacramental confession would otherwise be required, provided they are conscious to themselves of no lethal fault, as is clear, and provided it is not a question of Jubilee. This privilege, in several places, was extended from particular Indults to two weeks, or even to an entire month, for example in the Eastern Missions.²⁹ Besides, from the decree of the S. C. of Indulgences approved by Pius VII on June 12, 1822,³⁰ those who are not accustomed to confess each week can make the confession necessary for gaining an indulgence on a feast day within eight days before the feast, if they live in places in which, in view of the scarcity of confessors, the Ordinary obtained a special Indult.

2. COMMUNION, as also confession, can be anticipated on the day before that day for which some Indulgence is granted, not only by reason of an occurring festivity, but also from any other cause whatever, for example reception into some Confraternity, the prayer of the Forty Hours, a pious exercise, etc.; "yet, in fulfilling the other works enjoined, the general rule concerning the manner and time prescribed in the concessions being observed" (S. C. Indulg., October 6, 1870).³¹

Paschal Communion is valid for gaining a plenary Indulgence occurring on the same day; except, however, the Indulgence of the Jubilee, for which a special Confession and Communion are required, unless the contrary is expressed in the Pontifical Letters. Thus from the Decree of May 10, 1844.³² - Likewise, one holy Communion, made at the time of Pastoral Visitation or spiritual Exercises in parishes, suffices for satisfying the paschal precept and for gaining the plenary Indulgence (cf. n. 1738).³³ - Likewise, Communion on the day of Easter can suffice for gaining the indulgence of the Papal blessing and for satisfying the precept (Declaration of Gregory XVI, March 19, 1841).³⁴

3. VOCAL PRAYERS, to be recited according to the intention of the one granting, are at the discretion of each faithful person, unless they are particularly assigned; but ordinarily they are to be poured forth in some church (cf. 1733, q. 4).

Yet Benedict XIV admonishes:³⁵ "Although a brief prayer employed with a sense of fervent piety... can satisfy, nevertheless for the most part brevity of prayer is accustomed to proceed from a small study of piety or a soul little inclined to spiritual things, or from tedium and negligence." But according to the common opinion, five Pater and Ave, or an equivalent prayer, suffice. - These prayers can also be recited alternately with a companion.³⁶ Posture while praying is generally not prescribed.³⁷ - As regards the sick, deaf-mutes, etc., for whom a commutation of works must be made, see n. 1733, q. 6 and 7.

1732. V. Indulgences, whether plenary or partial, can, from concession of the Pontiff, BE APPLIED to the dead. - This is clear from the use of the Church and from propositions condemned by Sixtus IV, Leo X, and Pius VI. But for this it is NECESSARY:

1. That they have been granted as applicable to the dead.³⁸ But this concession is given by the Roman Pontiff alone.

2. That the one gaining them have an intention, at least interpretative, of applying them to the dead; for the Superior only gives the power, but does not apply them to this or that deceased person. Yet a general application suffices, for example to all the dead, because suffrages are divisible.

3. That he who intends to gain them be in the state of grace, at least when he fulfills the last prescribed work, as seems truer to St. Alphonsus against some; for no one can apply an Indulgence to another unless he has first gained it himself.³⁹ The S. C. of Indulgences was asked about this matter, and on August 20, 1822, responded: Deferred;⁴⁰ and being asked again, responded on February 22, 1847: Let the petitioner consult approved authors.⁴¹

1733. Questions. Q. 1. Whether an indulgence granted as plenary is valid as PARTIAL, if it cannot be obtained entire; for example, because of affection toward some venial sin?

Resp. Affirmative. The reason is: 1. "because just as it is not repugnant that the fault of one venial sin be remitted without the fault of others being remitted, so also the punishment"; 2. because the S. Pontiff, "by granting a plenary Indulgence, is not presumed to wish to restrict it only to those to whom all venials are remitted (who certainly are very few), but rather to grant it according to the capacity of the subject, so that at least the punishment of those venials whose fault has been remitted may be remitted."¹

Q. 2. Whether someone can gain DIVERSE Indulgences, or the same Indulgences several times, ON THE SAME DAY?

Resp. 1. As regards diverse Indulgences, the faithful generally can gain them, at least if they are partial (concerning plenary ones, see question 4) and attached to diverse works, or to the same works which can be repeated several times in a day. Thus commonly the Theologians. 2. As regards the same Indulgences, attention must be paid to the letters of concession, whether namely they say as often as. If these determine nothing, one must stand by the interpretation and common practice of the Church.²

Q. 3. Whether someone can gain several Indulgences BY THE SAME ACT, or by the same work?

Resp. Affirmative, if the prescribed work either cannot be repeated, or is not accustomed to be repeated on the same day, as fasting, Communion, etc.; negative, if the work can be repeated, as prayers according to the intention of the S. Pontiff, visitation of a church, etc. - For to the question: "Whether, if Indulgences under various titles are annexed to the same pious work, which cannot be repeated by the faithful, all can be gained?" the S. C. of Indulgences responded on January 12, 1878:³ "Affirmative, provided the works enjoined truly cannot, or are not accustomed to, be repeated, as confession, unless it is necessary from another source."

Q. 4. In what way can SEVERAL PLENARY Indulgences be gained on the same day?

Resp. It was asked: "1. Since from diverse decrees of the S. C. of Indulgences it is now permitted to gain several plenary Indulgences ON THE SAME DAY, the conditions having of course been fulfilled, it is asked whether the said decree concerns only Indulgences occurring on one day because of a festivity, or rather also those which each person, on account of his devotion, has affixed to such a day through the week or month? 2. He who wishes to use the decree itself, whether he is bound to visit a church or public oratory (when namely such a visitation is required) as many times as there are indulgences to be gained? - And insofar as Affirmative, 3. Whether it suffices that in one and the same church so many prayers, or visitations, be repeated as there are Indulgences to be gained, without anyone going out of the church after each visitation and entering it again?" - And the S. C. of Indulgences, February 29, 1864, responded: "To the 1st: Affirmative. To the 2nd: Affirmative. To the 3rd: Negative."⁴

Q. 5. Whether, if the faculty of commuting works enjoined for gaining indulgences is granted, the commutation must necessarily be made IN CONFESSION?

Resp. It is disputed. Busenbaum, not corrected by St. Alphonsus,⁵ denies it from the declaration of Gregory XIII. - Yet it must be affirmed when it is a question of a Jubilee, from the Constitution Inter praeteritos of Benedict XIV, § 63,⁶ unless another faculty is expressly granted.

Q. 6. In what way can DEAF-MUTES gain Indulgences to which VOCAL prayers are annexed?

Resp. The S. C. of Indulgences established, and Pius IX approved on March 15, 1852,⁷ the following: 1. "But if among the works prescribed for gaining an Indulgence there is the visitation of some church, deaf-mutes are bound devoutly to visit the church itself, although they only raise the mind to God, and pious affections. - 2. But if among the works there are public prayers, deaf-mutes can gain the Indulgences annexed to them, indeed joined in body to the other faithful praying in the same place, but likewise with the mind only raised to God, and with pious affections of the heart. 3. But if finally it is a question of private prayers, the proper confessors of the mute and deaf can commute the same prayers into other pious works manifested in some way, according as they shall judge expedient in the Lord."

Q. 7. In what way can the SICK gain Indulgences for acquiring which holy Communion and visitation of some church are prescribed?

Resp. From the benign concession of Pius IX, on September 18, 1862,⁸ the sick who, "on account of chronic illness, or some permanent physical impediment, are unable to go out of the house (except, however, those who dwell in community), can acquire all and individual plenary Indulgences, provided that, truly penitent, confessed, and all other conditions having been fulfilled, if any have been enjoined, in place of holy Communion and visitation, they faithfully complete other pious works to be enjoined by the respective confessor."

Moreover, our Most Holy Lord Pope Leo XIII, on January 16, 1886, approved a decree of the S. Congregation of Indulgences by which it is granted "that the infirm or those worn out by old age, living in community and under rule, who cannot execute the churches or oratories or other things prescribed for indulgences, nevertheless can gain indulgences by fulfilling other pious works to be prescribed at the judgment of the confessor."⁹

Q. 8. Whether the faithful enrolled in CONFRATERNITIES are deprived of indulgences if they do not observe the STATUTES of the Confraternity?

Resp. Negative. For thus the S. C. of Indulgences responded to the question on January 25, 1842, in Cameracen.:¹⁰ "Provided that the Sodalities have been canonically erected, and the members fulfill the works enjoined by the Supreme Pontiffs for gaining the Indulgences annexed to their respective Confraternity, and the members themselves have been legitimately enrolled in the Confraternity: partial or general non-observance of the statutes does not hinder the acquisition of indulgences, from the fact that the statutes have been given rather for the government and right administration of the Sodality, but by no means as works enjoined for acquiring Indulgences."

For the rest, see the Canonists concerning things pertaining to CONFRATERNITIES and SODALITIES.¹¹

1734. Note. It is useful here, for the reader's convenience, to transcribe some other RESPONSES of the S. C. OF INDULGENCES which pertain to the present matter.¹²

1. Indulgences can be applied to solid things, iron, wood, lead, etc., also to a rosary made of solid glass. Only those things which can easily be broken or torn, as paper, blown glass, etc., are excepted (S. C. Indulg., February 29, 1820).¹³ - But medals must display the image of some Saint either solemnly canonized, or at least entered in the Roman Martyrology; nor does the image of some Blessed suffice, unless at the same time the image of a Saint is present (S. C. Indulg., December 22, 1710).¹⁴

2. For blessing crosses, rosaries, etc., for Indulgences, it suffices if the sign of the cross is made by the priest who has received this faculty, although in the Indult there exists the clause "in the form customary in the Church." But for rosaries of the Rosary and of the Seven Sorrows of the B. V., the prescribed formula and the sprinkling of blessed water are required (S. C. Indulg., April 11, 1840; January 7, 1843; and February 29, 1864).¹⁵

3. It was asked: "1. Whether rosaries lose Indulgences if they are given to someone? - 2. Whether after the death of the owner another acquires ownership of them, namely of the Indulgences? 3. If the string of rosaries is broken, whether voluntarily so that they may be connected by chains, or involuntarily and by chance this has happened? - 4. If four or five beads are lost? - 5. If they are lent to a friend, either for simply reciting the rosary, or for gaining Indulgences?" - And the S. C. of Indulgences on January 10, 1839,¹⁶ responded: To the 1st, affirmative, as often as they are not given immediately or mediately by a person having the faculty of distributing them. - To the 2nd, negative, because Indulgences do not pass beyond the person of the former owner. - To the 3rd, negative, because the same rosaries persevere as to moral form. - To the 4th, negative, from the reason brought forward in the preceding response. - To the 5th, negative in the first case, affirmative in the second. For in order that Indulgences affixed to rosaries and other movable things perish, the end of giving or lending for the communication of Indulgences is required."

4. When the S. Pontiff grants any Indulgence to the City and the World, so that the faithful can gain such an Indulgence in various dioceses: is it required that this Indulgence be promulgated by the Ordinaries of places, or on the contrary does it suffice that they be certain that the aforesaid Indulgence was granted by the S. Pontiff? The S. C. of Indulgences responded on July 1, 1839:¹⁷ Negative, as to the first part; Affirmative as to the second.

5. Whether someone can use obtained indulgences, or graces, without the license and recognition of his Ordinary? Resp. Affirmative, as to use and enjoyment; but he can use the same graces only privately, provided they yield to the burden of no one, or offer an occasion of scandal, and provided the petitioner does not presume to send these faculties to print without license (December 12, 1840).¹⁸

6. Whether he who obtains diverse faculties from the Apostolic See, namely of a personal privileged altar, of erecting the stations of the Way of the Cross, of blessing crosses, medals..., must exhibit the said faculties to the Ordinary, even if no mention has been made in the Rescripts of the concessions? - Resp. Affirmative, as to the erection of the Way of the Cross; negative, relative to the other faculties, unless it has been otherwise disposed in the obtained concessions (February 6, 1844).¹⁹

7. When in Briefs of Indulgences it is said, "these presents to last for seven years," the seven years are to be computed not from the day of publication, but from the day of the date of the Brief (S. C. Indulg., May 20, 1711).²⁰

8. It is permitted to turn prayers with Indulgences into another language without the Indulgences being lost, if the translation is faithful (S. C. Indulg., September 30, 1852).²¹ But so that the fidelity of a version of prayers to which indulgences are annexed may be established, the declaration of the S. C. of Indulgences through the Most Eminent Prefect, or of one of the Ordinaries of the place where the language into which the prayer is turned is common, suffices. Thus the S. C. of Indulgences on December 29, 1864.²²

9. Whether those visiting the churches of the Order of St. Francis, on August 2, gain a plenary indulgence as often as they enter them and pray there for a little while? And whether it is required that Communion be made in the same church? - The S. C. I. responded on July 12, 1847:²³ Affirmative to the first part; Negative to the second.

NB. As regards Indulgences of the Way of the Cross and of various Scapulars, see the authentic Acts of the S. C. OF INDULGENCES, Appendix, §§ V, VI, etc.²⁴

1735. DEFINITION. A Jubilee is a solemn plenary Indulgence with annexed privileges, granted by the S. Pontiff to those performing certain works.

It differs only accidentally from another plenary indulgence, namely by reason of solemnity and of the privileges and graces which are annexed to it. - Yet the primary motive of the concession is not that the faithful gain the Indulgence, but rather in general that they be provoked to true penance, and so obtain God's mercy or liberation from public calamities. It is also sometimes proclaimed to foster reverence and obedience toward the Holy See: for the solemn Indulgence of a Jubilee greatly profits toward the attainment of this end.

DIVISION. A multiple Jubilee is distinguished.

1. The GREATER or ordinary Jubilee, which regularly occurs every twenty-fifth year, which is called the HOLY YEAR; and the LESSER or extraordinary Jubilee, which is granted by individual Supreme Pontiffs after the exaltation of each one, or in other particular circumstances. - The greater Jubilee is customarily granted to the City, or to Rome alone, for an entire year, which having elapsed, it is extended to the whole World for a shorter time: otherwise with the lesser Jubilee.

2. The GENERAL Jubilee, which is granted to the whole World (as the greater Jubilee, and often also the lesser Jubilee); and the PARTICULAR Jubilee, which is granted to some province, city, or community.

Note. In interpreting Bulls of Jubilee, the RULES handed down by Benedict XIV are to be observed, to which not even the Bull of Jubilee itself is opposed, according as, with regard to both an ordinary and an extraordinary Jubilee, Pius IX declared on March 15, 1852.²⁵

1736. As to these, the BULL by which the Jubilee is granted must primarily be consulted. - But those things which hitherto, according to the statutes of Benedict XIV²⁶ and the mind of approved authors, in the time of the extension of the greater Jubilee to the whole Catholic World, have been accustomed to be granted, are summarily the following:

A) Directly for the PENITENT: Faculty of choosing a confessor from among those approved by the Bishop of the place where the confession is made. - Hence, any Regulars, Oblates, Tertiaries, etc., for the confession required for gaining the Jubilee, without the license of Superiors, can choose any priest from among the said approved ones, even a secular priest; but Nuns strictly so called, and their novices, can choose someone from among those approved by the Ordinary of the place for hearing the confessions of Nuns, whether approved for this end generally, or for other monasteries.²⁷ - But one once approved for Nuns, whether as ordinary or as extraordinary, but whose approbation, for example because of the lapse of the prefixed term, has ceased, can also be chosen by the aforesaid Nuns for the Jubilee, "unless it is established that the same confessor was afterward positively reproved by the same Ordinary on account of demerits which concern the confessions themselves." Thus the S. Penitentiary.²⁸

B) Directly for the CONFESSOR and indirectly for the penitent.

I. Faculty of absolving, for the forum of conscience only, "from excommunication, suspension, and other ecclesiastical sentences and censures, imposed or inflicted by law or by man for any cause whatever, reserved even to the Ordinaries of places" and to the Pontiff and S. See, "although in a special form, and which otherwise in a concession, however broad, would not be understood as granted, as well as from all sins and excesses, however grave and enormous, reserved even to the same Ordinaries and Pontiff...."²⁹ - Nor does it hinder (as is taught more probably and more commonly) if someone sinned in confidence of the Jubilee.³⁰

Yet from this broad faculty there are EXCEPTED: 1. Formal heresy externalized, although occult, unless the power of absolving from it is expressly indicated³¹ (This power, with those things preserved which must be preserved by law, was granted in the last Jubilees, celebrated at the time of the Vatican Council and thereafter). 2. Cases and censures reserved in the Constitution Sacramentum Poenitentiae of Benedict XIV (see nn. 1772 and 1780). 3. Absolution of those who have been excommunicated, suspended, interdicted by name, or declared or publicly denounced to have fallen into other sentences and censures by the Holy See or by some Prelate or apostolic judge; unless within the time of the Jubilee they have made satisfaction, and have come to agreement with the parties where there was need.³²

II. Faculty of dispensing from irregularity, yet occult, incurred because of violation of censures, through the exercise of Order.

III. Faculty of commuting simple vows (not excepting a vow not to seek commutation),³³ even sworn and reserved to the Apostolic See³⁴ (cf. n. 2191, 2).

But from this faculty are excepted: 1. Vows of perpetual chastity and of entering Religion (cf. n. 645, q. 2); 2. Vows in favor of a third party, if they have already been accepted, unless the third party renounces his right (cf. n. 647). Therefore vows emitted in some religious Community are also excepted.³⁵ 3. Penal vows preservative from sin, unless the commutation is made into another work which equally or more conduces to preservation.³⁶

Let it be noted: 1. These absolutions, commutations, dispensations cannot be made, without a special concession, outside the act of sacramental confession.³⁷ - See the Response of the S. Penitentiary, March 16, 1865.³⁸

2. Each faithful person can enjoy these things only one time during the Jubilee; but it is not necessary that all things be applied to him at the same time, or by the same confessor; yet they can be applied only to those "who have sincerely and seriously determined to obtain the Jubilee, and with this intention of gaining it and of fulfilling the remaining works necessary for gaining it, approach confession."³⁹

1737. I. For the GREATER or ORDINARY Jubilee, three conditions are usually required, namely:

1. DEVOUT VISITATION OF CHURCHES, namely of those which in the City are designated by the S. Pontiff, and outside the City by the Ordinaries of places, by praying piously in them according to the intention of the Pontiff, for example by reciting five Pater and Ave, or equivalent prayers. - It does not hinder if, while you cannot enter the church to be visited because of the multitude of men, you pray in the vestibule, or before the doors, or in the cemetery, or before the locked door of the church. But if several altars are prescribed to be visited, they must be visited in such a way that by some movement at least of the body you turn yourself to each one, with the intention of visiting it, then reciting the prayers due.² If in some place only one church exists, from the general decree of the S. C. of Indulgences issued on March 15, 1852,³ the faculty is given to Ordinaries of granting that all the prescribed visitations be performed in this church. But these visitations in the same church must be distinguished from one another, so that each time it is necessary to enter it and to go out from it. Thus from the declaration of the S. Penitentiary, January 26, 1875.⁴

2. VALID CONFESSION, even if only formally integral (cf. n. 1731).

3. COMMUNION, made in the state of grace, or in which at least first sanctifying grace is conferred per accidens,⁵ namely if someone indisposed, but in good faith and attrite, approaches the Sacred Table (cf. n. 1395).

