In the life of the Church, a Jubilee Year is a special time of grace. It is a time to open our hearts more fully to the Lord, to seek His mercy, and to renew our lives in faith. During a Jubilee, the Church invites us to pray more deeply, return to the sacraments with greater devotion, grow in charity, and walk together in hope.

The Franciscan Jubilee has been given to the Church because this year marks 800 years since the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. In honoring this anniversary, the Church is inviting all of us to reflect on the witness of a saint whose life continues to speak powerfully to the world. Saint Francis shows us what it means to love Christ wholeheartedly, to live with humility and simplicity, to seek peace, and to recognize all creation as a gift from God.

For our parish, this Jubilee is more than a commemoration of an important moment in the history of the Church. It is an opportunity to renew our own relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a time to deepen our prayer, to return to Confession with trust, to participate in the Holy Eucharist with greater love, and to practice mercy and charity in daily life. During a Jubilee Year, the Church also offers the faithful the opportunity to receive a plenary indulgence, one of the special spiritual gifts of this holy time. Through the example of Saint Francis, we are reminded that holiness is not distant or unreachable. It is lived through faithfulness, conversion, peace, and love.

As we observe this Jubilee, we are invited to look at our lives with honesty and hope. Where do we need the Lord’s peace? Where is He calling us to greater trust, greater simplicity, or greater love for others? The witness of Saint Francis encourages us to begin again with generosity and confidence in God’s grace.

We hope our parish will live this Jubilee as a time of renewal for families, for our community, and for every person seeking to grow closer to the Lord. May this Franciscan Jubilee lead us to deeper faith, greater peace, and a more joyful witness to the Gospel.

An indulgence is a gift of God’s mercy offered through the Church. It does not replace Confession, and it is not the forgiveness of sin itself. The Church teaches that an indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. In this context, the Church is speaking about the purification that can still remain after forgiveness has already been received.

The Church offers two kinds of indulgences: partial and plenary. A partial indulgence removes part of this purification. A plenary indulgence removes all of it. These are the only two kinds of indulgences recognized in the Church’s doctrine and law.

A partial indulgence is ordinarily connected to the regular rhythm of Christian life. Saint Paul VI taught that indulgences are attached to the principal prayers and to the principal works of piety, charity, and penance. For that reason, partial indulgences are usually associated with the ordinary practice of the faith: prayer, acts of devotion, works of charity, and acts of self-denial or penance. They belong to the daily path of conversion and growth in holiness.

A plenary indulgence is ordinarily connected to more specifically designated acts and occasions in the life of the Church. These are often linked to holy years and jubilees, pilgrimages, devout visits to churches or oratories on designated days, and other particular moments established by the Holy See. Saint Paul VI’s norms mention examples such as a devout visit to a parish church on the feast of its titular saint, on August 2 for the Portiuncula, and on other days determined by the Church. More recent Vatican decrees show the same pattern by attaching plenary indulgences to jubilees, pilgrimages, works of mercy, and special ecclesial observances.

The Church also teaches that indulgences may be received not only for ourselves, but also applied to the faithful departed. This is part of the Church’s constant faith in the communion of saints: those on earth remain united in Christ with those who have died in Him. Because of that bond of charity, the faithful may offer indulgences for the departed as a spiritual help, entrusting them to the mercy of God and praying that their purification may be completed. The Catechism states that through indulgences the faithful can obtain this remission “for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory.”

For many Catholics, this is one of the most beautiful parts of the Church’s teaching on indulgences. An indulgence is not only a grace we may seek for ourselves; it is also an act of charity for the faithful departed. In offering it for them, we are praying for those who have gone before us, asking that the Lord bring them into the fullness of His presence.

From January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027, the Church is observing the Year of Saint Francis. For this holy year, the Apostolic Penitentiary has granted a plenary indulgence to the faithful under the conditions named in the decree. 

At St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, we are blessed that our parish is one of the places named in the decree, since the Vatican includes any place of worship anywhere in the world dedicated to Saint Francis or connected to him. Because of this, the faithful may receive the Franciscan Jubilee plenary indulgence here during this special year. The decree also states that this indulgence may be applied for oneself or in suffrage for the souls in Purgatory.

To receive this indulgence, the decree says that the faithful should take part in the Year of Saint Francis with a heart detached from sin by visiting, in the form of a pilgrimage, a Franciscan church or a place of worship dedicated to Saint Francis or connected to him. There, they are to take part in the Jubilee rites or spend at least a reasonable period of time in prayerful meditation. 

The decree also says that this time of prayer should conclude with the Our Father, the Creed, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare, and all the Saints of the Franciscan Family. It further states that the indulgence is granted under the fulfillment of these conditions: sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

The Church also makes provision for those who cannot come in person. The decree says that the elderly, the sick, those who care for them, and those unable to leave home for serious reasons may also obtain the plenary indulgence. They may do so if they detach themselves from any sin, intend to fulfill Confession, Holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father as soon as possible, and unite themselves spiritually to the Jubilee celebrations, offering to God their prayers and the pains or sufferings of their lives. 

For our parish, this is a beautiful grace. During this Year of Saint Francis, we are invited to come in a true spirit of pilgrimage, prayer, conversion, and peace, following the example of our patron, Saint Francis of Assisi.