The Vatican extends the plenary indulgence for the dead throughout November

The Vatican has extended the availability of some plenary indulgences for souls in Purgatory, amid concerns of avoiding large gatherings of people in churches or cemeteries and including those confined to their homes due to the pandemic.

According to a decree of 23 October, some indulgent acts, which can help remit the temporal penalty due to sin for those who have died in grace, can be obtained throughout the month of November 2020.

The decree was signed by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

In an interview with Vatican News, Piacenza stated that the bishops had requested an extended period of time for the plenary indulgence, considering the importance of the commemoration of the feasts of All Saints on November 1 and All Saints on November 2. .

In the interview, Piacenza said that although the availability of live streaming has been good for the elderly who cannot participate in the liturgy in person, "some people have gotten a little used to celebrations on television".

This "can mark a certain disinterest in being present in [liturgical] celebrations," he said. "There is therefore a search on the part of the bishops to implement all possible solutions to bring people back to the Church, always respecting all that must be done for the particular situation in which we unfortunately find ourselves".

Piacenza also underlined the importance of the availability of the sacraments during the feasts of All Saints and of all souls, which for some countries can have a high frequency and sacramental participation.

With the new penitentiary decree, those who cannot leave the house can still participate in the indulgence, and others may have more time to attend mass, receive the sacrament of confession and visit the cemetery, while following local coronavirus measures on the crowd, He said.

The decree also encouraged priests to make the sacraments as widely available as possible in November.

"For an easier attainment of divine grace through pastoral charity, this penitentiary earnestly prays that all priests endowed with the appropriate faculties will offer themselves with particular generosity to the celebration of the sacrament of Penance and the administration of Holy Communion to the sick", said the decree.

Plenary indulgences, which remit all temporal penalties due to sin, must be accompanied by full detachment from sin.

A Catholic who wishes to obtain a plenary indulgence must also meet the ordinary conditions of an indulgence, which are sacramental confession, reception of the Eucharist and prayer for the intentions of the pope. The sacramental confession and the reception of the Eucharist can take place within a week of the act of indulgence.

In November, the Church has two traditional means of obtaining a plenary indulgence for the souls in Purgatory. The first is to visit a cemetery and pray for the dead during the Octave of All Saints, which is November 1-8.

This year the Vatican has decreed that this plenary indulgence can be obtained on any day in November.

The second plenary indulgence is linked to the feast of the dead on November 2 and can be received by those who devotedly visit a church or oratory on that day and recite the Our Father and the Creed.

The Vatican has said that this plenary indulgence has also been extended and is available to Catholics throughout the month of November to reduce crowds.

Both indulgences must include the three ordinary conditions and complete detachment from sin.

The Vatican also said that due to the health emergency, the elderly, the sick and others who are unable to leave home for serious reasons can participate in the indulgence from home by reciting prayers for the deceased in front of an image of Jesus. or of the Virgin Mary.

They must also join spiritually with other Catholics, be completely detached from sin and have the intention of meeting ordinary conditions as soon as possible.

The Vatican decree offers examples of prayers that homebound Catholics can pray for the dead, including praise or vespers from the Office for the Dead, the rosary, the chaplet of Divine Mercy, other prayers for the dead among their family members or friends, or the execution of a work of mercy by offering God their pain and discomfort.

The decree also said that "since the souls in Purgatory are helped by the suffrages of the faithful and above all by the sacrifice of the Altar pleasing to God ... all priests are warmly invited to celebrate Holy Mass three times on the day of commemoration of all the faithful departed, according to the apostolic constitution "Incruentum altaris", issued by Pope Benedict XV, of venerable memory, on 10 August 1915 ".

Piacenza said another reason they ask priests to celebrate three masses on November 2 is to allow more Catholics to participate.

"Priests are also exhorted to be generous in the ministry of Confessions and in bringing Holy Communion to the sick," Piacenza said. This will make it easier for Catholics to be able to "offer prayers for their deceased, feel them close, in short, encounter all these noble sentiments that contribute to the creation of the Communion of Saints".