II. For the EXTRAORDINARY Jubilee, besides the three enumerated conditions, there are usually prescribed:

1. A FAST of three days, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. But a strict fast is prescribed, in which only fasting foods may be eaten, unless commutation is obtained (cf. Decision of the S. Penitentiary, March 16, 1865).⁶ - 2. ALMS, either indeterminate, that is, some alms; or determinate, according to the ability of each one. But it is not necessary to expend money; it suffices to give another thing estimable by price, for example clothing, etc.

Note. For a PARTICULAR Jubilee, attention must be paid to the tenor of the Indult granted. - Ordinarily only three things are required, namely Confession, Communion, and visitation of some church.

1738. Three things here come TO BE NOTED: 1. To gain the Indulgence of a Jubilee, works already due from another title do not suffice. Hence: 1) a fast already prescribed, for example by reason of Ember Days, does not suffice, unless the S. Pontiff has granted this, for example by determining, or permitting to be determined, the Lenten time for gaining the Jubilee. 2) Annual confession does not suffice, unless this is expressly granted. 3) Paschal Communion does not suffice, even if the Jubilee is celebrated at Eastertide. Thus the S. Penitentiary, January 26, 1875. Yet sometimes the S. Pontiff has benignly granted that it suffice.⁷ 4) Finally, the visitation of a church while someone assists at Mass on Sunday does not suffice.

2. To confessors is granted the FACULTY OF COMMUTING the works prescribed into other works, otherwise not due and of almost the same nature; not indeed to all indiscriminately, but only to those who are in physical or moral impossibility of fulfilling the common conditions. And when it is granted that the faithful can gain the indulgence of the Jubilee several times, the works enjoined can also be commuted several times (S. Penitentiary, March 18, 1886).⁸ Yet it must be adverted that this faculty can be exercised only within the act of confession (as was said above, n. 1737, note 1), and is not extended to all the works prescribed. For Confession is never commuted; Communion, however, is commuted only for children, and also, as it seems, for those laboring under chronic illness (from the general concession of Pius IX reported in n. 1733, q. 7, which does not except the Jubilee); finally prayers cannot be commuted, even if the visitations of churches are commuted. Thus Benedict XIV, Constitution Inter praeteritos, § 53.

3. The Jubilee, at least from more recent Indults, can be PROROGUED into another but proximate time, in favor of travelers, navigators, and generally of those who are impeded by some transitory obstacle from completing all the prescribed works within the very time of the Jubilee. - Hence, if on the last day someone, for example because of a broken fast or the postponement of absolution, were prohibited from communicating, he would rightly obtain a prorogation of the Jubilee from the confessor.

1739. Questions. Q. 1. What QUANTITY of alms must be expended?

Resp. "In this, the words of the Indult are especially to be attended to; for if it is said: As much as to each one according to his ability shall have seemed good, then the quantity must be proportioned to the abilities of each one; hence it will suffice for a poor man to give an obol, not for a rich man. - But if it is said simply: Whoever shall have given alms, one must distinguish: if the Pope asks it only for exercising mercy toward the poor, then it suffices to give any sum whatever; otherwise, if alms is demanded as a subsidy for some pious work."⁹

Q. 2. Whether the POOR are bound, in order to gain the Jubilee, to give alms?

Resp. Affirmative. Because no one is so poor that he cannot at least give an obol. - But for Religious, children in the household, wives, and servants it suffices if alms is expended by their Superiors with their knowledge. - But if the Superior refuses to expend it, a commutation must be sought.¹⁰

Q. 3. Whether a certain ORDER is required in executing the conditions of the Jubilee?

Resp. Negative, for this is not expressed in the Bulls. - But the last work must be placed in the state of grace. But if someone after confession falls into mortal sin, although he is not bound to repeat the visitations, etc., he is nevertheless bound to confess again, nor does it suffice to be contrite, if he wishes to gain the Jubilee.¹¹

Q. 4. Whether all works must be performed in ONE AND THE SAME place?

Resp. Negative, for the S. Penitentiary (in the year 1875) declared: "works begun in one place can be fulfilled and completed in another, where someone must spend his life by reason of office, service, or marriage." - Likewise, to the question: "whether he gains the Jubilee who fulfills the prescribed conditions in another diocese, where he does not have domicile, if he observes the ordinances of the Ordinary of the place where he is staying?" it was answered: Affirmative.¹²

Q. 5. Whether confession made on the VIGIL of the first day of the Jubilee suffices?

Resp. Negative, and the reason is that all works must be done within the interval of time established for gaining the Jubilee. - Yet confession can be begun either on the vigil or before, provided it is finished during the time of the Jubilee. And the whole confession can be performed in that part of the vigil which follows first Vespers; because the first day, according to ecclesiastical custom, is usually computed from first Vespers; and this is constantly observed in the ordinary Jubilee of the City, as is clear from the Bull Peregrinantes of Benedict XIV, May 5, 1749, § 5.¹³

Q. 6. Whether all the enjoined works must be completed in ONE week?

Resp. 1. Affirmative, as regards FASTS. This is clear from the formula usually appended, which sounds thus: "Those who have taken part in the procession, or have visited the churches, and have fasted on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of one of the two weeks, and likewise have confessed their sins and been refreshed with holy Communion, and have bestowed alms, etc." Therefore the three fasts must be done in the same week.¹⁴ - 2. As regards OTHER WORKS, in more recent Indults it has been expressly declared that they do not have to be completed necessarily within the same week. Thus Pius IX, November 20, 1846, and Leo XIII, March 12, 1881. - Indeed, sometimes the whole year is granted for fulfilling any conditions whatever (Encyclical, December 22, 1885).

Q. 7. Whether the Jubilee can be gained SEVERAL TIMES?

Resp. The Jubilee of the HOLY YEAR in the City, but not outside, can be gained by someone several times; and the same faculty is usually granted as to extraordinary Jubilees. But each one can enjoy the favors annexed to the Jubilee only once. Thus all,¹⁵ and the S. Penitentiary has expressly declared it concerning several particular Jubilees.

Q. 8. Whether he sins gravely who, after he has been absolved from reserved cases, afterward DOES NOT FULFILL the works enjoined?

Resp. Negative, with the common opinion. "The reason is because an obligation of this sort is not considered imposed either from the nature of the Jubilee, or from the precept of the Pontiff or confessor." But he who, with the true intention of gaining the Jubilee, has been absolved from censures, or dispensed in a vow or irregularity, does not relapse if afterward, his will having changed, he does not gain the Jubilee, even culpably.¹⁶

Q. 9. Whether he who confessed in the time of Jubilee, and FORGOT or WITH CAUSE OMITTED to confess his RESERVED sins, can then be absolved by any confessor?

Resp. 1. Affirmative, if the confessor had the express intention of absolving also from reserved sins. Thus all. - 2. The same is more commonly and more probably admitted, although the confessor did not think about this; because the penitent, by force of the Jubilee, acquired the right to the favor of the Pontiff, so that from that time he can be absolved by any confessor.¹⁷ - 3. But if someone began a confession within the Jubilee, which materially imperfect confession must be deferred longer, he will be able to be absolved from all reserved sins either then or afterward.¹⁸

Q. 10. Whether by an INVALID confession in the Jubilee reserved censures are absolved, and the reservation of sins is removed?

Resp. Negative, according to St. Alphonsus.¹⁹ The reason is that the Pontiff grants such a faculty for this end, that the faithful may gain the indulgence of the Jubilee. Therefore he is not presumed to grant it in favor of those who, because of an invalid confession, cannot gain the indulgence.

1740. Note. During the time in which the Jubilee of the HOLY YEAR is celebrated at Rome (but not during the time in which it is extended to the World): 1. Outside the City are SUSPENDED faculties or privileges both of absolving from cases reserved to the Apostolic See and of commuting vows, dispensing from irregularities, etc.; whether these faculties were conceded in view of indulgences, or for other causes. Thus Benedict XIV.¹ There are excepted (unless something else is clear from the Bull): 1) the faculties of the S. Inquisition and its ministers; 2) faculties conceded to Bishops by the Council of Trent; 3) faculties of Regular Superiors to be exercised with their subjects; 4) faculties of Missionaries whom the Holy See sends, or the S. Congregation de Propaganda Fide; 5) faculties which the S. Penitentiary gives to Missionaries for places of missions; 6) faculties which perhaps the confessor has either obtained from the S. Penitentiary, or has as subdelegated by his own Ordinary after the manner of a habit for the internal forum and only in the act of sacramental confession (S. Penitentiary, year 1875).²

2. Similarly, in the holy year there are suspended (unless otherwise established, as in the Jubilee of the year 1875) all indulgences both plenary and particular which have been conceded for the living, and which are neither real nor local; but those conceded for the dead are not suspended. Indeed, from the concession of Benedict XIV, through the whole year of Jubilee, all Indulgences can be applied to the dead, not even those excepted which otherwise were not applicable to them.

Yet among indulgences for the living, some are EXCEPTED from suspension, namely: 1. Indulgences for the dying; 2. Indulgences for the prayer Angelus Domini; 3. Indulgences for visitation of the Most Holy Sacrament solemnly exposed; 4. Indulgences for those who accompany the Most Holy Sacrament carried to the sick; 5. all Indulgences which are conceded by someone other than the Pope. These things are deduced from the Constitutions of Benedict XIV and Leo XII.³

1741. I. The dying can, by various titles, gain SEVERAL INDULGENCES, which they call latae, that is, to be obtained without the ministry of a priest, namely: 1. If they possess sacred things, for example crosses, medals, rosaries, enriched with apostolic Indulgences; - 2. if they are members of some Confraternity, for example of the Most Holy Rosary, of the Third Order of St. Francis, etc.; or if they wear some approved Scapular; 3. if they have frequently in life elicited acts of the theological virtues, etc.⁴

The conditions required for gaining these indulgences are the same as for the indulgence of the Apostolic Blessing (see below, q. 2). But if they are annexed, for example, to a cross, rosary, etc., it is required that the sick person have these things with him, or near the bed, although he does not see them, and that he invoke the Most Holy Name of Jesus as many times as there are indulgences to be gained.

II. Among the indulgences which they call ferendae (or to be granted through the ministry of a priest), which can be gained in the article of death, there especially stands forth the APOSTOLIC BLESSING for the article of death, or GENERAL ABSOLUTION, which the Roman Ritual reports.

1742. Questions. Q. 1. When can GENERAL ABSOLUTION be imparted?

Resp. In grave infirmity, namely in the imminent article of death, under which is understood not indeed the agony, but an evident and proximate danger of death, as is gathered from the Bull of Benedict XIV. The rubric of this blessing says: "It is customarily imparted after the Sacraments of Penance, Eucharist, and Extreme Unction." In which case the Confiteor must be said three times (S. C. Indulg., February 5, 1841, to the 6th).⁵

Q. 2. What is required ON THE PART OF THE PRIEST for VALIDLY imparting this Indulgence?

Resp. 1. That he be delegated. This delegation is made by the Roman Pontiff to all Bishops requesting it, together with the power of subdelegating priests, both secular and regular; and indeed in such a way that neither the Indult granted to Bishops expires by the death of the S. Pontiff, nor the subdelegation by the departure or death of the subdelegating Bishop (Thus Benedict XIV, Constitution Pia Mater, April 5, 1747).⁶

2. That he use the formula prescribed by Benedict XIV: if this is omitted, even because of the lack of a book, the indulgence is not conferred, because it is not only directive, but preceptive. S. C. Indulg., February 5, 1841, in Valentinen., to the 8th.⁷

NB. This formula, according to the Brief of our Most Holy Lord LEO XIII, Quo universi (July 7, 1882), must be used by all, even if by another title, for example from a privilege conceded to some Order or Confraternity, General Absolution is given. Wherefore, in the typical edition of the Roman Ritual (Regensburg, 1884), all other formulas which were formerly read in the appendix have been expunged.

Q. 3. What is required ON THE PART OF THE INFIRM?

Resp. 1. The intention of gaining the indulgence, at least interpretative, as is clear from the words of the Rubric. For it is said that it is to be imparted to those "who either have even requested it... or probably would have requested it, or have given signs of contrition." 2. That the sick person be "confessed and refreshed with holy Communion, or insofar as he has been unable to do this, at least contrite, and has devoutly invoked the NAME OF JESUS by mouth, if he could, but if not, in the heart." 3. An act of contrition and charity; and 4. An act by which the sick person receives death from the hand of the Lord with a calm and willing soul, as is clear from the Bull. - And these conditions indeed, as long as the sick person is in possession of his mind, are required as conditions sine qua non for gaining the indulgence, as the Authors commonly teach, and concerning the invocation of the Most Holy Name of Jesus the S. C. OF INDULGENCES expressly declared on September 23, 1775.⁸

Wherefore the RITUAL admonishes: "But if the sick person wishes to confess, let him (the Confessor) hear him and absolve him. If he does not ask for confession, let him excite him to eliciting an act of contrition; concerning the efficacy and power of this Blessing, if time allows, let him admonish him briefly; then let him instruct and exhort him, that he willingly bear the inconveniences and pains of illness in expiation of his past life, and offer himself ready to God for freely accepting whatever shall please Him, and patiently undergoing death itself in satisfaction for the punishments which he has merited by sinning." - It is a matter of prudence to moderate this exhortation (which can already be made in confession) in such a way that disturbance of the sick person, or indignation of the bystanders, is avoided.

Q. 4. Whether this Apostolic Blessing can be REPEATED?

Resp. 1. Affirmative, in a different danger of death; 2. negative, in the same article of death. - For, from the Decree of the S. C. of Indulgences, March 12, 1855,⁹ it is prohibited "to impart several times to a sick person, remaining in the same danger of death, by the same or by several priests having this faculty, the plenary Indulgence in the article of death which is commonly called the papal blessing." - Likewise, there it is prohibited "to impart several times to a sick person, in the same circumstances, a plenary Indulgence from another reason, for example aggregation to the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, of the Holy Scapular, etc." Nor is it permitted to repeat it because the sick person received it in the state of mortal sin, or relapsed into sin, or received Extreme Unction or absolution again. The reason is because the sick person gains the indulgence in the true article of death, if then he is in the state of grace and has already fulfilled the other conditions.

In these words the S. C. OF INDULGENCES, July 28, 1840,¹⁰ declares the efficacy of this privilege:

1743. "By the Indulgence annexed to a PRIVILEGED ALTAR, if the mind of the one granting and the use of the power of the keys are considered, there is to be understood a plenary indulgence, which immediately frees the soul from all punishments of Purgatory; but if the effect of the application is considered, there is to be understood an indulgence whose measure corresponds to the good pleasure and acceptance of the divine mercy." - But if celebration is made for several deceased persons, the indulgence of the altar is limited to one of them, except on the day of the Commemoration of All the Dead, from the decision of the S. C. of Indulgences, June 19, 1880, in Romana, to the 2nd,¹¹ and February 29, 1864, in Andegaven.¹²

The Privilege can be LOCAL or real, when namely it is attached to the altar itself; or PERSONAL, when it is granted to the priest himself, wherever he is going to celebrate.

I. The LOCAL Privilege is generally subject to these rules:

1. The altar must be fixed, unless a portable one is permitted in the Indult. But fixed is here understood not in the liturgical sense, but as that which is stable and immovable, although not consecrated, and in the middle of which a consecrated stone, even removable, has been placed. Thus the S. C. of Indulgences, March 20, 1846, in Mechlinien.¹³

2. The privilege inheres in the altar erected in honor of some Saint or Mystery, but not in the stone. - Hence, the privilege remains: if, in a fixed altar, another likewise consecrated stone is substituted for the consecrated stone (S. C. Indulg., December 15, 1841, in Mechlinien., to the 3rd);¹⁴ likewise, if the privileged altar under the same title is built again in another place of the church, or in a destroyed church, but rebuilt in the same place (S. C. Indulg., September 16, 1723, in Murana).¹⁵

3. Perpetual burdens and foundations cannot be received for privileged altars. S. C. Indulg., November 16, 1711, in Panormitana.¹⁶

Note. On the day of the Commemoration of all the dead, all altars are privileged (S. C. Indulg., May 19, 1761).¹⁷ The same must be said of the day of exposition of the Most Holy Sacrament for the Forty Hours (Thus Pius VII, through a special Rescript given on May 12, 1807).¹⁸ Yet this must be understood of the prayer of the Forty Hours properly so called, and instituted in all things according to the Instruction of Clement XI, January 21, 1705, and according to the Constitution Accepimus of Benedict XIV, April 16, 1746.

II. The PERSONAL Privilege is granted for a time, or in perpetuity; for all days, or for some days in the week. - Such an Indult does not necessarily have to be exhibited to the Ordinary, unless otherwise disposed in the concession (S. C. Ind., February 5, 1851).¹⁹

But the time of the Privilege begins to run, not from the day of publication or use, but from the day of concession (May 18, 1711).²⁰ "The time (however) set for confirmation of the privilege, in remote regions, is to be computed not from the day of the Date, but from the day of presentation of the Brief to the Ordinary" (February 4, 1736).²¹ - A priest who enjoys the personal privilege of an altar, if he has been aggregated to some Congregation which also enjoys the said privilege, can use this other privilege, provided that in the Indult it is not expressly disposed otherwise.²² It must also be noted that a priest who has made the heroic act, that is, the cession of all satisfactions for the dead, daily enjoys a personal privilege (Pius IX, September 3, 1852).²³

IT IS ASKED. What things must be OBSERVED in the celebration of Mass, so that someone may enjoy the privilege, whether LOCAL or PERSONAL?

Resp. 1. The Mass of Requiem must be said (and indeed in black vestments, or for a reasonable cause violet), as often as it is permitted by the Rubrics; otherwise, the indulgence is not conceded. - Except if another Mass, for example of the Feria, of a semidouble Feast, or even a votive Mass, is celebrated by reason of the exposition of the Most Holy Sacrament, the Station of the church, or some solemnity. Thus the S. C. of Indulgences, April 11, 1864.²⁴ But on impeded days, it suffices to celebrate the Mass of the current Feast.

2. He who has a PERSONAL privilege for three or four Masses in individual weeks must celebrate on non-impeded days, or defer to non-impeded days, insofar as they occur in the same week (S. C. Indulg., April 11, 1840, and February 22, 1847).²⁵

3. A Mass celebrated at a PRIVILEGED ALTAR is privileged, even if neither the one offering the alms nor the priest celebrating intended to apply the privilege. S. C. Indulg., March 12, 1855, in Veronen.²⁶ Nor does the state of grace seem to be required in the celebrant, because the efficacy of the privilege does not rest on the personal dispositions of the priest, but arises from the suffrage of the Church.²⁷

4. He who, on permitted days, did not celebrate in vestments of black color, at a privileged altar, for acquiring the plenary Indulgence, and did this in good faith, to what is he bound? - Resp. "If he was bound by agreement to celebrate Mass at a privileged altar, he must gain the plenary indulgence for those deceased persons to whom he applied the fruit of the Mass, as often as on non-impeded days he did not use vestments of black color."²⁸ S. C. OF INDULGENCES, February 22, 1847 (cf. n. 1616).

