Editor’s Note: Bishop Michael Izen, auxiliary of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, shares the explanation that follows on plenary indulgences via a video that will be posted online mid-May at: archspm.org/eucharisticrevival.

In early April, Pope Francis granted a plenary indulgence to all Catholics who participate in the upcoming National Eucharistic Pilgrimage or National Eucharistic Congress.

What does the Church teach about indulgences?

Every sin demands two responses: We must apologize, but we also must do our best to “make up” for the sin.

An apology is accomplished when we confess our sins — ideally in the sacrament of reconciliation. That’s enough to receive absolution, but it’s not really the end of the story.

We also get a penance, which is an act that we do to show we are sorry for our sin. It’s similar to when a child might say, “I’m sorry, Dad, for spilling milk on the floor.” It’s a good start, but the spill must be cleaned up.

The concept of a penance is to show our desire to make up for the wrong we have done. We do our best to wipe up the milk on the floor and Dad might say, “OK, you have cleaned up the floor. You can go.”

An indulgence is similar.

By completing the actions that the Church asks for indulgences — sacramental confession, praying for the Holy Father and receiving holy Communion — the penitent demonstrates that he or she is sincere about “cleaning it up.”

In the case of the National Eucharistic Revival, the Holy Father is saying that our participation in the Eucharistic Pilgrimage or Congress suffices to “clean it up.” This is the reason our participation in these events carries the status of a plenary indulgence.

The Church, in her wisdom, sees the events of the National Eucharistic Revival as having a special value and wants to encourage the faithful to participate.

Anyone who participates in any part of the National Eucharistic Revival — including the Source and Summit Eucharistic procession here in this archdiocese on May 27 or the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July — while also going to confession, receiving the Eucharist and praying for the intentions of Pope Francis can gain an indulgence.

If you’re elderly, sick or can’t leave your home for a serious reason, you can also gain the indulgence if you unite your prayers, pains or inconveniences with Christ and the Revival.

Sometimes our human minds and the history of the Church can make us think this is just a transactional exchange. It’s important to keep in mind that perhaps the most important requirement for gaining a plenary indulgence is that we be completely detached from sin. Even venial sin. This is the most difficult part! Indulgences are a way to help us pursue holiness and be more conformed to Christ.

I hope you’ll join me, along with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Joseph Williams, for the Source and Summit Eucharistic procession on May 27 and take advantage of the plenary indulgence granted by Pope Francis.

POPE FRANCIS GRANTS PLENARY INDULGENCES

Participants in the National Eucharistic Congress and related National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will have opportunities to receive plenary indulgences, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced April 9.

Archbishop Broglio, who also leads the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, had requested that the Holy See grant a plenary indulgence for Catholics who participate in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and that he “or another prelate be designated to impart the Apostolic Blessing with a Plenary Indulgence to the Christian faithful present at the National Eucharistic Congress,” according to the statement

The requests were granted in two separate decrees by the Apostolic Penitentiary, the office of the Roman Curia that grants the use of indulgences “as expressions of divine mercy,” the statement said. Both decrees were approved by Pope Francis.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, chair of the board of directors of the National Eucharistic Congress, told OSV News that the “tradition of giving an indulgence for pilgrimages and important celebrations is ancient.”

“We are grateful to the Holy Father through the Apostolic Penitentiary that offers this blessing to those who are seeking to grow in greater purity of heart through the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress,” he said. “These events will be great moments of conversion which this indulgence points to as we seek to be free from the effects of our sins. We are grateful for the Holy Father’s blessing on these events

He added, “Pope Francis himself said that (the) ‘National Eucharistic Congress marks a significant moment in the life of the Church in the United States’ and he prayed that the National Eucharistic Congress would guide men and women throughout our country to the Lord who, by his presence among us, rekindles hope and renews life.”

The congress and preceding pilgrimage are efforts of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops that began in 2022 to inspire greater understanding of and love for Jesus in the Eucharist. Held in Indianapolis July 17-21 at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Congress aims to bring together tens of thousands of Catholics for liturgies, devotions and well-known Catholic speakers.

— Maria Wiering, OSV News