INDULGENCES. - *Indulgentia*, *indulgere*, in its proper sense, denotes condescension, and to condescend, in the various nuances of the idea. Imperial-Roman historians use the word in the technical sense of remission of tribute or remission of penalty, concessions which emperors were wont to make on certain occasions. It was also used to indicate abolition, a kind of amnesty, decreed on the occasion of public rejoicings. In the Carolingian era, *indulgentia* was still employed as a technical term to denote remission of penalties or of tribute (as in the *Capitularia*). In the Theodosian Code (I. IX, tit. 38, *De indulgentiis criminum*) it designates the remissions granted by Christian emperors especially at Easter; so much so that Palm Sunday, in many texts of the early Middle Ages (calendars, sacramentaries, various *Comes* [ceremonials], etc.), is called *dominica indulgentia*. As for the matter of remission of penalties, various terms are found which may also indicate *indulgentia* in the strict modern sense, but which in fact also denote other similar or related ideas, at a time when the true indulgence began to develop. From this imprecision of terms has arisen much confusion among scholars less cautious in their researches. For example, the words: *absolutio*, *relaxatio*, *remissio*, *venia*, *condonatio* and *indulgentia*, in the 11th–13th centuries, may denote the properly so-called indulgence, but more often the various forms of remission, sacramental and penitential, and even extrasacramental. The latter is the true indulgence as understood today.
According to Catholic doctrine, an indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins already forgiven as to their guilt, which the Church, by virtue of the power of the keys, grants from the treasury of the Church to the living by way of absolution and to the dead by way of suffrage (can. 911).
OUTLINE:
I. History
II. Nature
III. Power to grant indulgences
IV. Division
V. Requirements for the granting and acquisition of indulgences.I. HISTORY
One must proceed with caution in every historical case belonging to the centuries indicated above, whenever one speaks of indulgences, to determine whether it is a matter of an act properly and strictly extrasacramental, in order to decide whether one is dealing with an indulgence in the strict sense, or with another form of penitential remission.1. Precursors
Thus, for example, the readmission of the man anathematized by St. Paul (1 Cor. 5:3; 2 Cor. 2:5) into the Christian community is not an indulgence in the strict sense, but a reconciliation. Such reconciliation took place in the Church in the 2nd–4th centuries, and was effected especially through the intercession of martyrs or confessors of the faith, or even in danger of death; but it is essentially the readmission of penitents to the Church and to its spiritual goods. Even the *relaxatio* which is sometimes found, as, for example, in the Council of Epaon (a. 517, can. 29), is the substitution of a new and more lenient measure of penance, abolishing the previous, more severe one. Such mitigations of penitential discipline were necessary with the changes of times and social conditions of Christians. From the 8th century onward, *redemptio* came into vogue, originating in Ireland and England, a kind of commutation of penance, often too heavy and unbearable, into lighter works, such as prayers, alms, fasts, and even the payment of sums of money fixed according to the various kinds of offenses (tariffed penance). But all this was applied within the sacrament of Penance to the penitent. A commutation of this kind also gave rise to the later true indulgences (in the strict sense), namely, that operated at the time of the Crusades (q.V. below), in which the confessor could impose on the penitent the taking of the Crusade, in substitution for the penances otherwise necessary for sacramental absolution. A veritable remission of penance, but always in connection with the sacrament of Penance, appears already in the 10th century, on the occasion of pious donations, pilgrimages, and similar interior works; these were always diminutions of personal and individual penance. Especially the pilgrimage to Rome was considered a work of great merit, and therefore penances were mitigated for a Roman pilgrim. Benedict III (853–58), at the instance of Bishop Solomon of Constance, imposed on a fratricidal pilgrim a lesser penance than usual, *intuitu peregrinationis*. Such examples are known under Nicholas I, John VIII, Stephen V and others. Bishops also used to impose on pilgrims, at shrines or churches in consideration of the pilgrimage itself, a lesser penance than would otherwise have been their due. From the 11th century onward, similar indulgences appear, but general ones, applicable to all who fulfilled the prescribed conditions. The rigor of public and tariffed sacramental penance had become unbearable under the radically changed conditions of Christian society, and it was necessary to find a means of mitigating such rigor. Moreover, the possibility of aiding the manifold pious works, so dear to the Middle Ages, by linking them with the imposition of a contribution, as a condition for the remission of penalties even outside the sacrament, opened the way to the indulgence as a means of remission of penalties outside the sacrament, independently of sacramental penance.2. Absolution