Note. The Sacrifice and the indulgence of the privileged altar cannot be DIVIDED, but each must be applied for the same deceased person: 1. when in the Indult it is read: "he who shall have said Mass for a deceased person at such an altar, frees his soul" (or for deceased persons); 2. when the founder, or one expending the stipend, imposes the burden of celebrating at a privileged altar. - Otherwise, in other cases.²⁹

Note. - Whenever in this Appendix it is cited, Prinzivalli or Prinz. is understood of his work: Resolutiones seu Decreta authentica S. Congiis Indulgentiis Sacrisque Reliquiis praepositae, etc. This collection is authentic. - Ulrich, C.SS.R., is understood of this little work of his approved by S. C. Ind.: Trésor spirituel, etc. - Maurel, S.J., is understood of his work: Le chrétien éclairé, which likewise was endowed with the approval of S. C. Indulg. - Bouvier is understood of his work: Traité Dogmatique et pratique des Indulgences. - Loiseaux is understood of his work: Traité canonique et pratique du jubilé.

1777. - Indulgence, as the word itself indicates, is the same as grace, condonation, mercy, remission. For indulgence is the condonation of the penalty owed for sins through the application of the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints: for Christ our Savior offered to God the Father his satisfactions for the full remission of our sins. But these satisfactions of infinite price, to which are added also the satisfactions of the Blessed Virgin, and also the superabundant satisfactions of the Saints, are called the treasury of the Church, of which we are made partakers through Indulgences.

Definition. An indulgence is the remission of temporal penalty owed to God for sins committed after Baptism and remitted as regards fault, granted by a legitimate minister, outside the Sacrament of Penance, through the application of the treasury of the Church.

Division. Indulgence is distinguished in many ways.

1° Plenary or partial, according as the whole temporal penalty is remitted, or only part of it.

2° Personal, local, real, according as it is granted immediately to persons, e.g., to a Confraternity; or is affixed to some place, e.g., a Church, Oratory, etc.; or is attached to some portable thing, e.g., an Image, Cross, Rosary, etc. - A real indulgence, however, is almost always at the same time personal, since, with few exceptions, the owner alone of the thing to which it is annexed can gain it.

3° Temporal or perpetual, according as it is granted for a determinate time, or without any prefixed term.

1778. Principles. - I. The Church has true power of granting Indulgences. ... It is of Faith against Protestants. - The arguments, see among the Dogmaticians.

II. Only Prelates of the Church have power of granting Indulgences. For this faculty can belong only to those who have power over the mystical body of Christ, and who can dispense the treasury of the Church. Hence:

1° The Pope alone can grant Indulgences with respect to all the faithful; for he alone has jurisdiction over all the faithful. Concerning the recognition and publication of these, see nn. 195, 1192. 7°, and note besides the following:

a) The publication of local Indulgences without recognition and license of the Ordinary is illicit; nevertheless neither is required for the value of these indulgences.

b) Personal Indulgences, privileges, and faculties do not necessarily have to be exhibited to the Ordinary, unless either there is question of the faculty of erecting the Way of the Cross, or it is otherwise disposed in the concessions obtained.

c) Indulgences which the Supreme Pontiffs granted to all the faithful of the whole world in bulls or rescripts already published by most approved authors, e.g., by Ferraris or contained in La Raccolta, do not need promulgation of Ordinaries.¹

Concerning Indulgences of Confraternities, see n. 1790. q. 2°. R. 4).

2° Bishops, provided they have a See, i.e., enjoy Episcopal jurisdiction (for there is question of an act of jurisdiction, not of Order), can by common law grant Indulgences to their diocesans. But by the Decree of Lateran Council IV,² their power has been so restricted that ordinarily they cannot grant except Indulgences of forty days, and, on the day of the consecration of a Church, of one year. - I said: to diocesans. For locals granted generally can also be gained by foreigners.³ - But Bishops can grant the aforesaid Indulgences in perpetuity.⁴ Nevertheless it is forbidden that another Indulgence of forty days be applied to the same object, e.g., by the Bishop's successor.⁵ The Indulgences which our Bishops can grant by force of Apostolic faculty, see p. LXXI. nn. 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 and p. LXXIII. nn. 7, 8, 9, 10.

3° A delegate can grant the same Indulgences as he from whom he was delegated. The reason is that acts of jurisdiction can be exercised through delegates.

4° Cardinals can grant Indulgences of one hundred days in the churches of their titles. - Nuncios grant one hundred, or two hundred, or three hundred days, but less than one year, to their subjects.⁶

5° Prelates inferior to a Bishop cannot grant any Indulgences; nor Vicars General, unless from express delegation of the Bishop; nor Capitular Vicars, or among us the Administrator, the See being vacant; much less Pastors.⁷ Except, as is clear of itself, priests to whom the faculties of which under 2° at the end are communicated, either by the Bishop or, the See being vacant, by the Administrator.

Note. - The communication of merits of an Order, which Superiors of Regulars sometimes grant to distinguished benefactors, is not a grant of Indulgences, but, as Suarez says, only an offering or donation of suffrages.¹

III. Eight things are required in the subject for gaining Indulgences:

1° That he be baptized, because the treasury of the Church cannot be dispensed to unbelievers; and that he not be excommunicated with major excommunication; for this deprives of the communion of spiritual goods.

2° That he be subject to the one granting, as is established from what was said here under II. 2°.

3° That he fulfill the works enjoined at the time, in the manner, and in the place prescribed, because under this condition Indulgences are granted.

Thus: a) As regards manner, it is sometimes required that some prayer, e.g., En ego, o bone et dulcissime, be recited before an image of the Crucified. - But prayers to which Indulgences are annexed can be recited in any language whatever, "provided the versions are faithful. ... But that there be certainty concerning the fidelity of the version, the declaration of S. Congr. Indulg. suffices, ... or of one of the Ordinaries of the place where the language into which the prayer is translated is vernacular." Thus S. C. Ind., December 4, 1872.

b) As regards place, the condition often is that a parish church or public oratory be visited; in which case of itself it does not suffice that, e.g., seminarians visit the oratory of the seminary, if the faithful are not accustomed to approach it publicly.² Maurel,³ however, testifies that in Rome it was admitted that those who live in Community and do not have the faculty of going out at will can in their domestic oratories, although they are not publicly open, gain all Indulgences to which the condition of visiting a church or public oratory is attached.

c) As regards time:

1) If an indulgence is granted from first Vespers (which, according to St. Alph.,⁴ begin at midday), even from this time (up to sunset of the Feast itself) the prescribed works are validly performed;⁵ otherwise from midnight to midnight.⁶ Concerning Confession and Communion, see here under 8°. 2). - An Indulgence truly begins from first Vespers if it was granted in view of the Mystery or Saint honored on that day. In other cases the letters of concession should be consulted.¹

2) With the solemnity of the Feast the Indulgence also is transferred.²

3) Indulgences granted on Feasts, or on all and individual Feasts of the Lord, or even on Feasts, or on all Feasts, or on all and individual Feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ, are always understood only of the Feasts of the Nativity, Circumcision, Epiphany, Sunday of the Resurrection, Ascension, and Body of Christ; and likewise S. C. declared that, whenever in a concession there are found the words on Feasts, or on all Feasts, or on all and individual Feasts of the B. V. M., they are always understood only of the Feasts of the Conception, Nativity, Annunciation, Purification, and Assumption.³

4) An Indulgence once in a month or in a year, annexed to certain works or prayers to be completed through the month or year, is not acquired unless the prescribed works or prayers have been previously and really paid through the month or year. But the month is not necessarily to be computed from the first to the last day, nor the year from January 1 to December 31; but thirty days, or twelve months, can be taken.⁴

4° That he be in the state of grace, at least (unless the concession requires something else⁵) when he places the last prescribed work; because penalty is not remitted unless fault has been dismissed. - As regards the sense of the clause: those who, truly penitent, confessed and refreshed by Holy Communion, have visited the church, from the decree of S. C. I.,⁶ "the prescribed visit of the church, whether before or after the fulfillment of the other pious works, is validly made."⁷

But what if the prescribed work is done with venial fault from the part of the end or circumstances? According to St. Alph.,⁸ this does not obstruct the Indulgence, unless the fault affects the substance of the work, as e.g., if someone gives alms merely because of vainglory. Cf. also n. 1779. q. 2°. q. 3°.

5° That the works be completed by a human act; for a merely material act does not suffice.

6° That due intention be present. - Cf. n. 1779. q. 15°.

7° That the works be done by him who intends to gain the Indulgence, except alms, which can also be done through another.

8° Finally, one does not satisfy the required works by works to which he is already obligated by another title, unless the Indulgence has been granted precisely for these works, or the intention of the one granting is sufficiently clear in this matter. Cf. Benedict XIV,¹ Prinz.²

For a plenary indulgence, besides, at least ordinarily, these things are required:

1) Sacramental Confession. Cf. n. 1779. q. 10° and 11°.

2) Communion. This, as also Confession (not the remaining works), can be done on the preceding day. S. C., October 6, 1870, and January 12, 1878.³ But as regards the Jubilee, see n. 1786. q. 7°.

3) Vocal prayers (as regards deaf-mutes cf. n. 1779. q. 17°) according to the intention of the one granting. They can also be recited alternately with a companion.

But to the question: Whether five Pater and Ave, which are customarily recited to fulfill the intention of the Supreme Pontiff, suffice when it is prescribed that a church or altar be visited, and there prayers be poured forth, ... S. C. responded: "The prayers required in concessions of Indulgences for fulfilling the intention of the Supreme Pontiff are at the will of each one of the faithful, unless they are particularly assigned."⁴ Yet Benedict XIV warns:⁵ "Although a brief prayer, employed with a sense of fervent piety, can satisfy the prescription and the law of the Constitution" (promulgating the Indulgence), "nevertheless very often brevity of prayer is wont to proceed from a moderate zeal for piety or a mind little inclined to spiritual things, or from weariness and negligence." - Moreover five Pater and Ave, or an equivalent prayer, suffice. - As regards deaf-mutes and the sick, see n. 1779. q. 17° and 18°.

1779. Questions. - Quaer. 1° Whether a concession of an Indulgence made without a cause is valid?

Resp. No. The reason is that the Prelates of the Church are only delegates of Christ for dispensing the treasury of the Church. But Christ cannot hold as ratified profusions of his treasury made by his own dispensers. Moreover, it does not belong to the faithful, nor to simple priests, to judge concerning the sufficiency of the cause on account of which an Indulgence is granted; for they ought simply to judge that it is just.¹

Quaer. 2° Whether venial sin is an obstacle to gaining an Indulgence?

Resp. No, unless there is question of an Indulgence wholly plenary, or most fully plenary. The reason is that, although the penalty owed to this sin cannot be remitted, nevertheless the penalty owed for other sins already deleted can be remitted. For just as it is not repugnant that the fault of some venial sin be remitted without the fault of others being remitted, so neither is it repugnant that the penalty of remitted venial or mortal sins be deleted, although the penalty for one or several venials remains to be paid.²

Quaer. 3° Whether an Indulgence which is granted as PLENARY can be obtained at least PARTIALLY, if there is present an obstacle preventing it from being obtained entire, e.g., affection toward some venial sin?

Resp. Yes. The reason is, 1° because, from what was said in the preceding question, some venial sin not remitted does not prevent the penalty owed for others from being remitted; 2° because the Supreme Pontiff, in granting a plenary Indulgence, is not presumed to wish to restrict it only to those to whom all venials are remitted; but rather he is deservedly judged to grant it according to the capacity of the subject, so that at least the penalty which can be remitted is remitted, namely, the penalty of sins already remitted. Otherwise plenary Indulgences would for the most part profit nothing, since rarely do the faithful put off every affection, even the least, toward any venial whatsoever, and conceive sufficient sorrow concerning all venials in such a way as to obtain the remission of all. Hence it would happen that partial Indulgences were preferable to plenary ones, which is repugnant to the common sense.³

Some, however, teach that a plenary Indulgence is not granted unless plenarily, or most fully, as they say, so that it must obtain the whole effect or none. But this opinion does not appear probable.

Quaer. 4° What is understood by Indulgences of 10 or 15 days, years, quarantines, etc., etc.?

Resp. According to the common opinion, there is to be understood a remission of so much penalty as once was remitted, or would have been remitted, through canonical penance of the same time. Thus, e.g., by an Indulgence of seven years so much penalty is remitted as was remitted through the penance of seven years customarily enjoined according to the ancient Canons. - But how much canonical penances were worth before God, and how much partial Indulgences of so many days or years are now worth, we are wholly ignorant; because we do not know what proportion our satisfactions have with the penalty owed for our sins. - Thus commonly.

Quaer. 5° Whether he gains Indulgences who does not complete integrally the work prescribed for them?

Resp. 1° No, if he omits a notable part of the work, so that according to moral estimation he does not complete it as regards substance; because he is not judged simply to satisfy the required conditions.

Resp. 2° Otherwise, if he passes over a very small part; because then morally, or as regards substance, the prescribed work is judged to be completed. But a very small part is to be taken relatively. Thus in the Rosary the omission of one Pater and Ave seems very small; but otherwise if five Pater and Ave are required, because the omission of a fifth part of the work is notable.

Quaer. 6° Whether and how Indulgences can be applied to the dead?

Resp. 1° They can be applied, if the following two conditions are present: 1° that they be specially granted in the Pontifical Rescript as applicable to them. Thus, from the concession of Pius IX,² those who have made the so-called vow or oblation, by which they yield all their own meritorious works, while they remain on earth, and each suffrage, when they have departed from this life, to the benefit of the dead, can apply absolutely all Indulgences, granted and to be granted, to souls detained in purgatory; 2° that there be present the intention of making such an application. - Thus all.³

Resp. 2° Nevertheless an Indulgence cannot be applied to the dead by way of absolution, but only by way of suffrage, namely, by beseeching God that he may kindly will to accept such an application and apply it to the souls of purgatory. The reason is that the Pontiff does not have jurisdiction over the souls of the dead. Hence he cannot absolve them from penalties, as by a sentence.

Resp. It is controverted. The OPINION which St. Alphonsus² follows says no. The reason is that there is no divine promise by force of which God is judged certainly to accept the offered Indulgence. Hence he seems to admit that it be applied only according to his good pleasure. Besides, the Church keeps the use of celebrating Sacred rites for several years and for the same souls, e.g., anniversaries, even on privileged altars, or those to which the privilege of a plenary Indulgence adheres. But that practice would be empty if immediately in the first Sacred rite applied to them they were liberated.

But it is certain that Indulgences for the dead profit them, at least for the most part; otherwise the Church would do something useless by applying them to them: which indeed cannot be said without impiety.

Quaer. 8° Whether a special application must be made to certain determinate souls, or a general one suffices?

Resp. A general application made to all souls dwelling in Purgatory suffices, because suffrages are divisible, and therefore can be distributed to all souls. It is clear, moreover, from the practice of the Church, which orders Masses to be celebrated for the dead in general, especially on the second day of November. Likewise, when collections are made in Churches for the souls of purgatory, the Masses to be celebrated from them must be applied for all in general. But if someone wishes to restrict his application, then he must determine some souls specially, at least indirectly. - As regards the privilege of the altar, see n. 1798. q. 4°. R. 3°.

Quaer. 9° Whether the state of grace is required for gaining an Indulgence for the dead?

Resp. S. C. I., August 20, 1822, responded: Delayed. St. Alphonsus more truly affirms, because no one can apply an Indulgence to another unless he first has made it his own; but he who is in mortal sin cannot make Indulgences his own; therefore.¹

Quaer. 10° Whether Confession AND absolution are required, even for venials, for gaining Indulgences which are granted with the clause: to the contrite and confessed?

Resp. 1° Confession is certainly required, notwithstanding the state of grace. The reason is that, although Confession then is not necessary for remitting sins, nevertheless it is required as a condition, or prescribed work. This is clear from the Decree of S. C. Ind. approved by Clement XIII, May 19, 1759.

Resp. 2° But absolution is not required. S. C. Ind., December 15, 1841.²

Note. - The clause: with the heart at least contrite, which is customarily inserted into concessions of partial Indulgences, does not indicate an enjoined work, but the necessity of the state of grace for gaining the Indulgence. Therefore those who are already in the state of grace do not need to elicit an act of contrition. The same holds concerning analogous formulae: with contrite heart, or to the contrite.³

Quaer. 11° Whether Confession is required as often as a plenary Indulgence is to be gained?

Resp. 1° It is not required with respect to all plenary Indulgences; for there are several Indulgences for the gaining of which no Confession is required. Such are the Indulgences granted for the exercise of the Way of the Cross. Nevertheless the state of grace is required. See n. 1778. III. 4° and this n. q. 9°.

Resp. 2° It is required with respect to most plenary Indulgences. This is evinced from the Rescripts of several concessions. Nevertheless, from a special indult, granted in perpetuity, the faithful who, unless they are legitimately impeded, are accustomed to confess once in any running space of seven days, can gain all plenary Indulgences occurring in the week, provided they remain in the state of grace, and provided nothing is changed "concerning Indulgences of Jubilee, both ordinary and extraordinary, and others granted after the manner of Jubilee, for obtaining which, just as the other enjoined works, so also Sacramental Confession must be performed at the time prescribed in their concession." But if they do not remain in the state of grace, there is need of another Confession, since the decree adds the clause: "if they are conscious to themselves of no mortal fault committed by them after the aforesaid last Confession." Thus from the Decree of Clement XIII, December 9, 1763; and it is also confirmed from the Decree of S. C. Ind., November 15, 1878, in Acta, T. XI. p. 358 sq.

Note. - a) Not a few Bishops obtain from the Roman Curia an extension of this privilege to those who confess twice in a month, or in any running space of fourteen days.

b) Confession performed within seven days before a Festivity, in places in which a scarcity of confessors is present, can suffice for gaining both the Indulgence annexed to the Festivity and the other Indulgences occurring within the aforesaid time, nothing changed concerning Indulgences granted according to the form of Jubilee, as in the cited decree of December 9, 1763 and in the decrees of June 12, 1822 and December 15, 1841.²

Quaer. 12° Whether one can on the same day gain diverse Indulgences, or the same Indulgences several times?

Resp. 1° As regards diverse Indulgences, generally the faithful can gain them, at least if they are partial (concerning plenary ones see q. 14°), and annexed to diverse works, or to the same works, but works which can be repeated several times in the day. - Thus commonly the Theologians, and this is confirmed from the practice of the Church and of the faithful.

