Pope OKs ‘plenary indulgence’ for PH Christianity quincentennial

MANILA – Pope Francis has granted a jubilee year with the inherent plenary indulgence for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the country.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website reported on Friday that the Holy Father issued a decree to the Conference on February 25.

It added that the document was signed by the head of Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who said the celebration, which officially starts on April 4, would be an opportunity to increase the virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

The faithful can receive plenary indulgence when they make a devotional pilgrimage to one of the designated “Jubilee Churches” until April 22, 2022.

The Catholic Church has listed some 537 pilgrimage churches in 85 dioceses for the quincentennial celebration.

It said when the faithful makes the pilgrimage, they have to meet the usual conditions of going to confession, receiving the Eucharist, and praying for the intentions of the pope.

Pilgrims are also asked to pray “for the fidelity of the Filipino people to their Christian calling, for the increase of priestly and religious vocations and for the defense of the family, concluding with the Lord’s Prayer, the profession of faith, and an invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary”.

An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to sins, which have already been forgiven.