PORTIUNCULA INDULGENCE. — The little church of the Porziuncola (also called, in the 13th century, S. Maria degli Angeli), which belonged to the Benedictines of Assisi, was the last of those restored by the young Francis (v.), near which he founded the Order of Friars Minor and had his first habitual dwelling; here he celebrated the general chapters of the Order and wished to die there in 1226. For it, contained within the great basilica of S. Maria degli Angeli at the center of the crossing, beneath the dome, St. Francis obtained the famous indulgence of the P. di A. Historical accounts tell how Francis had asked Christ, during a vision, for a plenary indulgence for whoever visited the chapel. Christ granted it, however sending the pope Honorius III, who was then in Perugia (1216), who after some hesitation granted it, but without the respective bull which Francis did not want.
II. THE INDULGENCE IN PAPAL GRANTS AND PRESENT DISCIPLINE. — Despite the various historical uncertainties regarding the origin of the indulgence, many popes confirmed it and expanded its grants.
At first, it could only be gained at the Porziuncola on August 2, beginning with the first vespers until sunset on the feast day and only once; Martin IV confirmed it again, *vivace vocis oraculo*, to Cardinal Matteo d'Acquasparta, then master of the Sacred Palace. Quite early, the practice of applying it to the dead was introduced; but the first papal decree on this matter dates only to 1687, with Innocent XI’s brief *Alias felicis*. By the second half of the 14th century, the practice of gaining it *toties quoties* (and thus the idea of applying it to the dead) was already common, as attested by the jurist Bonifacio de Amanatis, but still only on August 2; however, official recognition came only in 1700 and 1723 through two documents of the Congregation of the Council. The extension of *toties quoties* to every day of the year, introduced in practice, would have been approved and granted again *vivace vocis oraculo* by Paul III in 1544, according to an official notarial deposition by the bishop of Chiusi, Masseo Bardi, present at the act and drawn up in 1588. The Church, however, subsequently showed little favor toward this daily indulgence, and toward the end of the 17th century, some books defending it were condemned, and a verse in the chapel alluding to it was erased. Solemn grant came only with Benedict XV’s brief *Constat apprime* (April 16, 1921).
Soon the indulgence began to be extended to other churches. The first recorded instance is the church of S. Domenico in Perugia, which is said to have obtained it from Benedict XI probably in 1304. After countless other grants to particular churches and regions, Leo X (and perhaps already Sixtus IV around 1480) extended it in 1517 to all Franciscan churches for members of the First and Second Orders; Gregory XV granted it in 1622 to all the faithful who visited a Franciscan church. Urban VIII extended it in 1643 to all churches of the Third Order; Clement X in 1670 to the churches of the Conventuals, while the Capuchins had obtained it since 1622. Later it was extended to other churches as well, provided they were within a certain distance from Franciscan churches. With a decree of the Sacred Penitentiary in 1924, the privilege was extended to churches for which bishops made a request, provided they were at least three kilometers from a Franciscan church, with the faculty of transferring it to the following Sunday if August 2 falls during the week. The usual conditions are required: visiting the church, confession, communion, and reciting six Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glorias at each visit. This indulgence, outside the Porziuncola, may be gained from noon on August 1 to midnight on August 2 (or the Sunday determined by the bishop, respectively).
III. HISTORICAL TESTIMONIES AND CONTROVERSIES. — The greatest difficulty surrounding the Porziuncola indulgence lies in the fact that none of the most authoritative early sources on the life of St. Francis, such as Celano and St. Bonaventure, mention it; the *Legend of the Three Companions* has a chapter on the subject, but it is late (v. *QUESTIONE FRANCESCANA*). The very practice of pilgrimages seems not to have known of this indulgence before about 1260. In the last quarter of the 13th century, a series of notarial testimonies appears, partly provoked by the provincial of Umbria, Friar Angelo, including that of Benedetto d’Arezzo (1277), who heard it from Friar Masseo, who had been with St. Francis when he went to the pope to ask for the indulgence; that of Giacomo Coppoli, which reports the Assisi (v.); and that of Pietro Zalfani, who says he was present at the promulgation made by St. Francis. From the end of this century comes also a *Question* by Peter of John Olivi on the indulgence, very important from the doctrinal side. Around 1310, in addition to other very important testimonies, there is the official act of Bishop Teobaldo of Assisi, who collects the account and adds his authority to II. Alongside these official, sober, and serious depositions, legend flourished; especially the treatise by Francesco Bartholi, where popular tradition is widely expounded and enriched with the addition of many miracles.
Apart from the objections to the indulgence in the 13th and early 14th centuries, those concerning especially the daily nature of the indulgence arose at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. The true and profound critical controversy arose in 1900 when P. Sabatier, after denying credence to the account in *La Vie de st François* (1894), re-examining the documents for the publication of Francesco Bartholi’s *Tractatus de indulgentia*, became convinced of their authenticity. This led to a twofold reaction among scholars: among Protestants, some inclined to admit it (K. Müller, Zöckler), while many Catholics (Van Ortroy, P. A. Kirsch, N. Paulus) abandoned II. Shortly afterward, particularly in Franciscan circles, with Lemmens, Oliger, Holzapfel, René de Nantes, and also Mons. Faloci-Pulignani, the thesis was upheld according to Sabatier’s approach, though with differing opinions about the extent of the indulgence granted to St. Francis. The objections raised are: the silence of the oldest and most genuine sources; the contrary custom in the 13th century regarding such grants; strong doubts about the attached documents, especially since there was a need to give them official form, etc. The replies are: sources like Celano and St. Bonaventure also omit many other events more important than this in the life of St. Francis; it does not entirely fall outside papal grants in the 13th century (Fierens), and on the other hand there may well have been an exception; the official form of the documents was required by the public opposition of the time.
In sum, it seems that faith cannot be denied to an unspecified grant, for now, in its extent and content, of an indulgence by Pope Honorius III to St. Francis.