Resp. 2° As regards the same Indulgences, this depends on the mind of the Pontiff bestowing Indulgences. Hence attention must be paid to the letters of concession; if they determine nothing, the common interpretation and practice of the Church must be followed. - Thus on the same day several Indulgences of stations, or of visitation of a Church, cannot be obtained, as is clear from the Decree of S. C. Ind. approved by Innocent XI. - Voit,³ Lacroix.⁴ Thus also a daily plenary Indulgence, perpetual or granted for a time to those visiting some church or public oratory, is always to be understood in this way: that on any day indeed, but only once in a year, it can be acquired by each faithful person, except only the case in which, in the Decree of concession in favor of some church or public oratory, it is clearly and explicitly expressed that a plenary Indulgence can in fact be acquired daily by any one of Christ's faithful rightly disposed. Thus S. C. Ind., March 15, 1852.¹ On the contrary, it is lawful to gain several times in the day several Indulgences annexed to the Rosary and its individual parts, or to the recitation of acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity, etc.; because in the Rescript of the Pontiff it is said: as often as.

Resp. 1° Yes, if the prescribed work cannot be repeated, as fasting, Communion, or is not accustomed to be repeated on the same day, as Confession, unless this is necessary from elsewhere, namely because of relapse, and the Indulgences concur from diverse titles, and are gainable on the same day. S. C. I., January 12, 1878. Rev. Th. T. X. p. 231.

Resp. 2° But no, if Indulgences concur from the same title, e.g., if someone has two medals, to each of which an Indulgence of one year has been granted with the burden of repeatable works; for then several Indulgences cannot be obtained together at the same time, unless the enjoined works are repeated; for such is judged to be the mind of the one granting, since he enjoins works which can be repeated. - Thus Voit.²

Quaer. 14° Whether several plenary Indulgences can be acquired on the same day?

Resp. 1° No one can gain a second Indulgence at the same time for himself, if after the first no penalty to be paid remains any longer.

Resp. 2° Otherwise, yes, provided however that the other respective conditions placed upon them are observed, e.g., by repeated visitations of the church, and by going out from it and entering it again.³

Quaer. 15° Whether and what intention is required for gaining Indulgences?

Resp. 1° An intention at least virtual certainly is required, whenever an Indulgence is granted with a certain intention to be proposed to oneself, e.g., of praying for the happy state of the Church, or whenever an intention of gaining the Indulgence is required for obtaining privileges annexed to the Indulgence, e.g., to a Jubilee; for otherwise it would be nothing.

Resp. 2° In other cases it is controverted. Busembaum has it thus: "It is not an obstacle to the effect of an Indulgence, ... although in the work performed you did not have the intention of obtaining the Indulgence, as they teach. ... And it seems certain, at least if you had an interpretative one, as Laymann has." St. Alphonsus adds: "And Wigandt ... and others." The reason is that per se no intention is required; for the effect of an Indulgence, or the remission of penalty, depends wholly on the concession of the Church, and not on the intention of the agent. Hence, although he be passive, nor attend to the Indulgence, indeed not know that it is gained by him, while it befalls him, nevertheless he obtains a right to it. For an Indulgence is granted by the Church by way of payment for a work placed; but for the validity of payment it is not necessarily required that he for whom it is bestowed know it. Cf. n. 1797. q. 3°. R. 6°.¹

Moreover, they commonly admit that an intention had in the morning suffices for gaining all Indulgences occurring through the day.

Quaer. 16° Whether, if a faculty is granted of commuting the works enjoined for gaining Indulgences, the commutation must necessarily be made in Confession?

Resp. It is controverted. Busembaum, not corrected by St. Alphonsus, denies, from the declaration of Gregory XIII.²

Nevertheless it must be affirmed, if there is question of Jubilee. Benedict XIV³ (49) p. 429.

Quaer. 17° How can deaf-mutes gain Indulgences to which vocal prayers are annexed?

Resp. From the benign concession of Pius IX, March 15, 1852, they can enjoy a benefit of this kind, provided the following be observed: 1° If some church is to be visited, it will be enough if, by approaching it, they pray to God with mind and affection. 2° If public prayers are to be held, nothing else is required from them except that, with mind elevated to God and with pious affections of heart, they be joined to the faithful gathered together. 3° If private prayers are to be recited, they can obtain from the confessor a commutation into any other pious works, manifested in some way.⁴

Quaer. 18° How can the sick gain Indulgences for acquiring which Holy Communion and the visitation of a church or public oratory in the place where they live is prescribed?

Resp. From the concession of Pius IX, September 18, 1862,¹ they gain "all and individual plenary Indulgences, granted or to be granted in the future, which they otherwise could acquire in the places in which they live, ... provided" 1) "truly penitent, confessed, and absolved from all other conditions, if any shall have been enjoined, in place of Holy Communion and visitation they faithfully fulfill other pious works to be enjoined by the respective confessor"; 2) there is question of faithful habitually infirm, chronically sick, unable to go out from home on account of some permanent physical impediment, and not dwelling in Community.

Quaer. 19° Whether Indulgences are lost if a movable thing to which they are annexed is handed over to another?

Resp. 1° Yes, if dominion of that thing is transferred to another. The reason is that the Church intends only to grant Indulgences to the person for whom some thing has been blessed, or to the first one who uses it. Thus most wisely has the Church established, in order to prevent abuses which otherwise would creep in, if Indulgences could be transferred and given from one to another.

Resp. 2° But no, if by the handing over the dominion of the thing is not transferred, i.e., if the thing is handed over to another only by loan for use, provided however that the lender does not intend to grant the benefit of the Indulgence to the borrower. This is evinced from the List of Indulgences which you have in Conc. Pl. Balt. II.²

Quaer. 20° To what things can Indulgences be applied?

Resp. Indulgences can be applied to any solid things, not even iron or wood excepted, as formerly. Therefore the List of Conc. Pl. Balt. II. p. 340 is to be corrected, where iron, tin, and lead are excepted. Even a rosary made of solid and compact glass can be blessed with Indulgences placed upon it. Therefore only things which can easily be broken or torn, as paper, blown glass, etc., are to be excepted. This is clear from the Decision of S. C. Indulg.³ But these objects must bear the image of some Saint, either solemnly canonized, or at least listed in the Roman Martyrology (List of Conc. Pl. Balt. II. l. c.); nor does the image of some Blessed suffice, unless at the same time the image of a Saint is present.¹

1780. Resolves. - 1° A Bishop, by ordinary law, can grant Indulgences to his subjects staying outside his own diocese, because he has personal jurisdiction over them. But Bishops can grant Indulgences only by way of absolution, and therefore only for the living. - Thus commonly.

2° Anyone can gain Indulgences for any other living Christian by way of payment or satisfaction; for although the fruit of merit is not applicable to another, nevertheless the fruit of satisfaction is applicable, provided that he is in the state of grace. But for this, besides the concession of the Pope, a special intention is required of gaining the Indulgence for that determinate person. But the application of satisfaction can be made to one ignorant, not asking, absent, etc. Thus Suarez, Lugo, Lacroix.²

3° a) Indulgences annexed to some Church do not cease if a new church is built in nearly the same place, yet under the same title; but they cease if it is built in a cemetery, and not in the place of the old church,³ i.e. (if I opine anything) if it is not built in nearly the same place. - But an Indulgence granted to those rightly visiting churches of Regulars, and in view of the regular family by which the churches are ruled, likewise ceases when the regular family ceases.⁴

b) Indulgences are not lost if the object to which they are annexed is indeed broken, but in such a way that it still retains its species (e.g., of a Cross or image).⁵

c) To the question whether Indulgences are lost:

1° If the string of rosaries is broken, whether voluntarily, so that they may be joined by chains, or whether involuntarily and by chance this has happened?

2° If four or five beads are lost?

S. C. I., January 10, 1839,⁶ responded:

To 1st: In the negative, because the rosaries still persevere as regards moral form.

To 2nd: In the negative, from the reason given in the preceding response.

4° Unless this is expressed in the concession itself, either explicitly or implicitly (e.g., by the clause: until our good pleasure), Indulgences do not expire by the death of the one granting, since they are graces; - nor before knowledge of revocation. - Indulgences are to be received as they sound; yet, since they are graces, they are to be interpreted broadly (but strictly as regards the conditions imposed). Hence they are to be judged perpetual, if they were given without restriction of time, and those granted perpetually do not cease by cessation of the cause.¹

5° An Indulgence granted for the article of death ordinarily (cf. n. 1799) does not require application by the confessor or ministry of another. Nevertheless it is expedient to suggest to the dying that the names of Jesus and Mary are to be invoked often, and to recall to their mind the Indulgence to be gained.²

6° If a dying person has several blessed Images, Crosses, Medals, or Rosaries, he can gain an Indulgence as often as he repeats the name of Jesus, or performs the required work (at least probably), whether the Indulgences proceed from the same concession or from diverse ones. Nevertheless, for gaining them, any time in which the article of death is verified suffices, even if death follows only after several days. Likewise, the dying can gain several Indulgences by title of various Confraternities, even if they are ignorant of them or do not remember them.³

7° But it is required that the dying person have with himself the things to which Indulgences are affixed, namely Rosaries, Crosses, etc. Yet it is not necessary that he have these hanging from his neck, wrapped around his arm, or grasped in his hand; but it suffices that these be in the bed, or hanging near the dying person, although he neither sees nor touches them, nor knows or remembers that he has them.⁴

8° Although it is expedient that all works be done in the state of grace, this nevertheless is not necessary, according to the common opinion, but it suffices that the last work be done in grace.⁵

1790. Questions. - Quaer. 1° 1) What are confraternities? 2) What is their origin? 3) By whom can they be erected?

Resp. to 1st. They are congregations of the faithful (but not of Religious) instituted by ecclesiastical authority for exercising pious works.² But by the name of Archconfraternity is understood a confraternity having the privilege of aggregating others to itself, and of communicating to them the spiritual graces granted to itself by the Holy See.

Resp. to 2nd. Confraternities owe their origin remotely to the zeal of association, which always flourished in the Church;³ but especially to the Orders of Regulars, to whom it was granted to erect congregations of laypeople, and to communicate to them various spiritual graces.⁴ The more celebrated Confraternities of this kind are, e.g., the Rosary, which owes its origin to the Dominicans, - the Scapular, which owes its origin to the Carmelites, - the Blessed Virgin Mary, which owes its origin to the Jesuits, - the Holy Family J. M. J., which owes its origin to the Redemptorists, etc., etc.

Resp. to 3rd. They are erected either by Ordinaries (under whose name Vicars General do not come here⁵), or, with the consent of the Ordinary, by Superiors of Orders to whom this has been granted. But confraternities erected by Ordinaries are customarily aggregated to some Archconfraternity, so that they may participate in its Indulgences, etc.⁶

Quaer. 2° What things are to be observed in instituting, - aggregating, - governing confraternities?

Resp. The principal things are these: 1) Only one confraternity of the same kind can be instituted or aggregated in the same church, or even in the same or another place within three miles. Except confraternities of the Most Holy Sacrament, of Christian Doctrine, which can be instituted in individual parishes, and those for which a similar grace shall have been obtained from the Holy See.

Addendum and Corrigendum to Resp. under 1. - Add the following response, or rather indult. "The Vicar General N. N., prostrate at the feet of Your Holiness, humbly sets forth as follows. As regards the erection of confraternities of the same name and institute, the law requires a certain distance of churches. But among us, and in most cities of the United States of North America, in the same place there are quasi-parochial churches for diverse nations speaking diverse languages, chiefly English and German. The parishes have boundaries so distinguished one from another as to the others, that the faithful of the English language, for example, belong to their own churches, and those using the German language to other churches of their own language, and have almost no communication among themselves. By this law it happens that very often two churches, although of diverse language, have almost no distance between themselves. This division and separation is of greater difference in reality than mere local distance. For morally it is impossible that, if there is question of a confraternity erected in a church of one language, the faithful using another language should approach this for enrollment, and especially for public devotion in a different vernacular language. Therefore it is asked whether the law concerning the distance of confraternities also avails for these circumstances or not?

"From the Audience of His Holiness, held on 21 October 1883. Our Most Holy Lord Leo XIII, Pope by Divine Providence, upon the report of me, the undersigned Secretary of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, deigned graciously to consent in favor of the grace of dispensation from the required distance, yet under this condition, that each instituted Confraternity can enroll only those who belong to the determinate nation for which, as is said, the same Confraternity has already been erected or is to be erected. And this under penalty of nullity of the Indulgences." The Pastor, vol. II, p. 22 (124).

The response contains an indult, which avails only for the diocese of that Vicar General.

2) Let the statutes of confraternities be examined and approved by the Ordinary of the place, and they can be corrected and changed by him. He also constitutes the moderator, with power, if it so pleases him, of subdelegating another.

3) Those instituting or aggregating a confraternity should communicate to the same: a) expressly and in species the privileges, Indulgences, etc., granted by name to the Order instituting or aggregating, but not by way of communication; b) they should observe the formula prescribed by the Holy See, which see in Acta.¹

4) Graces and Indulgences communicated to a confraternity are to be promulgated only after recognition by the Ordinary.¹

Thus from the Constitution of Clement VIII, Quaecumque, December 7, 1604, and later decrees.

Quaer. 3° What confraternities, with the Indulgences annexed to the same by the Holy See, can our Bishops institute?

Resp. The confraternities of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, of the Most Holy Rosary, of a Good Death (see p. LXXIII. n. 9).

Note. - It is pleasing to add in this place a summary of certain other declarations of S. C. Ind. concerning Confraternities useful to know.

1. Partial or general non-observance of the statutes of some Confraternity on the part of the members does not hinder the acquisition of Indulgences; for the statutes are given rather for the governance and right administration of the Confraternity, but by no means as works enjoined for gaining Indulgences. Prinz. n. DXXV. 2°. Therefore they can also be changed by Ordinaries according to circumstances. If nevertheless some articles of the statutes propose certain works to be performed by the members, which from Pontifical concession are enriched with indulgences, these must be held as essential and can in no way be changed by the Bishop, lest the members be defrauded of the spiritual benefit of Indulgences. Ib. n. DLI.

2. For gaining Indulgences it suffices that someone has been legitimately enrolled in the Confraternity and fulfills the conditions under which they were granted. Ib. 1°. 3°. Therefore that public reception of members is not necessary which, according to the statutes of certain Confraternities (e.g., of the Most Holy Family), is celebrated with some solemnity at some time after the private reception.

3. Where no daily prayers are prescribed to confreres for the effect of gaining Indulgences, they are not held to recite any determinate prayers. Ib. n. DCI.

4. Confraternities of laypeople cannot be erected in the churches of Nuns, as has often been decided by S. Congr. of Bishops and Regulars.¹

5. No one absent can be enrolled in any Confraternity: understand this according to the Response of S. C. Ind., November 26, 1880, whose summary is handed down at (50) p. 429.

Several kinds of Scapulars are given, for example, of the Most Holy Trinity, of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Seven Sorrows, of Mount Carmel, of the Immaculate Conception, of the Passion, etc.

From Fr. Ulrich we transcribe the following.

1799. - Benedict XIV, in the Constitution Pia Mater, April 5, 1747, among other things established:

1° That Bishops who are placed over churches, or transferred to the governance of other churches, will obtain the faculty of imparting the blessing with plenary Indulgence to the faithful constituted in the article of death, for the whole time during which they will hold the governance of the Church once obtained, the faculty also being added of subdelegating, insofar as they shall have petitioned the aforesaid faculty.⁸

2° That Bishops furnished with this faculty of subdelegating can subdelegate in their cities one or more priests, as they shall judge necessary, and in dioceses as many as, according to the number of souls existing in the dioceses, they shall have judged necessary. Nevertheless priests deputed and subdelegated can be removed by Bishops according to their judgment and prudence, and others can be substituted in their place.¹

3° That indults granted to Bishops do not expire by the death of the Supreme Pontiff granting them; nor do subdelegations cease by the withdrawal or death of the Bishop subdelegating; but they persevere until the arrival of a new Prelate, by whose judgment they can be confirmed or revoked. Yet these subdelegations, if they are not revoked by the successor, are judged to be confirmed.²

1800. Questions. - Quaer. 1° To what sick persons in the article of death is this blessing to be imparted?

Resp. Generally to all asking,³ who are not excommunicated, impenitent, and are not dying in manifest mortal sin; also to children who were able to sin, or to whom absolution and Extreme Unction are ministered;⁴ likewise to those deprived of the use of the senses, delirious and insane, to whom the same Sacraments are ministered, as Benedict XIV prescribes in the rubric of this blessing.

Quaer. 2° What things are required on the part of the priest for imparting this Indulgence?

Resp. 1° That he be delegated. - But the delegation can be restricted, e.g., as regards Nuns, to their ordinary confessor alone,⁵ and by law it is restricted to the diocese of the one delegating; but within its limits it is valid for all indiscriminately, whether they are of another diocese, or Regulars, or other persons immune from the jurisdiction of the delegate.⁶

2° That he use the formula prescribed by Benedict XIV, which is not only directive, but prescriptive.⁷ See the formula in "Excerpt. ex Rit. Rom.," Ed. 1872, p. 248; Ed. 1874, p. 240.

3° That, "if the sick person wishes to confess, he hear him and absolve him. If he does not ask for Confession, let him excite him to eliciting an act of contrition; concerning the efficacy and virtue of this blessing, if time permits, let him briefly admonish him; then let him instruct and exhort him, that he willingly endure the inconveniences and pains of illness in expiation of his past life, and offer himself to God prepared freely to accept whatever shall please him, and patiently to undergo death itself in satisfaction of the penalties which he has deserved by sinning. Then with pious words let him console him, raising him into hope that, from the largess of divine munificence, he is about to obtain that remission of penalties and eternal life."¹ Finally, if other conditions are required, he ought to propose them to the sick person, so that he can fulfill them; concerning these in what follows.

It is to be noted here that the priest sometimes ought to be circumspect, lest, by exhorting the sick person to undergo death patiently in satisfaction of penalties, he offend the same, or incur the indignation of him or of the friends standing by. Therefore, if difficulties are foreseen, it will sometimes be advisable to exhort the sick person to undergo death patiently in Confession or in the absence of others; for, although for obtaining the Indulgence it is required that the sick person receive death from the hand of the Lord with an even and willing mind, nevertheless it is not required that this exhortation be made immediately before the application of the Indulgence, but it suffices that the sick person have that disposition. If this cannot be done, it is fitting to moderate the exhortation in such a way, and to propose it so prudently and gently, that the sick person be prepared to receive death itself from the hand of the Lord with an even and willing mind.²

Quaer. 3° What things are required on the part of the sick person for gaining this Indulgence?

Resp. 1° Grave infirmity. But how great the infirmity ought to be is not so clear. Certainly the article of death suffices, by which is understood, not indeed agony, but evident and imminent danger of death. Nor is it advisable to await the agony itself, lest the sick person, deprived of the use of the senses, be incapable of the disposition required for gaining the Indulgence, or less suited for the same. But it is doubtful whether it is validly granted to those who indeed are so gravely sick that the last Sacraments are administered to them, but nevertheless are not so near to death that they can be said to be constituted in the article of death. See the arguments for and against in De Herdt.¹ The affirmative opinion seems to us much more probable and confirmed by practice.

2° An intention, not indeed actual or virtual, but interpretative, as is clear from the words of the rubric: "or" they "would likely have asked for" that blessing.

