Visit the National Centre for Padre Pio in this Jubilee Year of Hope 

In the Diocese of Allentown, Bishop Schlert has designated the National Centre for Padre Pio as one of the pilgrimage sites for obtaining the Jubilee Plenary Indulgence in 2025.

A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin. The indulgence applies to sins already forgiven. A plenary indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized. Plenary indulgences obtained during the Jubilee Year can also be applied to souls in purgatory.

Here are the ways in which a plenary indulgence can be obtained during the 2025 Jubilee year:

Visit your local cathedral or shrine

Catholics can gain a plenary indulgence by making a pious pilgrimage to their cathedral or to another church or shrine selected by the local bishop. As the National Centre for Padre Pio is a designated location in the Diocese of Allentown, a pilgrimage here fulfills this. 

The Apostolic Penitentiary asks bishops to “take into account the needs of the faithful as well as the opportunity to reinforce the concept of pilgrimage with all its symbolic significance, so as to manifest the great need for conversion and reconciliation.”

Perform works of mercy

The jubilee year is a time when Catholics are especially encouraged to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Apostolic Penitentiary lists visiting prisoners, spending time with lonely elderly people, aiding the sick or disabled, and helping those who are in need as instances to obtain an indulgence. Practicing the works of mercy, it says, is “in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them.”

Indulgences for works of mercy can be received multiple times throughout the jubilee year, even daily, according to the decree.

If the indulgence is being applied to the deceased, two plenary indulgences can be obtained on the same day.

Fast from social media, defend life, volunteer

Acts of penance can also obtain a plenary indulgence. The Vatican lists several options, including:

• Abstaining for at least one day a week from “futile distractions,” such as social media or television
• Fasting
• Donating “a proportionate sum of money to the poor”
• Supporting religious or social works, especially in the defense of life in all phases
• Offering support to migrants, the elderly, the poor, young people in difficulty, and abandoned children
• Volunteering in service to your community (to inquire about volunteer opportunities at the Centre, stop in the gift shop when you visit!)

In order to obtain a plenary indulgence, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

1. Detachment from all sin, even venial.

2. Sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the pope. These three conditions can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.

A single sacramental confession is sufficient for several plenary indulgences, but frequent sacramental confession is encouraged in order to obtain the grace of deeper conversion and purity of heart.

For each plenary indulgence that is sought, however, a separate holy Communion and a separate prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father are required.

The prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father is left up to the choice of the individual, but an Our Father and Hail Mary are suggested.