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Many blessings to be received during Holy Year of St. Paul the Apostle

The Church of St. Paul the Apostle against the Midtown Manhattan skyline.

by Stefani Manowski

The Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City has been named a holy place to receive plenary indulgences during the Holy Year of St. Paul the Apostle. The holy year proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI lasts from June 29, 2008 through June 29, 2009, and commemorates the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul. The parish is also planning special events throughout the year to learn more about St. Paul and how to pray with his writings.

Log on to www.stpaultheapostle.org for upcoming events.

What is an indulgence?

Inside New York's Church of St. Paul the Apostle

An indulgence is defined as “the remission of the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven,” according to Father Ronald Franco, C.S.P., associate pastor of St. Paul the Apostle and vice postulator of the cause for canonization of Paulist founder Father Isaac T. Hecker.

“The church’s teaching on purgatory is premised on the fact that there remain remnants of sin to be purged even after the sin itself has been pardoned, and that this process of sanctification may not be fully completed in this life and may therefore require further purgation after death prior to the soul’s full participation in the vision of God,” Father Franco said. “The doctrine of the communion of saints (one of the elements of the church’s teaching that most attracted Father Hecker to the church) means that all the faithful – living and dead – are united together in Christ and can be of assistance to each other, interceding for one another, in this process of sanctification. In granting an indulgence, the church intercedes on one’s behalf by applying the merits of the saints to an individual still on earth or in purgatory.”

How did indulgences come to be a part of the Roman Catholic faith?

The origin of indulgences lies in the remission of the more rigorous canonical penances in the early church or commutation to less onerous penances, according to Father Franco. “Hence the practice of attaching an indulgence to particular prayers or pious works,” he said.

An indulgence may be either partial or plenary in terms of whether it is intended to remit some or all of the remaining purgation required. At an earlier time in the history of the church, partial indulgences were measured in units of time – not “time off” from purgatory, but as the substitute for that amount of what would have been a more rigorous penance in the early church. A plenary indulgence remits all the satisfaction required for one’s already forgiven sins (to the extent that one is suitably disposed to receive it).

How does a person receive an indulgence?

Father Franco said a plenary indulgence may be obtained at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle (60th Street and Columbus Avenue in New York City) once a day on the days designated (listed below), and under the customary conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer for the pope’s intentions) by those who, truly penitent with a heart united to the spiritual ends of the Year of St. Paul the Apostle declared by the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, attend the devout celebration of a sacred rite or pious exercise in honor of St. Paul – or at least spend a suitable period of time with their minds intent on pious reflection they stand before a holy image of the “Apostle of the Gentiles” set out for public veneration – to be concluded by a the recitation of the “Our Father” and Creed and with an invocation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as St. Paul.
The days designated to receive an indulgence at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle are: the closing day (June 29, 2009) of the Pauline Year; the last Sunday of each month; as many times as they visit there as a group for the sake of a devotion; once in that year on a day freely chosen by the individual faithful.

Read past Paulist Profiles here