3° That the sick person has confessed and been refreshed by Holy Communion, or, insofar as he was unable to do this, is contrite.²

4° That he invoke the name of Jesus with the mouth, if he can; if not, with the heart.

5° That he receive death itself from the hand of the Lord with an even and willing mind.

It is to be noted that the aforesaid conditions are required per se, if namely the sick person is of sound mind and with his senses whole; otherwise, insofar as he was capable of fulfilling them, as is clear from the rubric of the blessing, where it is said that the same is to be imparted even if the sick are deprived of the use of the tongue and of the other senses, or have fallen into delirium or insanity. Nevertheless the state of grace, as being altogether necessary for gaining indulgences, is always required.

Quaer. 4° Whether this apostolic blessing can be repeated?

Resp. No, in the same article of death, and whether by the same priest or by several priests having this faculty (although from a different head, e.g., by reason of the Scapular. See n. 1792. c.). - Yes, if someone has recovered and has fallen again into danger of death. Cf. Schneider, Die Ablasse, p. 611 sq.

Quaer. 5° By what rite is this blessing to be given?

Resp. The priest for this blessing is vested in surplice and stole, namely violet, because it pertains to a penitential rite. - Entering the sick person's room he says: Peace be to this house, etc., and then sprinkles the sick person, the room, and those standing around with blessed water, saying the antiphon Thou shalt sprinkle me without the psalm Miserere and the repetition of the antiphon, because Benedict XIV does not speak of these.

Then he performs those things which were said above in q. 2°. R. 3°. Then he recites the prayers which you have in "Excerpta ex Rit. Rom.," Ed. 1872, p. 248; Ed. 1874, p. 240.

If the Apostolic blessing is imparted immediately after Viaticum and Extreme Unction, the Confiteor must be repeated before the application of the Indulgence;¹ but the words Pax huic Domui and the sprinkling of water perhaps can be omitted, because they were said and done at the beginning; nevertheless it is safer always to put these before the blessing, because Benedict XIV commands that the formula composed by him be used, and all these things are contained in the formula itself.²

1801. - From the Resp. given to the Bishop of Leavenworth (Past. Bl. für N. Am. 1881. p. 44), it is clear:

1° That the privilege of using the manner granted to the diocese of Baltimore, in exposing the Most Holy Sacrament and in the devotion of Forty Hours, comprehends only those things which are contained in the Decree of January 24, 1868, S. C. de P. F. - You have the Decree in Conc. Pl. Balt. II. p. CXLIX. under IV.

2° For gaining the indulgences: a) it is not required that the church in which this devotion is performed be visited on each day of the triduum; nor b) that this visitation be prolonged for one hour; c) the partial indulgences annexed to this devotion are gained as often as a new visitation is made; d) those partial indulgences are of ten years and as many quarantines. See Raccolta (ed. 1877) p. 67, 68.

S. R. C., in Lisbon, June 4, 1874, responded that it is left to the prudence and judgment of the Ordinary, that he permit or at least tolerate the custom of keeping sacred Images uncovered in the chapel or altar of Exposition; likewise of having sermons during the same Exposition; moreover of omitting the Mass for Peace on the middle day. The reason is that the Clementine Instruction does not bind outside the City, although those are to be praised who, unless something else is established by the Ordinary, strive to conform themselves to it. Gardel. App. IV. n. 5585.

The power of the keys in the internal forum of the sacrament of Penance is to be exercised by the rite determined by the Church; outside the sacrament it is exercised in the internal forum by the concession of indulgences, and in the external forum, and at the same time in the internal forum, by the infliction of censures. Concerning these three things, because they are annexed to the power of the keys, we shall speak quite briefly, insofar as it can be useful to a priest in the ministry of souls, leaving a deeper, more perfect, and more complete explanation to historians, greater theologians, and jurists.

675. Indulgences cease: 1. All, by revocation of the one granting, his successor, or superior.

2. Temporal indulgences, by the lapse of the time for which they were granted; hence one given "at good pleasure" expires at the death of the one granting (can. 73), but one granted without any limitation of time of itself endures perpetually and does not expire by the death of the one granting (can. 70).

3. Personal indulgences, by renunciation accepted by the Supreme Pontiff, and by the death of the physical person to whom it was granted, or by the legitimate extinction of the moral person according to the norm of can. 102.

4. Real indulgences "cease only when rosaries or other things entirely cease to exist or are sold" (can. 924, § 2). Therefore rosaries do not lose indulgences a) if they are given to others, or lent so that they themselves may be able to gain indulgences for themselves (S. Poen., Feb. 18, 1921); b) if they cease to exist in some part; c) if the cord is broken or the chain is changed, because the indulgences are rather affixed to the beads; d) if only a few beads are lost and others are substituted, provided the greater part of the blessed beads is preserved; e) if something is received for them, not as a price and under the title of sale, but under the title of alms or some other non-onerous title.

5. Local indulgences, by the absolute destruction of the thing (can. 75); nevertheless those "annexed to some church do not cease if the church is utterly overthrown and is built again within fifty years in the same or almost the same place (for example, at a distance of 20 or 30 paces) and under the same title" (can. 924, § 1). This also holds concerning an altar rebuilt under the same title and in the same church.

VI. Observations. - 1) To the dying to whom the sacraments are ministered, the general absolution according to can. 468 is also to be granted by any priest: "To any priest who assists the sick there belongs the faculty of granting to them the Apostolic Blessing with plenary indulgence in the article of death, according to the form handed down by approved liturgical books, which blessing he should not omit to impart."

Therefore under the name of general absolution comes the plenary indulgence which the Roman Pontiff imparts to the dying, by himself or by delegates, under the form of a blessing; and under this aspect it is altogether distinguished from the plenary indulgence which, without any blessing, those can gain in the article of death who possess a blessed or pious object, e.g., a cross or plaque, to which an apostolic indulgence is attached, or members of a confraternity to which such a privilege has been granted.

General absolution can be granted to all placed in grave danger, even from a cause other than illness, but the indulgence remains suspended and does not attain its effect except in the true and physical article of death. And therefore it neither ought nor can be repeated, nor given under several titles, in the same illness however long-lasting, since this would be altogether useless, even if afterward the dying person fell into a new mortal sin; - but it is to be repeated only if the sick person recovers and afterward falls into a new danger, S. C. Indulgences, 24 Sept. 1838; 12 March 1855; 12 Feb. 1842.

The conditions required in the sick person for gaining it, from the bull of Benedict XIV Pia mater, 5 Apr. 1747, are: a) that he not be excommunicated or manifestly impenitent; but if he is doubtfully disposed, let the apostolic blessing be granted as often as absolution or Extreme Unction is given, even only under condition;

b) that he has received the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist, if he can; but if he cannot, the state of grace suffices while he gives forth his supreme breath;

c) that he offer himself prepared to accept whatever shall please God, and to undergo death itself patiently in satisfaction for the punishments which he has merited by sinning;

d) that he devoutly invoke the most holy Name of Jesus by mouth if he can, otherwise in heart; and elicit an act of sorrow and charity.

Apostolic Indulgences are called those which the Roman Pontiff is accustomed to attach to pious objects, such as crosses, prayer-beads and medals, while he blesses them.

Question 1. What are the conditions for gaining these Indulgences?

Resp. They are the following: 1°. That the faithful of Christ carry some one of the stated objects on their own person.

2°. But if this is in no way done, it is required that they keep it in their own room, or another decent place of their habitation, and before it devoutly recite the prescribed prayers.

3°. Images engraved by printing, painted images, and likewise crosses, crucifixes, small statues, and medals made of tin, lead, or other fragile or consumable material are excluded from the concession of the apostolic blessing.¹

4°. Images must represent Saints who either have already been canonized in the customary form, or have been described in duly approved martyrologies. - S. Off., 5 Sept. 1914. - A. A. S., vol. 6, p. 503.

¹ Cf. Addenda, p. 1140, n. 101.

Question 2. Whether our Priests could, by delegation, concede Apostolic Indulgences?

Resp. Affirmatively, speaking generally, for to our Bishops there was conceded not only the faculty of applying these Indulgences, but also "of communicating this same faculty with presbyters functioning in the sacred ministry." - I said, speaking generally, because in fact this communication was not found in all dioceses. - Cf. now S. C. Consistorialis, 25 Apr. 1918. See Can. 349, § 1; 239, § 1, n. 6; 913, n. 1.

Question 3. How practically is the application of these Indulgences made?

Resp. Our Most Holy Lord Pius X "deigned to decree and declare:

"In blessing several similar or diverse objects of religion, which are offered joined or commingled to a priest furnished with several faculties, and to be enriched in themselves with indulgences by force of diverse faculties, one sign suffices for several blessings and attachments of indulgences. And the declaration is not extended to metallic medals to be substituted for scapulars, concerning which in the decree of the S. Office given on the day 16 December, in the year 1910." S. C. S. Off. (S. D. I.), 18 May 1914.

Many scapulars are given today, but here briefly there will be spoken only of the scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, which is the most ancient and more common. But for the other scapulars special treatises can be consulted.

Question 1. What are the Indulgences attached to the scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel?

Resp. They are many, and both partial and plenary; these latter are conceded on the following days:

1°. On the day of reception of the scapular, with confession, communion, and some prayer made according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff nevertheless supposed.

2°. On the feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, or on the Sunday next following, or also on any day whatever within the Octave, with the same aforesaid conditions nevertheless observed.

3°. On the day of the Immaculate Conception, Nativity, Presentation, Annunciation, Visitation, Purification, and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: likewise on the feast day of St. Joseph, St. Simon Stock [16 May], St. Anne, St. Michael, and St. Teresa: likewise on one of the fourth weekdays of any month and besides on any day whatever, once in the year. Cf. Acta S. S., vol. 19, p. 557. But to gain these indulgences, besides the aforesaid conditions, the visitation of some church of the Carmelite Order is required, and where this is lacking, of the parish church; and if not even this can be performed, the faculty of making a commutation is given to the confessor.

4°. In the article of death. - Cf. Maurel-Beringer, n. 88.

Question 2. What are the other privileges of this scapular?

Resp. Besides plenary indulgences, and not a few other partial ones, two great privileges of this scapular must be remembered, namely that of a happy death, and that which is called Sabbatine. To obtain the first privilege, which rests upon the very words of the Blessed Virgin Mary, "Dying in this, he will not suffer eternal fire," it is required that someone has been duly marked with the scapular, and die with it suspended from the neck. But to gain the other privilege, which consists in this, that someone will be freed from the penalties of Purgatory shortly, or at least on the Sabbath after death, the following conditions are required: 1°. that chastity be observed according to one's own state; 2°. that the little office of the Blessed Virgin Mary be said daily, and for those who do not know how to read, that abstinence be observed on every Wednesday and Sabbath through the year, except the case in which the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ has fallen on one of these days. - Yet observe: 1°. that those who recite the Roman Breviary daily are not held to recite the little office of the Blessed Virgin Mary; 2°. that in a case of necessity a confessor, furnished with due faculty, can commute this recitation and abstinence into another pious work. - Cf. Benedict XIV, de Festis, lib. 2, cap. 6. - Maurel, n. 88.

Question 3. What are the conditions that someone may be said to be duly marked with this scapular?

Resp. On the part of the scapular it is required that it be of due material and color. On the part of the subject, that it be worn continuously and in the manner of a scapular. But on the part of the one giving it, that it be blessed and imposed by a priest having the faculty. Now:

1°. The material of this scapular is wool, and indeed woven, although some ornaments can be added.¹

2°. The color ought to be dark brown, or almost black.

3°. Continuous wearing imports that it not be deserted for a long time, or indeed for a short time but with the intention of rejecting it altogether, so that in either case someone can be said to have willed to renounce such devotion.

4°. Wearing in the manner of a scapular signifies that this is had suspended from the neck in such a way that one part is over the breast and the other between the shoulders, and therefore he would not observe this condition who carried the scapular with himself in some pocket of his garment, or somehow sewn upon the clothes.

5°. The blessing and imposition of the scapular ought to be done by a priest having the faculty, and through the prescribed formula which is had in the Roman Ritual, p. 476. Our Bishops were able to communicate the faculty of erecting the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, as is clear from the Extraordinary Faculties T. n. 21, in which is contained the faculty of enrolling the faithful in those Confraternities, of blessing and imposing the scapulars of the same. Thus S. Off., 11 May 1898.

¹ Cf. Addenda, p. 1153, n. 130.

It is helpful here to report the following responses of the S. Congregation of Indulgences:

I. "Whether one and the same scapular, once blessed, can validly be imposed upon several in turn, only the formula of reception or imposition being repeated over each?

II. Whether the formula of this kind accustomed to be employed in the act of imposition of scapulars is essential, so that someone is judged duly to have received the scapular and has the right to the Indulgences conceded to those bearing it; or whether, without loss of the Indulgences, it can be omitted, especially in sickness or another urgent case?

To I. Affirmatively; yet in such a way that the first Scapular, which the one enrolled ought thereafter to put on, be blessed.

To II. Both as regards the first and as regards the second part, the words which are substantial are to be pronounced, according to the form of the Decree of this S. Congregation of the day 24 August 1844, which has itself thus: - Urbis - Whether the enrollment of the Faithful in the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel is valid, which is made indeed by priests having the faculty, yet the form described in the Ritual and Breviary of the Order of Carmelites not having been observed? - The Sacred Congregation responded: Affirmatively, provided priests having the faculty are not deficient in substantial things, namely in the Blessing and imposition of the habit, and in reception into the Confraternity." Thus declared the S. C. on the day 24 Aug. 1844.

By the general twofold Decree of the S. Office, 16 Dec. 1910 and 5 June 1913: 1. To all the faithful duly enrolled, or to be enrolled, in one or several approved scapulars (except those proper to Third Orders), it is permitted hereafter to wear decently upon their own person one single medal of metal in place of the same, whether one or several; 2. By carrying this thus, they can gain all spiritual favors, with the proper laws of each being observed, and all indulgences attached to each; 3. This medal ought to bear on one side the image of the Most Holy Our Lord Jesus Christ showing his Most Sacred Heart, on the other, that of the Blessed Virgin Mary; 4. This medal must be blessed with as many distinct blessings as there are scapulars regularly imposed for which, according to the pleasure of those asking, it is to suffice; 5. The several blessings can be given by one sign of the cross: for example, one for the scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, another for the second approved scapular, etc., or according to the order in which one was enrolled in the diverse scapulars; 6. These blessings ought to be made by a priest powerful with the ordinary or delegated faculty of blessing the respective scapulars; they are licitly made by such a privileged priest distinct from the one enrolling; 7. A priest powerful with the faculty of imposing scapulars can, by one sign of the cross for each scapular, publicly bless all the Most Holy Medals which the faithful have in the Church or in some convent, although these Medals are not seen nor known individually; 8. The blessing can be imparted to Most Holy Medals for persons not yet enrolled by imposition, but to be enrolled afterward or later; but the medals will finally enjoy the favors of the scapulars when the persons shall have been enrolled through regular imposition, and therefore it is not necessary that the persons already be enrolled before the Most Holy Medals can be blessed for them; 9. Many medals can be blessed, which afterward are to be distributed to any persons whatever, of whom some are already inscribed in the scapulars, and others not enrolled; 10. The faithful are held to wear the medal either at the neck or otherwise, yet decently, upon their own person; Hilgers is of the opinion that if someone has the medal attached to the prayer-beads or rosary which he continually carries with himself, it does not seem necessary at night to wear it around the neck or in another way upon the person, but it suffices if he leaves it in the clothes near himself; but others speak more strictly, although these also say that attention should not be paid to a brief interruption; 11. Each medal must be blessed; but, on the contrary, not the scapular, for when someone already duly enrolled in the Confraternity has lost the scapular or lays aside one worn out, the new scapular does not need a new blessing. Nevertheless Pius X vehemently desired that the faithful continue to carry scapulars in the same way as they had been accustomed until now.

Pius X benignly conceded that all soldiers from the land and maritime forces constituted under arms could, at their pleasure, legitimately at any time be enrolled in sacred scapulars, and remain definitively enrolled in them, and gain the attached indulgences and graces, on this condition only, that they carry the metallic medal prescribed by decree of the supreme S. Congregation of the S. Office of the day 16 December 1910 and duly blessed, nor nevertheless be held first by the law of receiving the cloth scapulars, as is proper: indeed, during the present war Benedict XV granted to every priest the faculty of enriching medals with the several blessings of scapulars for the utility of soldiers. S. Off., 10 Nov. 1914.

According to Benedict XIV, that pious exercise which is commonly called the Way of the Cross is to be numbered among the principal acts of piety to be performed by the faithful, both because it is excellent in itself, and because it has been enriched with many indulgences. The origin of this pious exercise was the very devotion of the faithful visiting those holy places which have been marked by the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ; for to these the Church had conceded many indulgences, and in the course of time extended them also to those who would recollect with pious meditation certain imitations of those places. Therefore we know that several indulgences have been attached to the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross, but it is difficult, indeed even prohibited, to enumerate them. - Cf. Maurel-Beringer, n. 60.

Question 1. What is required for the canonical or valid erection of the Way of the Cross to be made by a priest?

Resp. Before the erection of the Way of the Cross the following formalities are required for validity: 1. A written faculty given by competent authority to the priest who is to erect the Way of the Cross; 2. Before each erection, permission of the Ordinary given in writing, Decr. Auth. n. 445 ad 3; 3. Consent of the Parish Priest given in writing, if the erection is made in places which are subject to the jurisdiction of the Parish Priest; 4. Consent given in writing of the Superior of the monastery or church in which the Way of the Cross is to be erected. Acta S. Sedis, v. 25, 317 ad 9, ad 10 and ad 11. - Cf. Beringer, Die Ablässe, pp. 278 and following. Certainly the license of the Bishop is not required for those places which are exempt from his jurisdiction.

Question 2. What does the clause "in places . . . in which there are no Franciscan Fathers" import?

Resp. "By places in which the Order of Friars Minor Observant of St. Francis of Assisi does not exist is to be understood a city, town, village, with their respective suburbs, and the places adjacent to them. In cities and generally places in which two dioceses have been constituted, those faculties which are proper to certain Orders, and which were conceded by special indult with the clause: 'provided that in the said place no convent of the same Orders is found,' can be exercised in that part of the city or place in which no convent of the said Orders is present, but is present in another." S. C. Indulg., 28 Aug. 1903.

Question 3. What are the other conditions required for a valid erection?

Resp. Besides the mentioned delegation it is required: 1°. that the Crosses be wooden, and 2°. that the Stations be somewhat distant from one another. But because the indulgences are properly attached to the Crosses, these can be transferred to other Images without detriment to the indulgences. - Cf. Acta S. Sedis, vol. 11, p. 401.

Question 4. What are the conditions required on the part of the faithful?

