During the Jubilee of Mercy, which runs until Nov. 20, an indulgence can be obtained for the faithful who make a pilgrimage to and pass through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome or any of the other papal basilicas in Rome. Additionally indulgences can be obtained by passing through the Holy Door of any shrine, cathedral or church designated by the local bishop.
In the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Archbishop Roger Schwietz has designated the following locations as pilgrimage sites during the Jubilee of Mercy. In Anchorage pilgrimage sites are: Holy Family Cathedral (with its Holy Door); Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral (with its Holy Door); St. Patrick Church (with its Cloister); and Blessed Sacrament Monastery. Additional pilgrimage sites are St. Andrew Church in Eagle River, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Soldotna, Our Lady of the Lake Church in Big Lake and St. Mary Church in Kodiak.
An indulgence is a remission or forgiveness by God of the temporal punishment due to one’s sins after the person has already been forgiven by Christ of the guilt of sin. The faithful Christian who has first confessed sin can then obtain, through Christ’s action in his church, forgiveness of the punishment for these sins.
According to the Catholic Catechism, “every sin has consequences…it disrupts our communion with God and the church, weakens our ability to resist temptation, and hurts others.”
The necessary healing process for these sins is called “temporal punishment.” Prayer, fasting, almsgiving and other works of charity can take away entirely or diminish this temporal punishment as the person is healed of the wounds of sin.
The church, in fulfilling her role to guide the faithful into full union with Christ, offers certain prayers and actions as part of an indulgence, which brings about full or partial remission of temporal punishment from one’s sins.
It is always Christ, acting through the church, who brings about the healing of the consequences of sin.
In order to participate in the indulgences during the Jubilee of Mercy, the faithful are asked to first go to the sacrament of reconciliation (confession) and to receive Holy Communion with a reflection on mercy. Additionally, according to direction given by Pope Francis, the reception of Holy Communion should include “the profession of faith and with prayer for me and for the intentions that I bear in my heart for the good of the church and of the entire world.”
The sick and elderly who are unable to go on pilgrimage may receive the Jubilee Indulgence by “living with faith and joyful hope this moment of trial [and] receiving communion or attending Holy Mass.”
Those who are in prison, “may obtain the Indulgence in the chapels of the prisons.” The Holy Father adds: “May the gesture of directing their thought and prayer to the Father each time they cross the threshold of their cell signify for them their passage through the Holy Door, because the mercy of God is able to transform hearts, and is also able to transform bars into an experience of freedom.”
Even the faithful departed, the pope notes, may gain the Jubilee Indulgence.
The pope states: “…as we remember them in the Eucharistic celebration, thus we can, in the great mystery of the Communion of Saints, pray for them, that the merciful face of the Father free them of every remnant of fault and strongly embrace them in the unending beatitude.”
'Alaska pilgrimage sites established for Holy Year of Mercy'
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