Indulgences: what they are and how to gain them

At the word indulgence, many people think first of Johann Tetzel, of coins in the chest and of printed letters of indulgence. What the Church actually teaches is soberer and older than the quarrel of 1517: an indulgence forgives no sin, and it cannot be bought. Following the 1917 Code of Canon Law and the Raccolta, this guide explains what an indulgence is, how to gain a plenary one, how it benefits the Holy Souls and what lay behind the printed letters.

What is an indulgence in the Catholic Church?

According to the 1917 Code of Canon Law, an indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment still owed for sins already forgiven. The Church grants it from her spiritual treasury: to the living by way of absolution, to the departed by way of suffrage (can. 911).

“Omnes magni faciant indulgentias seu remissionem coram Deo poenae temporalis debitae pro peccatis, ad culpam quod attinet iam deletis …” Let all hold indulgences in high esteem, that is, the remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins whose guilt has already been blotted out.

Codex Iuris Canonici 1917, can. 911

It presupposes, then, that the sin itself has already been forgiven, ordinarily in sacramental Confession. An indulgence is no permission to sin and no forgiveness of future sins. The treasury of the Church from which it is granted consists of the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and of the saints. Pope Clement VI set out this teaching in 1343 in the bull Unigenitus Dei Filius. For the whole Church indulgences are granted by the Pope, to whom the administration of this treasury is entrusted (can. 912). On 4 December 1563 the Council of Trent taught that this power was given to the Church by Christ.

What is temporal punishment due to sin?

Temporal punishment is the penalty that still remains to be paid after a sin has been forgiven, either in this life or in Purgatory. In Confession God forgives the guilt and the eternal punishment, but not always the whole of the temporal punishment the sinner still owes.

In 1547 the Council of Trent condemned the view that, together with the guilt, every temporal punishment is also remitted to every repentant sinner, so that nothing remains to be paid either in this world or in Purgatory (Session VI, canon 30). Holy Scripture shows this in King David: God forgave him his sin, yet the child that had been born to him had to die (2 Sam 12:13–14; in the Vulgate, 2 Kings 12).

In the early Church public penances were imposed for grave sins, often lasting years. The later practice of indulgences grew out of this canonical penance: the Church remitted part of the penance and put a prayer, an alms or a pilgrimage in its place.

What is the difference between a plenary and a partial indulgence?

A plenary indulgence remits the whole of the temporal punishment due to sin, a partial indulgence only part of it. Figures such as 300 days or five years do not denote time in Purgatory, but as much punishment as would once have been paid by canonical penance of the same length.

Anyone who lacks the proper dispositions gains a plenary indulgence only in part, according to can. 926, in proportion to his dispositions. A plenary indulgence can as a rule be gained once a day, a partial one more often if the work is repeated (can. 928).

The Raccolta, the English edition of the official collection of indulgenced prayers, gives examples: the Requiem aeternam carries 300 days, applicable only to the departed (no. 536). Whoever devoutly prays a third part of the Rosary, that is, five decades (each with one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory Be), receives five years; whoever does so before the Blessed Sacrament receives, with sacramental Confession and Holy Communion, a plenary remission (no. 360). The prayers for this are in our prayer companion to the Rosary.

How do you gain a plenary indulgence?

A plenary indulgence is gained by someone who is baptised and not excommunicated, is in the state of grace, intends to gain it and duly performs the prescribed work. Usually sacramental Confession, Holy Communion, a visit to a church and a prayer for the Pope’s intentions are added.

The 1917 Code requires the state of grace at least at the completion of the prescribed works, and an intention, which may also be a general one (can. 925). The “usual conditions” (suetae conditiones) are explained in the collection Preces et pia opera as follows:

1. Confession: it may be made within the eight days before the appointed day or within the eight days after it (can. 931 § 1).
2. Holy Communion: on the eve, on the day itself or within the following eight days.
3. A visit to a church or public oratory, joined to a prayer for the glory of God.
4. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions: it must be said vocally (can. 934 § 1). One Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be suffice.

Anyone who usually goes to Confession at least twice a month, or receives Holy Communion almost daily, needs no separate Confession for this, except for jubilee indulgences (can. 931 § 3). If you are prevented from performing a work, your confessor can commute it into another (can. 935).