Resp. It is required: 1°. that the faithful go around the Stations without moral interruption, and 2°. that they meditate somewhat on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the capacity of each one. Now in the public exercise of the Way of the Cross the faithful can retain their place, and it suffices that only the priest with the Ministers go around. Besides, also in the private exercise the manner of going around must be understood according to the circumstances of places and persons. But moral interruption imports turning aside to foreign acts, and therefore to perform confession or receive communion while this pious exercise is being done is not morally to interrupt it. - Cf. Prinzivalli, nn. DVII, CCXXXVI, DC, LXXVI, and CCXLIX.

Question 5. Whether someone can gain the Indulgences of the Way of the Cross several times in a day?

Resp. The authors who have written concerning this matter up to now affirm it. Nevertheless, to the Bishop of Périgueux recently it was responded thus by the S. C. of Indulgences, 10 Sept. 1883: "From the documents it is not established that the Indulgences conceded for the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross are gained as often as the aforesaid pious exercise is repeated." - Cf. Nouvelle Revue Théologique, vol. 15, pp. 473 and following.

The indulgence of a privileged altar is a plenary indulgence applicable to the dead, and gainable through the celebration of Mass with the intention of liberating some soul in particular. - The privilege of an altar is twofold, namely real, if the indulgence is attached to the altar itself, and personal, if it is conceded to the person.

§ 1. That it may be indicated that an altar is privileged, nothing else is to be inscribed except: privileged altar, perpetual or for a time, daily or not, according to the words of the concession.

§ 2. For Masses to be celebrated at a privileged altar, under pretext of the privilege, a greater Mass alms cannot be exacted (Can. 918).

Question 1. How great and what kind is the efficacy of this privilege?

Resp. This efficacy the S. Congregation of Indulgences thus declared on the day 28 July 1840: "By the indulgence attached to a privileged altar, if the mind of the one conceding and the use of the power of the keys is considered, there is to be understood a plenary indulgence which immediately liberates the soul from all penalties of Purgatory; but if the effect of application is considered, there is to be understood an indulgence whose measure corresponds to the good pleasure and acceptance of divine mercy."

Question 2. Whether this Indulgence can profit several souls of the dead?

Resp. Negatively, as is established both from various declarations of the S. C. of Indulgences and because this indulgence can be applied only to that soul for which the Mass is said. This rule, namely that the indulgence of a privileged altar is applicable to one soul only, is valid even in the case of a Mass celebrated for several deceased persons. S. C. Indulgent., 29 Feb. 1864; 19 June 1880; 19 Dec. 1885. Nor is the day of the commemoration of all the dead excepted, on which all altars enjoy this privilege. - Cf. Beringer, Die Ablässe, p. 449 and following. - Acta S. Sedis, vol. 13, p. 139. When someone says Mass for several or all the dead, it is best to determine the soul to whom he wishes to apply the indulgence.

§ 2. All altars of the church through those days on which the supplication of the Forty Hours is performed in it are privileged (Can. 917).

Question 3. Whether for gaining this Indulgence it is required that a Mass of Requiem, or of the Feria or Vigil with the proper prayer of the deceased, be celebrated?

Resp. Negatively; thus the S. Office responded on 20 Feb. 1913: "For gaining the indulgence of a privileged altar, as they call it, it is no longer required in the future under penalty of nullity that a Mass of Requiem, or of the feria or vigil with the proper prayer of the deceased, be celebrated: Yet this is laudably done, when it is permitted and fitting, for the sake of piety toward the deceased."

Question 4. Whether Bishops have the faculty of conceding the Privilege of an Altar?

Resp. Affirmatively, and indeed both personal and real.

Bishops, Abbots or Prelates nullius, Vicars and Prefects Apostolic, and major Superiors of an exempt clerical religion, can designate and declare one privileged daily perpetual altar, provided that another is not had, in their cathedral, abbatial, collegiate, conventual, parochial, quasi-parochial churches, but not in public or semi-public oratories, unless they are united to a parochial church or subsidiary to the same (Can. 916).

Note. - A priest who has made the HEROIC ACT, or oblation of all his satisfactions in favor of the souls which are in Purgatory, enjoys by the fact itself the personal privilege of the altar. - Cf. Prinzivalli, n. DCXLIII. Acta S. Sedis, vol. 18, pp. 337 and following.

The heroic act of charity toward souls detained in Purgatory consists in this, that a faithful Christian, whether by some formula being used or even only mentally, offers to God Almighty, for the souls of Purgatory, all satisfactory works which he himself, as long as he shall live, will perform, and also all suffrages which after death could in any way come to him. Many faithful Christians most devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . have been accustomed somehow to deposit satisfactory works and suffrages of this kind into the hands of the Blessed Virgin, to be distributed by Her according to Her merciful good pleasure in favor of the souls of Purgatory. This act has been enriched by the Supreme Pontiffs with manifold favor. Among the satisfactory works offered in this act are comprehended indulgences applicable to the dead. This oblation is not satisfied by those who reserve to themselves indulgences conceded for the living; but these indulgences are to be applied to the dead according to the Indult conceded to those emitting this act. That deposition of satisfactions into the hands of the Virgin Mary is not an integral or prescribed part of the heroic act, but is a pious accessory devotion to the act, to be commended to the faithful. The plenary indulgence of a personal privileged altar must be applied by the priest who emitted the act to the soul for whom he celebrates Mass; for in this manner the privilege of the altar is conceded by the Supreme Pontiff.

But any faithful person can revoke the heroic act as it shall please him. S. C. Indulg., 19 Dec. 1885; 20 Feb. 1907.¹

¹ Cf. Addenda, p. 1092, n. 23.

By various titles the faithful can obtain a plenary indulgence in the article of death. Those have a right to it who often in life and also in the hour of death invoke the Most Holy name; who often have poured forth the prayer Angele Dei; who often in life make acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity; who keep with themselves some one of the objects which are enriched with Apostolic Indulgences; who are joined to certain Confraternities; in these cases the indulgence enters of itself. Generally the conditions are: communion or at least an act of contrition, invocation of the Most Holy name made by mouth, or, if it cannot be done by mouth, by heart, and acceptance of death from the hand of God. To the recitation of the following Prayer Pius X attached a plenary indulgence, 9 Mar. 1904: "O Lord my God, from this moment now, whatever kind of death, as it shall please Thee, with all its anxieties, penalties, and sorrows, I receive from thy hand with an equal and willing mind." The same His Holiness conceded that all the faithful who, on a day to be chosen by them, duly cleansed by sacramental confession and refreshed by the sacred Synaxis, with a true affection of charity toward God, have brought forth the aforesaid act, can gain a plenary indulgence in the very article of death.

§ 2. To the Parish Priest or another priest who assists the infirm there is the faculty of conceding to them the apostolic blessing with plenary indulgence in the article of death, according to the form handed down by approved liturgical books; let him not omit to impart this blessing (Can. 468).

Now, with relation to the conditions of gaining this indulgence, and the manner of imparting it, there exist several decrees of the S. C. of Indulgences, of the principal of which this is the summary:

1°. A priest does not validly confer this indulgence if the formula prescribed by the Supreme Pontiff is omitted, nor does the lack of the book excuse him. - 5 Feb. 1841.

2°. The infirm person cannot in the same article of death gain this indulgence several times, given by several priests having the faculty of imparting it. - Ibid.

3°. This indulgence cannot be imparted several times during the same infirmity, even if long-lasting. - 12 March 1855.

4°. The Blessing must be conferred only once in the same state of illness. - 20 Sept. 1775.

5°. But it can be repeated if the infirm person has recovered, and then, from whatever cause, falls into a new danger of death. - 12 Feb. 1842.

6°. Of itself it is not to be repeated because perhaps Extreme Unction must be repeated. - 20 June 1836.

7°. The indulgence is received, that is, the gain of the indulgence properly is had, only in the true article of death. - 23 Apr. 1615.

8°. It is valid, although the Blessing was conferred on an infirm person existing in the state of mortal sin. - 20 June 1836.

9°. It is also valid, and the Blessing is not to be repeated, if the sick person after its reception has fallen into sin. - Ibid.

10°. Both validly and licitly it is conceded to those who, even culpably, have not been refreshed by the sacraments from the beginning of the illness, and suddenly are inclining toward destruction. - 20 Sept. 1775. - Cf. Lehmkuhl, n. 564. - Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Sept. and Nov. 1883; and Feb. 1884. - The Pastor, vol. 3, pp. 279 and following; and vol. 4, pp. 209 and following.

11°. It is also required that the dying person invoke the Most Holy Name of Jesus by mouth, or, if this cannot be done, at least by heart (S. C. Indul., 22 Sept. 1892), and receive death from the hand of the Lord with an equal and willing mind. - Cf. Beringer, Die Ablässe, p. 486.

12°. The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences on 23 Jan. 1901 responded that a dying person can gain the plenary indulgence conceded for the article of death only once, that is, in the true article of death, even if he has a right to it by various titles.

13°. Those condemned to death who duly prepare themselves for dying are sharers of this grace.

I. In few words I touch upon the doctrine of indulgences. These things concerning indulgences Trent prescribes, session 25: Since the power of conferring indulgences has been granted by Christ to the Church, and she has used such power divinely delivered to her even from the most ancient times, the holy Synod teaches and commands that the use of indulgences, most salutary to the Christian people and approved by the authority of the sacred Councils, is to be retained in the Church; and condemns with anathema those who either assert that they are useless, or deny that there is in the Church a power of granting them. In granting them, nevertheless, she desires that moderation be employed, according to the ancient and approved custom in the Church, lest by excessive facility ecclesiastical discipline be enervated. But the abuses, and so forth.

II. Three things the Council lays down: first, the power given by Christ to the Church of granting indulgences; second, that they are salutary; third, moderation in the bestowal of them. An indulgence is a remission of temporal punishment. Indulgences are imparted out of the common treasury of the Church. But that treasury is the infinite merits of Christ, and afterwards of all the saints, which receive their value from Christ himself the Head.

III. It is of faith that there exists in the Church a power of granting indulgences, and that the use of them is salutary to the faithful.

IV. Some conceive a false idea of indulgences, because they think, and in fact teach, that satisfactory works are attenuated by the use of indulgences. That this false idea may be blotted out, you must know that we are unequal to paying the price for the debts contracted with the divine justice on account of sins committed after Baptism. A part nevertheless of that debt we are able to pay by our own laborious works. The most clement mother the Church opens the treasury of the merits of Christ, of the Blessed Virgin, and of the saints, that it may supply what our infirmity could not render. Indulgences therefore are in supplement of our poverty: indulgences do not free us from paying that part of the debt which we can render, but supply that which we cannot furnish. If indulgences freed us from the laborious works and the due satisfactions which we are able to furnish, they would foster the sloth and torpor of Christians, and would enervate the discipline of the Church.

V. Cardinal Cajetan wisely, after his manner, sets forth the true doctrine of indulgences, in his treatise On Indulgences, question 3, where he has these things: “Penitents are of a twofold order. Some are solicitous to satisfy by themselves for their own sins; some are negligent to satisfy by themselves. The first either ask that condign penances be imposed upon them by the confessor, being ready to fulfil them; or of their own accord they take them upon themselves, and forthwith study to satisfy by their own holy works, by fasting, praying, giving alms, and so forth. But the second either ask a very light penance, or take one up unwillingly, and when they have fulfilled it, which they know to be the least, they care no more about satisfying: and these are they to whom indulgences do not profit, in my judgment. For no one unworthy truly obtains the fruit of an indulgence by another's satisfaction for the punishment owed by himself. But anyone negligent to satisfy by himself is unworthy of another's satisfaction for the punishment owed for his own sins. Therefore no one negligent to satisfy by himself acquires the fruit of an indulgence. Besides, in any well-ordered commonwealth, however reasonable a cause might sometimes exist for dispensing the common treasury among citizens burdened with debt, yet those negligent to pay would be reckoned unworthy of the help of the treasury. For from the fact that they can pay of their own and care not, they render themselves unworthy of such relief: unless such men were held for unworthy, their negligence would be fostered, and others by their example would be provoked to a like negligence. But it is of law to make men not negligent but virtuous. Since therefore the Church is ordained by God, it is not equitable that the spiritual dispensation of the treasury should hold for worthy those negligent to satisfy: for this would truly be to enervate penitential satisfactions. Indulgences therefore do not profit those negligent to satisfy by themselves, since they are unworthy of an indulgence. … But those ready to satisfy by themselves are not those who neglect to satisfy by themselves, but those alone whose will is so ready to satisfy that it does not retard the work unless hindered.”

VI. The most celebrated Bishop BOSSUET in his Instruction on Indulgences hands down rules consonant with the doctrine of Cajetan, drawn from the Council of Trent itself. Take courage, O ministers of God, restore the documents of holy mother Church; hear them expressed in the voice of Trent. For thus Trent speaks, session 14, chapter 2: Moreover the fruit of Baptism is one, and another that of Penance. For by Baptism, putting on Christ, we are made in him altogether a new creature, obtaining a full and entire remission of all sins: to which newness and integrity, nevertheless, we can by no means arrive through the sacrament of Penance without great weepings and labours on our part, the divine justice exacting it; so that Penance has deservedly been called by the holy Fathers a certain laborious Baptism.

VII. This testimony of the Church being premised, Bossuet thus addresses his people: “Hear, sons, the words of the Church your mother. She proposes to you great weepings, great labours, a laborious Baptism: she teaches you that the divine justice exacts it. This rigour of the Church arises from her first spirit, which will never be extinguished; nor will she herself ever cease to declare war upon laxity. What does it avail to detest with the Council the softness of the heretics who rejected the holy rigours of satisfactions, if we ourselves fall into a like languor, and in fact contemn that which in words we confess?”

VIII. In few words it is proved that plenary indulgences profit little those who neglect according to their strength to satisfy the divine justice by laborious works, as Trent teaches. Bring forth fruits worthy of penance, says Matthew. St. Paul did not indulge the incestuous Corinthian save after an austere and long-lasting penance. From the time of the Apostles down to about the fourteenth century we read of no plenary and general indulgence indiscriminately for all the faithful. Now a frequent use of indulgences obtains, which are imparted according to the dispositions of the faithful. They are called plenary indulgences, because the Church on her part remits the whole temporal punishment, which the faithful cannot execute, to those who are disposed for receiving so great a benefit. But we say that those faithful are indisposed for this benefit who do not execute those laborious and satisfactory works which they can. They ought to render that part of the debt which they are able; that which remains the plenary indulgence fully supplies.

IX. Recall to mind the example indicated by Cajetan. A most wealthy Christian bequeaths his whole most opulent patrimony in fruit-bearing lands never to perish to the commonwealth, that every year the debts of poor citizens may be paid. If those who could pay their own debts, if not wholly, at least in part, should refuse, and should wish with their own moneys to live more sumptuously and to clothe themselves more ambitiously, so that all their debts might be paid out of the public treasury — would you not cry out that these debtors were crafty, cunning, and cheats? Render, you would say, what you can; then the treasury will supply your want. Assuredly like to these fraudulent debtors are those penitents who, abusing the clemency of holy mother Church who opens her treasury to supply what is lacking to them, ungrateful and crafty soothe their senses, fatten their body, foster concupiscence after adulteries, fornications, and perjuries perpetrated, and indulge in delights and enticements, that the whole debt may be paid out of the treasury of the Church. They could contribute their own fasts, alms, vigils, scourges, lyings on the ground, and other works of piety toward paying a portion of the debt; but, seized by a pernicious error, they contend that all their debts be paid out of the treasury of the Church. But they are deceived, blind and wretched men.

X. The supreme dispenser of indulgences is the Supreme Pontiff. What indulgences bishops and archbishops can grant it does not concern me to discuss. Indulgences granted without cause are not ratified before God.

XI. Only the baptized faithful are apt for gaining indulgences, if they be free from mortal sin. Since indulgences remit temporal punishment, which cannot be remitted so long as the guilt of the fault remains. It is nevertheless not necessary that all the works prescribed in the bull of indulgences be performed in the state of grace, provided they be fulfilled with a penitent mind. The state of grace nevertheless is required at least when the last work is fulfilled, because then the indulgence obtains its effect.

XII. Sacramental confession is to be sent before for the gaining of indulgences even by those who are in the state of grace, because in the bull the indulgence is granted to the contrite and confessed. And this is the common opinion. When alms are prescribed in the bull, they ought to be more or less according to the riches of the persons. For that is another opinion, of those saying that it is enough that even the least alms be given by the rich, that indulgences may be obtained; and that it is enough for the poor to say some short little prayer. Innumerable other little questions I pass over, as of no moment, and such as the graver theologians disapprove, because they afford a handle to the heretics for deriding indulgences, and would take away satisfactory works out of the midst. Wherefore guard is to be kept against petty opinions of this kind.

XIII. That indulgences can be extended to the souls of Purgatory all Catholics teach against the innovators, by way of suffrage, not of judgment and absolution, because the Church cannot exercise jurisdiction over those souls.

XIV. Indulgence is manifold. Some are perpetual, others temporary; some plenary, others partial. Those partial indulgences, which are granted only for several days or years, have respect to the ancient penitential canons, which enjoined so many days or years of penance.

XV. Plenary indulgences are of two kinds. Some are absolutely such, which remit the whole punishment to disposed faithful. The other is the indulgence which is called jubilee, from the Hebrew word jobel, which signifies liberty and remission, by which the Jews in every fiftieth year recovered their possessions. More things would have to be said here of the jubilee. But because the discussion of these matters would conduce more to wrangling than to instruction, I pass them over. The doctrine given in few words concerning indulgences suffices for the instruction of confessors.

XVI. Let the most learned BOSSUET impose an end upon this chapter, who in the place cited, point 7 and following, writes these things: “The doctrine of the Council of Trent in the adduced decree is enough that there be restored in the practice both of penance and of indulgences the ancient spirit of the Church. There is no need at all to weave a curious history of indulgences, nor to indicate the degrees by which the ancient rigour of the canons was relaxed. Nor is it to be discussed whether those canons in some manner subsist at present, or whether the Church in granting indulgences looks to them, as the Doctors commonly reckon. Plenary indulgences, set over against indulgences of seven years, of fourteen years, of twenty years, of twenty days, of forty days, and others like them, seem to indicate that the penitential canons have not been utterly handed over to oblivion, since in these indulgences she looks to them. But, these questions of the schools being dismissed, that we may meditate those things which serve for our edification, the Council of Trent abundantly shows us that the Church preserves the right and has the intention of exercising her holy rigours, and of enjoining penances that are medicinal and proportioned: penances which may make us conformable to Christ crucified and satisfying for us to the justice of his Father; penances which may cast a bridle upon licence, which may not only be a remedy to us against vicious habits, but also a satisfaction to God for the vengeance and punishment of past crimes. Behold a specimen briefly touched of the doctrine of the Council of Trent, session 14, chapter 2 and 8. Is not this enough that we may understand that it is the perpetual purpose of the Church to continue the ancient right with which she is endowed, and severely to exercise upon penitents the justice which God has deposited in her hands? This doctrine of the Council contains virtually the whole austerity of the ancient canons. The gravity of the sins which Christians perpetrate is not less; the crime of an ungrateful mind against the Holy Ghost, whom they received in Baptism, is not less horrid; the justice of God has not changed its rules; the inclination of depraved habits is not less pernicious, nor the licence of sinning less to be dreaded than in the first centuries. The Church in the Council of Trent confirms all these reasons with so great strength that it yields in nothing to those things which the Fathers adduced. Nor is penance a second Baptism, save at this price, and, as the Council says, save if it be joined with our great weepings and labours: nor will that be a laborious Baptism which brings us back to the pristine purity and integrity of morals. But if the vigour of the ancient spirit of Christianity stood in its whole strength, we should always have need of the indulgence and clemency of the Church. … All things in these decrees of the Council savour of piety and of antiquity; nor can we sufficiently admire either the wisdom of the Church or the purity of her doctrine. And at the outset it is established that the holy Council recalls all things to the ancient discipline approved in the Church and in the Councils. But the spirit of the ancient Councils, and above the rest of the Nicene, is wholly in this, that it grants indulgences to those who compensate by fervour of spirit for a diminished austerity of body. Hence it appears to follow that the spirit of the Church is the same today also: namely, that the faithful, restoring this spirit, may love the more ardently the more they receive, as Christ pronounced with his own mouth. Secondly, the Council desires a moderation of indulgences, lest by excessive facility discipline be enervated. And, that we may pass over those things which regard the vigilance of pastors, nothing more valid occurs for hindering this mournful relaxation of discipline than that the faithful, by the use of indulgences, restore a fervour of spirit consonant with the Gospel and with antiquity.”

I. Although the crusade bull, as it is called, does not at all obtain in many kingdoms, nonetheless, since nearly the same difficulties occur to be untangled concerning it as concerning the jubilee, we, inquiring what Confessors can do in the commutation of vows by force of the jubilee, will also mention the crusade bull, though we shall speak of it only in passing. The clause which is contained in the jubilee bull concerning the commutation of vows is this: "And whatsoever vows made by them (captivity and religious life alone excepted) may be commuted into other works of piety." The faculty, however, which is granted in the crusade bull is of this kind: "And all their vows (excepting those of an overseas expedition, of chastity, and of religious life) may be commuted by the same Confessor." As is clear from the diversity of the two clauses, the faculty granted in the jubilee is ampler than in the crusade bull. For in this latter, besides the vows of chastity and religious life, the vow of pilgrimage overseas is also excepted, and the faculty of commuting is restricted to some aid for this crusade expedition to be undertaken; which restriction is absent from the jubilee, by virtue of which commutation can be made into any works of piety whatsoever. In the jubilee, however, the faculty is granted of commuting the vows of the threefold pilgrimage, to Jerusalem, Rome, and Compostela. In the crusade bull, too, the faculty is restricted to commuting vows into some aid to be given for the holy war; which restriction is absent from the jubilee.

II. The vows of chastity and of religious life, which are excepted both in the bull and in the jubilee, are understood to be perfect and absolute vows, as has been said above. Wherefore vows of not marrying, of not fornicating, of conjugal chastity, of chastity for a limited time, are not understood to be reserved; nor are vows uttered under deceit, fear, or error. All such vows can be commuted by force of the bull, or of the jubilee, whether they were made before the promulgation of the jubilee, or after, or even in the hope of obtaining the commutation through the jubilee, as authors commonly teach.

III. Question I. Should the commutation be made within, or outside, confession? Response: Whoever has the faculty of commuting vows, whether by force of the crusade bull, or of the jubilee, or of privileges, can grant the benefit of commutation both within and outside confession. And the reason is clear: since the privileges which grant the faculty of commuting do not bind it to sacramental confession. Why, then, should such a faculty be limited by us to that confession alone? There is, then, no need for the Confessor to hear the confession of the one vowing, in order to be able licitly, and validly, to commute vows. This is the common opinion.

IV. Question II. Can commutation into a lesser matter be made by force of the jubilee, or of the bull? Response: Not a few affirm this, on the grounds that a privilege ought to effect something. It would effect nothing, however, unless the obligation could be changed into a lesser one — since anyone can commute his own vow, by his own authority, into an equal one. From what has been said above, it is established that this opinion is false. A privilege effects that a commutation into a morally equal good be made — which no one can accomplish by his own authority. For the rest, a privilege does not impart the faculty of making an unjust commutation, which by its own nature demands equality. It would, however, be unjust, if made into a lesser good.

V. Question III. Can the vows of religion and of chastity be commuted by force of the jubilee, or of the bull, necessity pressing? Response. This difficulty too has been disputed above. Those who maintain that Regulars can, by force of their privileges, dispense in the vow of chastity, necessity pressing, as the Bishop can, defend also that they can do it by force of the jubilee, or of the bull. This opinion we have disapproved, and now too we reject it, denying that, even with necessity pressing, the reserved vows of chastity or of religion can be commuted by force of the jubilee.

VI. Question IV. Can a vow, or oath, of disbursing alms to a determinate poor person, or Church, be commuted by virtue of the jubilee, or of the crusade bull, after that poor person's, or that Church's, acceptance? Response: Leander (tract. 1, disp. 18, q. 21), Trullench (Bk. I, ch. 3, dub. 8), Tamburini (Bk. II, on the Decalogue, ch. 16, §5) teach that it is probable that this can be done — since all vows are uttered to God as their principal end; but they are directed toward the poor person, or the Church, as toward a less principal, or secondary, end. Therefore, just as a vow directed toward God alone can be commuted, by one's own will, into something better, so too a vow which redounds to the greater benefit of the poor person, or of the Church, can be commuted. This opinion, however, we reject as improbable — since the poor person, or the Church, after acceptance of the promise confirmed by vow or oath, acquires a right to the thing promised. Now no privilege granting the faculty of commuting vows at the same time grants the power of injuring justice, or a third party's right. Before the vow is accepted, it can be commuted, since the poor person does not yet have a right to the goods promised. But, acceptance having followed, the promise given can in no way be broken without that party's consent. And this is the common, and true, opinion.

VII. Question V. Can one who has once gained a jubilee obtain a subsequent commutation of vows? Response: In the crusade bull it is expressly defined that they can be obtained only while the grace granted in it is in force; not so, once it has expired. In the jubilee the matter is not defined. Therefore, one who has gained it, if he did not make use of it, being perhaps forgetful of it, can, once it has elapsed, still obtain the commutation of his vows — just as he can obtain absolution from reserved cases, even after the jubilee has passed, which he gained at the due time, as Sánchez teaches (Bk. IV, ch. 45, n. 36), Leander (tract. 5, disp. 14, q. 98), Henríquez (Bk. III...), the theologians of Salamanca (tract. 17, ch. 3, n. 14). But as for one who, even deliberately, and knowing it, omitted to seek the commutation of his vows, can he, the jubilee having passed, obtain the same commutation? This seems difficult to me — for one who, with deliberate mind, disdains to receive favors granted for a definite time by the Prince, is scarcely worthy to receive them at his own pleasure afterward. But this scarcely occurs in fact.

VIII. Question VI. If someone, at the beginning of the week the jubilee is published, took care to have his vows commuted, with the intention of gaining the jubilee, but afterward, either through negligence, or forgetfulness, omitted the works necessary for gaining the jubilee, and thus did not at all obtain it — does such a commutation stand? Response: If someone, in good faith, obtained an absolute commutation of vows, cut off from every condition, I would reckon it valid. For indeed I can discover nothing that stands against its validity — since it can be done outside confession by one who has the authority. In the one vowing, too, a disposition of mind ready to gain the jubilee was present. Now the obligation to gain the jubilee, once extinguished... , is presumed to have ceased. Once extinguished, then, it never revives. If, however, the commutation was conditional, and the effect necessary for gaining the pious works was not obtained, it would be clear that the commutation was null — since it could not have effect, unless the condition was fulfilled. So Suárez (Bk. VI, ch. 15, n. 9), Sánchez (Bk. IV, ch. 45, n. 35), the theologians of Salamanca (tract. 17, ch. 3, punct. 15, n. 138), and others. Sánchez, Diana, Trullench, and Bonacina add, as the aforesaid theologians of Salamanca report, that one does not sin mortally who, in good faith, obtained the commutation of vows with the intention of gaining the jubilee, even if he afterward, with deliberate mind, neglects the works necessary for obtaining it — which by no means is proven to my satisfaction. Since it can in no way be presumed that the Pontiff wills to impart the benefits by force of the jubilee to those who voluntarily disdain to receive that jubilee. Wherefore the foundation of the Fathers of Salamanca, writing that it does not stand with the Pontiff's intention to oblige to this, collapses. Indeed, we add that it is clear enough to anyone judging prudently, according to the laws, that it is the Pontiff's intention to deny his benefits to all who disdain them.

IX. Question VII. Does a Confessor sin, who, being petitioned, refuses to commute vows during the time of the jubilee? Response: If he had a just cause for denying the commutation, he commits no fault at all. If, without cause, he refuses one petitioning him for the commutation of vows, he sins, more or less according to the variety of circumstances.

X. Many other points that might be disputed on this matter we refer to the treatise on the jubilee, to be discussed and resolved there.

Caius, a missionary priest, was called to a dying member of the Third Order of St. Francis who, after receiving the sacraments, asked that, according to the privilege granted to Tertiaries, the Apostolic Blessing with a plenary indulgence at the moment of death be given to him. Caius indeed granted it according to the approved formula and, so that the dying man might be more secure, immediately gave him the apostolic blessing according to the Ritual. When another priest heard these things, he rebuked him, saying that a plenary indulgence at the moment of death can be gained only once, and that it is better to give the apostolic blessing when the dying man is at the point of dying, lest by sinning afterwards he incur penalties to be discharged. Hence it is asked:

1. Can the apostolic blessing with a plenary indulgence at the moment of death be given several times to a dying person?

2. Must the actual moment of death be awaited for this blessing to be given?

3. What is to be said of the case?

1. Can the apostolic blessing with a plenary indulgence be given several times to a person in danger of death?

No, it can only be given once while the person is in the same danger of death either by different priests or by the same priest on different titles.¹

1 Ojetti, Synopsis Rer. Moral., s.v. Indulgentia.

2. Is the moment of death to be waited for in order that the blessing may be given?

No, the apostolic blessing may be given as soon as the recipient is in danger of death and capable of receiving the sacrament of Extreme Unction. The blessing only takes its effect in the true moment of death, and in the meantime its effect is suspended.²

2 Génicot, vol. ii, n. 410.

3. The case, Caius did right to accede to the pious wish of the dying tertiary, and give him the papal blessing to which he had a right. He did wrong to repeat it immediately after according to the form in the Ritual. The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences has several times answered that the blessing may be given only once. On the other hand the second priest was wrong in saying that the papal blessing should be given when the recipient is actually dying; it takes its effect at that time if it were validly given and received, but it may be given as soon as the recipient is in danger of death, as was said above.

Lucius, a Catholic both good and ingenious, wishes to gain the recently promulgated Jubilee. Among the prescribed works, only the sixty visits to the parish church occasion difficulty, which he resolves to complete in this manner. For he observes that the church must be visited “for fifteen continuous or interrupted days, whether natural or even ecclesiastical”; hence in the morning before he goes to business he makes two visits to the church of his domicile; at midday he twice visits another parish church near the place where he conducts business; having returned home in the evening, after the ecclesiastical day has begun, he completes four other visits; on the following Sunday he adds six visits to the two customary ones for hearing Mass and Vespers, and so on. To satisfy the condition of praying for the intention of the Supreme Pontiff, he employs no determined form, but now offers the Mass heard, now the Rosary recited, now a pious meditation made. Hence it is asked:

1. What is a Jubilee, and what is its extent?

2. What conditions, and in what manner, must be fulfilled in order to gain it?

3. Can anyone gain it partially?

4. What is to be said of the case?

1. What is a Jubilee, and what is its extension?

A Jubilee is a plenary indulgence granted by the Pope with greater solemnity than usual for a definite time together with special faculties for confessors. A general Jubilee is usually granted in the first instance at Rome, and afterwards it is extended to the whole Church.¹

1 Manual of Moral Theology, vol. ii, 455.

2. What conditions for gaining it are prescribed, and how are they to be fulfilled?

The conditions for gaining an ordinary Jubilee are confession, communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intention in churches to be visited for the purpose a certain number of times. As they are conditions on which the Jubilee is granted, they must be exactly fulfilled.

3. Can a Jubilee be gained partially?

Some were of opinion that either a full remission of temporal punishment is gained by a plenary indulgence, or nothing. According to the received opinion, a plenary indulgence may be gained only partially on account of the temporal punishment due to venial sins unrepented of not being remitted. A Jubilee may also be partially gained, in that one who intends to gain it may receive the benefit of the special faculties granted to confessors although afterwards he changes his mind and does not try to gain the indulgence.

4. The case. It appears from the case that the bishop had prescribed sixty visits to be paid to the parish church on fifteen days in order that the faithful might gain the Jubilee. If there was only one parish church in the place where Lucius lived, he had to visit that church, and he did not fulfil the condition by visiting the church where his work was. He was at liberty to make the visits within the natural, or within the ecclesiastical day. It would seem that the visit to the parish church to hear Mass on Sunday may be reckoned among the rest, as it is not otherwise of obligation. Lucius satisfied the obligation of praying for the intentions of the Pope by saying the Rosary, but not by hearing Mass, nor by pious meditation, as these are not vocal prayers.

Titius goes to Confession and confesses all his mortal sins and as many of his venial sins as he can remember. Thereupon he elicits contrition for all his sins, both mortal and venial, and resolves to avoid all mortal sins in the future, and as many of the venial sins as the grace of God shall enable him to avoid. Then he receives absolution. Are not all his sins, both mortal and venial, remitted quoad culpam? If now, before committing any new sins, he complies with all the requirements for gaining a plenary indulgence, does he not gain the indulgence? Why then do the theologians say that it is very rare that any one gains a plenary indulgence? For instance, Father Noldin says: “Although every plenary indulgence, so far as depends upon the one granting it, can remove the whole temporal punishment, nevertheless not everyone gains it fully, but very many gain it only in part: for in those who have no fault, not even venial (is not this the case of Titius?), all punishments are removed; but in those who still have some venial sin, the punishments due for faults already removed are indeed remitted, but not those which are due for the fault still remaining.”—p. 355.

Answer.—There are two questions involved in the above case. The first question is: Are not all sins forgiven quoad culpam if they are confessed as fully as possible, and repented of? The second question is: Why should it be so difficult to gain a plenary indulgence, in such a case, since a plenary indulgence is gained by those who are free from all culpa of sin, and comply with the conditions of the indulgence?

Ad. I. When a penitent confesses all his mortal sins and as many of his venial sins as he can remember, and is then sorry for all his sins both mortal and venial, ex motivo universali, or if he be sorry for his mortal sins ex motivo particulari and for his venial sins ex motivo universali, v. g., because they are a refusal of obedience to God, or because they keep the penitent from being united more closely to God, and if then the penitent resolve to avoid not only all mortal sin in the future, but all venial sin, in as far as the grace of God will enable him, and then receives absolution, all his sins, both mortal and venial are remitted quoad culpam, and all his mortal sins, quoad poenam aeternam, but not quoad poenam temporalem.

Ad. II. If now he comply with all the conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence, and does not in the mean time commit the slightest fault, then he gains the plenary indulgence. But as it is almost impossible for a person not to commit some very slight sin, v. g., of impatience, or lack of perfect charity toward one’s neighbor, etc., apart from a very special grace of God, which is not ordinarily given, then the penitent does not gain a plenary indulgence, i. e., there is a temporal punishment and a culpa remaining on account of the sin of impatience or lack of charity, which prevents the gaining of a perfect plenary indulgence. Ballerini says: The faithful rarely cast off every affection, even the slightest, toward any venial sin, and conceive sufficient sorrow for all venial sins so as to obtain complete remission.

Theoretically, a penitent confessing all the venial sins that he can remember, and eliciting sorrow for all venial sins, confessed and not confessed, ex motivo universali, i. e., a motive equally applicable to all venial sin, and who then resolves to avoid all venial sin in the future, as far as he can with the grace of God assisting, such a penitent is absolved from all “culpa peccati,” both mortal and venial, and if he does not commit any new venial sin before complying with all the conditions of a plenary indulgence, then certainly he gains the plenary indulgence plenarie.

Practically, this happens so rarely, that theologians say that it is very rare that a person gains a plenary indulgence plenarie.

But although the indulgence granted “ut plenaria” is not gained plenarie, or plenissime, it is certainly gained partialiter, and the opinion which says that an indulgence, granted ut plenaria, must be gained either plenarie or nullo modo, so that it must have either the whole effect or none, is not a probable opinion.

Discussing recently, with some fellow priests, the question of the papal benediction in articulo mortis, there seemed to be a considerable difference of opinion as to how often it might be given to the same sick person during the progress of the same sickness. Some of the clergy thought that it might be given or repeated whenever Extreme Unction was given or repeated. Others thought that if it were given to a sick person while in mortal sin it ought to be repeated when such person made a good confession. Others seemed to think that if the sickness continued for some time and the sick person had the misfortune to fall, from time to time, into mortal sin, the blessing ought to be repeated each time that the sick person received absolution for mortal sin. Is there any certainty in this matter, or may a priest follow whatever seems good and reasonable to him?

Answer.—A priest may not follow whatever seems good to him in this matter, as the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences has, at various times, answered all the above questions. Let us take them up, one after another. First, may the papal blessing be given more than once during the same sickness? At least, may it be repeated whenever Extreme Unction may be repeated during a protracted sickness? No, the papal blessing, in articulo mortis, may not be given more than once during the same sickness, even though it might be allowed to repeat the administration of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. St. Alphonsus and the theologians generally permit the repetition of Extreme Unction during the same sickness about once a month, because if the sick person continues to live for a month or more after having been anointed, the original crisis or danger of death, or periculum mortis, is supposed to have passed and a new danger to have supervened, which renders lawful a new administration of Extreme Unction. But the same can not be said for the repetition of the papal blessing, because the Congregation of Indulgences forbids it. Asked whether the last blessing might be given “twice or more in the same illness, which is unexpectedly prolonged, even if the sick person has not recovered,” the Sacred Congregation replied, September 23, 1775: “Once in the same condition of illness.” Again, when the Sacred Congregation was approached with the doubt: “Whether the apostolic blessing can be imparted several times to the sick when a new danger of death returns,” it replied on September 24, 1838: “No, while the same illness continues, even if prolonged; yes, if the sick person has recovered and afterward, from whatever cause, returns to a new danger of death.” The reason why it is not permitted to repeat the blessing during the same sickness is because such repetition is useless. The plenary indulgence granted by the Pope to the dying can be gained only once and that only at the instant of death. If the sickness continues, the indulgence also continues, to be gained at the moment of death. If the sick person does not die, neither does he gain the indulgence. If the sick person recovers and later on contracts a new sickness, he must receive a new blessing, because the former one passed with the passing of the sickness, for which alone it was granted. The second question to be answered is this: If the last blessing was received in the state of mortal sin, ought it to be repeated when the sick person is absolved from mortal sin? Again the answer is no. This was the answer made to this question by the Congregation of Indulgences on June 20, 1836. As the plenary indulgence is not gained when it is given, but only at the moment of death, it makes no difference quoad hoc, whether the sick person be in the state of grace or in mortal sin at the time the blessing is given. The indulgence is gained at the instant of death, at the moment when the soul leaves the body, and if at that moment the dying person is in the state of grace and has complied with the other conditions for gaining the indulgence he gains it, even though he was in mortal sin at the time the priest gave him the blessing. Therefore, Fr. Schneider, S.J., in his work, “Rescripta Authentica,” p. 701, after reminding his readers that the blessing can be given only once during the same sickness adds: “For none of these things hinders the effect if the sick person is disposed at the true moment of death; the indulgence is given precisely for that moment,”

For the reasons just given it follows that it is not lawful to repeat the last blessing, even though the sick person, after having received it in the state of grace, should afterward fall into mortal sin. As was just said, the plenary indulgence granted by the blessing is intended only for the moment of death. If the dying person, who has received the blessing while in the state of grace and then has had the misfortune to fall into mortal sin, is in the state of grace at the moment of death, that. is all that the sovereign pontiff requires for the gaining of the indulgence. And for this reason the Congregation of Indulgences, on June 20, 1836, replied that it was not necessary, and therefore not lawful, to repeat the papal blessing in articulo mortis, even though the dying person should fall into mortal sin, after having received it. And this was the third question to be answered.;

For the further illustration of this matter it might be well to recall to mind that all persons who are in danger of death, and who are capable of receiving sacramental absolution, may and should ‘receive this papal blessing. Therefore, first, even those who are unconscious and who, even through their own fault have not received the last Sacraments, ought to receive the last blessing; second, also children who have never been to Confession or holy Communion, provided only they are old enough and capable of committing sin; third, all those who are condemned to death for crime, provided they repent; fourth, soldiers, before going into battle: fifth, and all persons who are in danger of death, whether through sickness or from some external cause.