Can you gain an indulgence for the dead?

You gain an indulgence for the dead by performing the prescribed work and applying the grace to a soul in Purgatory. According to can. 930, everything the Pope grants may be applied to the Holy Souls unless otherwise stated, but nothing may be applied to other living persons.

For the departed it works by way of suffrage (per modum suffragii): the Church does not absolve the soul, but offers God from her treasury what is needed to pay the punishment. Whether and how far God credits it to a particular soul remains His judgement.

The Church grants special graces at All Souls. Whoever visits a church on All Souls’ Day (2 November, or the 3rd if it falls on a Sunday) or on the following Sunday in order to pray for the departed can gain a plenary indulgence at each visit, that is, toties quoties, applicable only to the Holy Souls. The conditions are sacramental Confession, Holy Communion and, at each visit, six Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Bes for the Pope’s intentions (Preces et pia opera, no. 590). The visits may begin at noon on the previous day, which ordinarily means on All Saints’ Day (can. 923).

Throughout the octave of All Souls, moreover, a plenary remission may be gained each day for a devout visit to a cemetery with a prayer for the departed, even if only mental. It is granted under the usual conditions and only for the departed (decree of 31 October 1934). Whoever visits a cemetery on any other day of the year can gain an indulgence of seven years, likewise only for the departed.

What was a letter of indulgence?

A letter of indulgence was a document certifying that a member of the faithful could gain a particular grace, sometimes together with the right to choose a confessor freely. Often the condition was an alms for a pious purpose such as building a church, a hospital or a crusade.

Such letters were so widespread in the late Middle Ages that the Protestant theologian Uhlhorn wrote in 1884 that one could not go through the archive of a hospital without coming across a great many of them; in 1284 the hospital of Halberstadt possessed fourteen such grants of forty days each.

A letter of indulgence is among the earliest printed documents: the 31-line Cyprus Indulgence was set in Mainz partly in a type regarded as Johannes Gutenberg’s first printing type. Its earliest dated copy was issued in Erfurt on 22 October 1454. It is the earliest fixed date on which printing in Mainz can be proved. The letter itself achieved nothing without contrition. The so-called confessional letters could indeed be had for money and without contrition, but they only allowed the holder to choose a confessor who could absolve, even from reserved cases, and grant the plenary remission only after a contrite Confession.

Can you buy an indulgence?

An indulgence cannot be bought. In 1563 the Council of Trent abolished all unlawful gain connected with it, and in 1567 Pope Pius V revoked all grants that involved fees. It is gained through prayer, sacramental Confession, Holy Communion and good works.

In popular memory this abuse is linked with the name of Johann Tetzel, although it was widespread long before him. The Dominican, born in Pirna in 1465 and died in Leipzig on 11 August 1519, preached from 1516 the indulgence for the rebuilding of St Peter’s in Rome. As regards the living, he rightly taught that no one gains it without true contrition.

As regards the departed, however, Tetzel held the opinion of a few authors that went beyond the papal bulls: the plenary remission could be obtained by the money offering alone, even without contrition on the part of the giver. The well-known rhyme about the coin that rings in the chest is not his in its wording, but it reflects this opinion, which Cardinal Cajetan expressly rejected.

On 31 October 1517 Martin Luther published his 95 theses.

The charges of embezzlement and of an immoral life brought against Tetzel were refuted in 1899 by the Catholic historian Nikolaus Paulus. The Council of Trent abolished the alms collectors, the quaestores, altogether and ordered that the bishops should publish such graces and grant them free of charge (Session XXI, ch. 9).

“Pravos quaestus omnes pro his consequendis … omnino abolendos esse.” All evil gain for obtaining them is to be wholly abolished.

Council of Trent, Session XXV, Decretum de indulgentiis, 4 December 1563

Mentioned in this article Memento Mori Finger Rosary, Paracord Hand-knotted from 550 paracord, with stainless steel beads, Pardon Crucifix and St Benedict medal. View the finger rosary

Crosses, rosaries and pictures for meditating on the Four Last Things can be found in our Memento Mori collection.

Frequently asked questions about indulgences