The conditions for gaining this plenary indulgence are:

First, the same conditions that are required in order to gain any indulgence, that is to say, the person must be in the state of grace when the indulgence is gained and must have the intention of gaining the indulgence.

Second, he must be fully resigned to the will of God in dying.

Third, he must pronounce the holy name of Jesus with his lips, if possible, and if he be not able to speak he must at least invoke the holy name of Jesus in his heart.

Special attention is called to this last condition of pronouncing the most holy name of Jesus. It is required by the Congregation of Indulgences in order to gain the plenary indulgence in articulo mortis. September 22, 1892. It is something that is very easily overlooked, and, therefore, we direct especial attention to it.

Finally, it is customary to give this blessing after Confession, Viaticum and Extreme Unction. It is not necessary to follow this order, but it is generally followed. In which case it is necessary to repeat the confiteor three times, i. e., once before giving Viaticum, a second time before Extreme Unction, and the third time before giving the last blessing.

In a case of extreme need, where no time is to be lost, the confiteor is omitted and the priest begins the blessing at the words “Dominus noster Iesus Christus,” etc. If there were danger even in the delay required for this formula, then the priest ought to begin with the words: “Ego facultate mihi ab apostolica sede tributa, indulgentiam plenariam et remissionem omnium peccatorum tibi concedo, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti, Amen.” If there be no time even for this much of the prescribed formula, some theologians are of the opinion that the formula “Benedicat te, Omnipotens Deus, Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus, Amen” is sufficient for the valid imparting of the apostolic blessing and the plenary indulgence. (Cf. Schüch, O. S. B., “Pastoral Theologie,” p. 823.)

Applied correction from Woywod’s opening insert: Case XXXIX, page 193.—The last paragraph should be omitted since the new Code does not require a re-consecration of the chalice and paten, for Canon 1305 states that the chalice and paten do not lose their consecration when the gold plating wears off or when replated.

A pilgrim to Rome had a small cross blessed by the Holy Father and endowed with the indulgence toties quoties for the dying. Upon his return home, he removed from the crucifix the body, had it silver-plated, replaced it and presented it to a friend. Subsequently he inquired of a priest whether the great indulgences were still attached to the cross? What answer should he receive?

The pilgrim should be told that the great indulgences (excepting the case stated below) are surely still attached to the Cross. Two reasons may cause a doubt: (1) because the pilgrim removed the body from the Cross; (2) because he had it silver-plated. Both things may be done without interference with the indulgence. The first did no harm, because in the case of crucifixes the blessing is bestowed upon the image of Christ, so that this, without losing the indulgences, can even be attached to another cross of any material whatsoever (S. C. Ind.; April 11, 1850).

Neither is the silver-plating of any consequence, as is clear from the generally accepted rule about blessed articles. Indulgences cease on account of change of material of the blessed object only in case the change is an essential one (Beringer, Indulgences, p. 340, 1oth edition). An alteration is, in the unanimous opinion of theologians, essential when the added material, in comparison to the material of which the blessed article consisted, is of the same or greater quantity, because in any other case it may truthfully be said that the article consists morally of the same material as before. Without doubt this is so in the case of silver-plating, in which the thin silver coating is generally far less in quantity than the material of the blessed article, so that the latter, even after the plating, in a moral sense remains the same as in form so in material.

We said generally: for if in our case a heavy silver-plating of the crucifix should have brought about that the silver covering exceeded in quantity the material of the image of Christ, or equalled it, then, according to the stated rule, the indulgences are no longer on the Cross.

That, with exception of this case, the blessing and indulgence continue, follows from the rubrics about analogous blessings of churches and articles of divine worship. It is quite certain that a church building does not forfeit its blessing by being white-washed, or even if given a substantial coating, with marble plates, etc.

It is true that a chalice after being regilt inside must be reconsecrated, and from this it would seem to follow that in our case the blessing would have to be repeated. This is not the fact, for several reasons. Our case is one of simple blessing, while the chalice is consecrated by blessing and anointing, and, furthermore, the reason of the precept to rebless a chalice after regilding is not the view that the blessing of the chalice had been lost through regilding, or because the plating per adjunctionem non fit sacra, as both would be in opposition to the teaching on the subject of blessings: but because the chalice is consecrated on account of contact with the Blood of Christ; hence, when its surface has not been consecrated, it is necessarily required that the chalice be consecrated anew. Apud. S. Alphonsum l. V. n. 370 dub. 2.

For this reason an exterior regilding of the Cuppa of the chalice may evidently take place without interfering with the blessing.

In a dejected mood the priest Caius comes to a confrater and relates that he has just been made aware that the invocation of the holy Name of Jesus on part of the patient is a conditio sine qua non for granting the indulgence for the dying: he has heretofore neglected to make the sick aware of this, and he asks if at least those persons may have gained the indulgence who, though not ad hoc, but by chance, for instance, in saying the Hail Mary, had pronounced the name of Jesus. What answer is to be given?

We have to consider here three points: (1) Whether the invocation of the name of Jesus is an indispensable condition for gaining this indulgence. (2) Whether it is sufficient if the patient, not specially to gain the indulgence, yet otherwise, pronounces the name of Jesus? And (3) if even such casual invocation has not taken place, is all hope excluded that the sick person may have gained the indulgence?

(1) As is well known the granting of the indulgence for the dying, the benedictio apostolica in articulo mortis, is based upon the Bull Pia Mater of Benedict XIV., issued in the year 1747. With truly motherly love the Church wishes to come to the assistance of her dying children. The benedictio may be administered to all the seriously sick, but the indulgence is only gained in vero mortis articulo, at the moment of death itself. Surely every priest regards it as his sacred duty, in accordance with the intention of the Church, to apply this indulgence to the dying, and to take care that all conditions are fulfilled, so that there may not happen what the pious and learned Martinus Aspilcueta states in the words It often happens that someone confesses and dies full of Bulls but empty of indulgences. The conditions for gaining this indulgence for the dying are the following: (1) The intention (habitual at least) of gaining the indulgence. (2) Confession and Communion, where possible. (3) The state of grace, if not at the moment when the benedicto is given, yet at the moment of death: for just at that moment the indulgence is gained. Hence, the Ritual says: Si confessionem non petat, excitet illum ad eliciendum actum contritionis. (4) Acts of contrition and charity, and, particularly, the willing acceptance of death from the hand of God. Upon this condition Benedict XIV. lays most particular stress and in the bull Pia Mater there is specially provided: that the priests strive by every means to rouse the dying faithful to elicit new acts of sorrow for the sins committed and to conceive most fervent affections of charity toward God, but especially to accept death itself from the hand of God with an even and willing mind. For we chiefly impose and enjoin this work upon those placed at such a moment, so that they may prepare and dispose themselves to obtain the fruit of the plenary indulgence. The priest must draw the attention of the dying to this condition, and it is best done in Confession, or when otherwise alone with the patient. (5) The priest must strictly adhere to the formula a Bene-dicto XIV. praescripta, as found in the Ritual. Is there not time enough for the priest to say the whole formula, he may make use of the abbreviated formula extracted from Benedict’s formula and worded: I grant you a plenary indulgence and the remission of all sins. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. This brief formula, although not found in the Rituale Rom., is, nevertheless, approved by Rome, and is contained in the appendix of breviaries approved by Rome. Finally (6), the invocation of the holy Name of Jesus. This last condition we will examine here more closely.

It would appear at first sight that the invocation of the holy name is not required as conditio sine qua non, because this condition is mentioned neither by the bull Pia Mater nor in the rubrics of the Rituale Rom. However, this condition is mentioned in the rescripts to individual bishops, through which the faculty is given them to grant this indulgence, and to subdelegate for it. Decisive is the answer of the Congregation of Indulgences of September 20, 1775, to the question: Is the invocation, at least mental, which is mentioned in the Briefs sent to bishops concerning this blessing, prescribed, for as long as the sick person is in possession of his mind, as an indispensable condition for gaining the indulgence by virtue of this blessing? The answer given was: Yes. This answer received in recent times a positive confirmation, even in sensu extensivo. The Archbishop of Dublin submitted to the Holy See the question as to whether the invocation of the holy name of Jesus was required also in missionary territories. For such districts permission to grant this indulgence is not given in briefs, in which the invocation of the holy name of Jesus is prescribed, but. by reason of a constitution of Clement XIV., in which the invocation of the holy Name is not mentioned. Moreover, this constitution was issued three years before the decision of the Congregation of Indulgences of September 20, 1775. Is it required, the archbishop asked, as an indispensable condition for gaining the aforesaid indulgence, that a sick person situated in mission territories, while he is in possession of his mind, invoke the name of Jesus orally if he can, but if not, in his heart? The answer of the Congregation of Indulgences on September 22, 1892, was: Yes: i. e., the invocation, at least mental, of the most holy name of Jesus is an indispensable condition for all the Christian faithful who, being placed at the point of death, wish to obtain a plenary indulgence by virtue of this blessing, according to what this Sacred Congregation decreed in a case from Vienna on September 20, 1775.

It is evident from this decision of the Congregation that, for the gaining of the indulgences, it is absolutely necessary for the patient, provided he be conscious, to invoke the name of Jesus, with the lips if possible, otherwise in spirit.

(2) The second point is whether the patient must expressly and ad hoc, that is, with the intention of gaining the indulgence, invoke the holy Name, or whether it suffices if the patient pronounce the name of Jesus casually, for instance, in saying the Hail Mary, or in some ejaculatory prayer. We reply that, for gaining the indulgence, it suffices if the patient pronounces the name of Jesus in any manner, and has, at least in general, the intention of gaining the indulgence, even though he does not know that the invocation of the holy Name is a condition. We must conclude this from an analogous case. According to the general teaching of theologians an indulgence is gained by performing the prescribed act, if one has in general the intention of gaining all possible indulgences, though one may not know that an indulgence is joined to this particular act. What is to be said, we might further ask, if the patient pronounces the name of Jesus only in a prayer which he is obliged to say, for instance, a prayer imposed as a penance? In this case we also may suppose with certainty, that the patient gains the indulgence. P. Schneider (Indulgences 8, p. 79) expressly remarks that this is the view held in Rome, and that confessors with preference impose as penance prayers to which are joined indulgences: it may be supposed therefore that this custom has the silent approval of the Popes.

It is required that the patient must, if possible, pronounce the name of Jesus with the lips. Is it necessary that others, the priest, for instance, should hear it? We reply: this is not necessary. This is a matter analogous to the prescribed recitation of the Breviary. The Breviary is oratio verbalis, a verbal prayer. It suffices if the words are formed with the articulating organs, it is not necessary to say them so that others hear them; indeed, the priest need not even hear them himself. If the pronouncation or forming of the word Jesus is no longer possible, it suffices for the patient to do it in the spirit ut invocet nomen Jesu saltem corde.

When must this invocation of the holy Name take place? Must it be done when the benedictio apostolica is given, or is it sufficient if the patient fulfils this condition later, directly before death for instance? We reply, the latter suffices. We conclude this from analogous cases. If, for instance, some one received the benedictio apostolica in the state of grievous sin, but later attains the state of grace, the benedictio apostolica could not be repeated. Once the benedictio has been given to the patient, he gains the indulgence, even if he only fulfils the conditions in the moment of death; i. e., if he enters the state of grace at the moment of death. As with the state of grace, so with the other conditions, it suffices if they are complied with in articulo mortis, for at that very moment the indulgence is gained. Therefore, it is sufficient if the invocation of the holy Name of Jesus, if not at the moment of receiving the benedictio from the priest, takes place later on, even at the moment of death.

(3) Let us now pass to the third question. If the patient does not at all invoke the name of Jesus, is there no hope that he may yet have gained the indulgence?

In general, an indulgence cannot be gained when an essential condition is not fulfilled, this applies even if this happens as a consequence of inability or ignorance. “If anyone,” the Raccolta says, “omits the work prescribed altogether, or a considerable part of it, either from ignorance or neglect, or even from inability, he will not gain the indulgence.”

As regards the indulgence for the dying, it should be observed that the Church herself dispenses in the case of the patient’s inability from the condition of the Invocatio nominis Jesu; for, according to the Ritual, the benedictio apostolica may, and should, be given, even to persons deprived of their senses, whether unconscious or insane. In case of the unconscious sick the invocation is entirely dispensed with; it is required only of sick who are conscious, and these latter, if possible, must pronounce the holy name of Jesus, or at least invoke it mentally. The condition is such an easy one that with the conscious sick there can be no inability: the question is: What will be the consequence if, on account of ignorance, this condition were not complied with? We reply: Ignorance would be no excuse of itself; for the invocatio is conditio sine qua non. If, therefore, a conscious patient neither invokes the holy Name with the lips, or, this being impossible, in spirit, he will not gain the indulgence. Yet it is to be observed how unlikely this would be in the case of an otherwise well-disposed Catholic, and for this reason our Father Caius probably need not worry with regard to the patients whom he failed to remind of this invocation.

While discussing details we may cite a few other cases: A sick man while receiving the benedictio apostolica omitted to pronounce the name of Jesus with the lips, although quite able to do so. Later, though retaining consciousness, he grows so weak that he can no longer pronounce the holy Name with the lips; he, however, invokes it in spirit. Does he gain the indulgence? We answer, Yes. For he in fact fulfils all conditions immediately before death. Our answer would be the same even if he, while capable, intentionally and in malice omitted to pronounce the holy Name with the lips; but later on, seized by remorse, and no longer able to invoke the holy Name with his lips, does so in spirit, for he, too, has fulfilled the conditions.

A man, to his last conscious and capable of pronouncing the holy Name with his lips, invokes it only in spirit. Does he gain the indulgence? We think we have to answer: No, at least it seems very doubtful. For even if the answers of the Congregation of Indulgences of the years 1775 and 1892 only say that the Invocatio saltem mentalis Ssi nominis is conditio sine qua non, yet they provide: the invocation of which mention is made in the Briefs given to the bishops. I have been unable to inspect such a brief, but I think I may conclude from the words of P. Schneider (Indulgences 8, p. 679), and also from the inquiry of the Archbishop of Dublin that these briefs probably read: that the sick person, so long as he is in possession of his mind, invoke the Name of Jesus with his lips if he can; if not, in his heart.

Therefore, the words Invocatio saltem mentalis de qua, etc., of the decision of the Congregation, must be taken in this sense. In our case, however, the man could have pronounced the holy Name with his lips, but did not do so, ergo.

The outbreak of the Protestant Reformation in Germany is dated by common consent from the Eve of All Saints, 1517. On that Eve Luther nailed his ninety-five propositions to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg and preached against the Catholic doctrine on Indulgences. Up to that time he had followed the ordinary Catholic doctrine on the subject and had taught that an indulgence is a remission valid before God of the temporal punishment due to sin, but in the ninety-five propositions he denied that an indulgence is valid before God, and asserted that it only remits canonical penance imposed by the Church. This heretical doctrine was accompanied by insulting and abusive language levelled against the Pope.

The granting of a Jubilee by Pope Leo X furnished the occasion for Luther’s outbreak. The Pope wished to raise money for the building of St Peter’s at Rome, and he granted a Jubilee to those who should contribute to this pious object and fulfil the other ordinary conditions for gaining an indulgence. Albert of Brandenburg, a Hohenzollern, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, entrusted the preaching of the indulgence within his archbishopric to Tetzel, a Dominican friar. Tetzel was a popular preacher, and used popular methods in the task committed to him. When a fair was held in any town he would go there and proclaim his Jubilee. With his exposition of Catholic doctrine he would mix doubtful opinions of theologians and exaggerations of his own. He irritated Luther, who is said to have declared that please God he would knock a hole in Tetzel’s drum. The remark may not be historical, but it expresses accurately enough the relations between the two friars. Luther’s propositions were printed and circulated far and wide. In many quarters they met with a sympathetic reception; it was as if a lighted match had been thrown away among combustible material, and a great conflagration was the result.

The condition of contributing alms for some pious object along with other conditions required for gaining an indulgence is perfectly legitimate and not unusual. Before the time of the Council of Trent the promulgation of indulgences was frequently confided to pardoners, as they were called in England. The character and methods of these pardoners sometimes left much to be desired. So much we can gather from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Their methods were reprobated by the Fourth Council of the Lateran, by the Council of Lyons, and by that of Vienne. As abuses still continued in spite of the repeated condemnation of the Church, the Council of Trent determined to abolish the name and office altogether. This it did by the ninth decree of the twenty-first Session. It says that the remedies applied to the grave abuses of the pardoners by the Councils of the Lateran, Lyons, and Vienne having become useless, and since those abuses have rather grown to the scandal of the faithful to such an extent as to banish all hope of amendment, the Council abolishes the office altogether, and decrees that in future indulgences should be published by the local Ordinaries. To the local Ordinaries also was entrusted the duty of collecting the alms of the faithful, and without making any profit of transmitting them faithfully, so that all may understand that these heavenly treasures are disbursed not for gain but for spiritual good.

In spite of this decree of the Council of Trent certain objectionable practices continued to exist under plea of exemption and special privileges. St Pius V issued two Constitutions on the subject and imposed on the refractory the penalty of excommunication reserved to the Pope. It is this censure which in substance has been reproduced in Canon 2327 of the new Code of Canon Law. According to this Canon those who make gain out of indulgences are by the very fact punished with excommunication simply reserved to the Holy See.