Moreover, in the 11th–12th centuries, the use of *absolutio* flourished in the West. Toward the end of the Carolingian era and after, a kind of fear of sin spread through the medieval world, and a veritable mania arose to seek everywhere and on every occasion, and before every work, an absolution, that is, to submit to a formulary, deprecatory and even indicative, of prayer, in order that God might remit sins. Absolutions entered into the liturgy (the *Confiteor*!), the Mass, the Office, and were used on various other occasions, not only for the living but also for the dead, as prayer on their behalf. Innumerable individual and general grants of such absolutions are known. They were used in monasteries, on certain days, in case of death (cf. *Absolutio super tumbam*, still in use today!); popes, bishops, abbots granted them, and often promised, for good works, a remission of sins: this is the application of the biblical doctrine that good works merit grace. Absolutions of this kind are rather solemn blessings, with an authoritative declaration of the merit to be obtained. Synods and councils were closed with a solemn absolution and sermon (even today in many places the custom prevails of the people reciting the *Confiteor* after the sermon, followed by absolution); general absolution was given on Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday; it was granted for meritorious works, for the observance of the *Truce of God*, etc. All this contributed increasingly to concretize the institution of indulgence in the proper, strict sense. At times it is difficult to decide whether, in a specific case, one is dealing with a true indulgence proper, or still with an advanced form of remission, linked to Confession.### 3. Early Indulgences
It is certain that early indulgences, granted as alms or for visits of devotion to churches, altars, etc., began, though few in number, in the 11th century, and then multiplied in the 12th century and afterward. Paulus (op. cit., V. BIBLICA., I, pp. 138 ff.) provides a chronological list of such indulgences up to the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). The origin of this practice is found in northern Spain and France; for example, a day of fasting per week might be remitted (for those who would have had to fast three or four days). It was bishops who granted such indulgences, often linked to pilgrimages and other works. From the second half of the 11th century, popes also followed this example; the first papal indulgence of this kind appears to be that of Nicholas II (1060) for Farfa, on the occasion of the consecration of altars. Urban II granted the remission of a quarter or a seventh of the penance imposed in the sacrament in exchange for certain good works. Thus, it was a true partial remission, initially expressed as a fraction (1/2, 1/3, 1/5, 1/7, etc.), then measured by the time that would have been required to perform public penance, such as 1, 2, 3, 10, 20, or 40 days; finally, 1, 2, 3, or more years. The characteristic of one year and forty days is found during the 12th century. This pertains to penance, whether public or private, imposed in the sacrament of Penance.
A particularly important type of indulgence is that known as the "Crusade indulgence," because it paved the way for the plenary indulgence. Paulus (op. cit., I, pp. 195 ff.) provides a complete and instructive list. Alexander II (1063) granted a remission of penalties for those who fought the Moors. Urban II, at Clermont (1095), to stir Christians to the First Crusade, declared that participation in the Crusade was equivalent to full penance! The same was repeated by Eugenius III (1145), while Gregory VIII introduced the novelty that a plenary indulgence could be obtained by those who substituted for another or who bore the expenses of a crusader. These indulgences were later granted for "crusades" aimed at combating the Moors, the pagan Slavic peoples, the Albigensians, etc.
The plenary Crusade indulgence led to the idea of the jubilee plenary indulgence (v. GIUBILEO).
### 4. Letters of Indulgence
The practice of granting indulgences is reflected in a multitude of documents by which these are conveyed. The letters used by the Apostolic Chancery are very numerous, but alongside them, at least from the 12th century onward, there are letters of episcopal and cardinalatial concessions, especially issued on the occasion of church dedications, and later, as will be discussed, to encourage participation in pious works.
Episcopal letters of indulgence fall into two broad categories: simple letters and collective letters. The former are granted in the name of a single bishop, while the latter are issued in the name of multiple prelates who unite to extend the scope of the concession. These are called collective letters. Delehaye, who made them the subject of a study, compiled a rich register of collective letters (cf. H. Delehaye, *Les lettres d'indulgences collectives*, Brussels 1928, pp. 53-67, 71-89, 91-98). As with bishops, cardinals had the right to grant indulgences within the limits of their authority and made use of II.
Here too, two types of letters are encountered: simple and collective. Among the simple letters, those of nuncios and cardinal legates occupy a special place due to their historical interest in relation to the missions carried out by these figures.
Meanwhile, as the practice of indulgences was already well advanced, theology and canon law began to take an interest in II. Abelard, for example, was distinctly opposed to the institution of indulgences. The early scholastics were divided and had not yet formulated a satisfactory doctrine of indulgences. Further developments were needed.
### 5. Plenary Indulgences for the Dying and for the Dead
Regarding plenary indulgences for the dying and the dead, acts of reconciliation granted in articulo mortis, which still left open the question of full remission, are already found in the 11th century. But once crusaders were granted a plenary indulgence even if they had not been able to complete their crusade vow but died while on crusade, the way was opened to granting a true plenary indulgence in articulo mortis to all. In the 14th century, such concessions were made through individual letters of penance: a priest could be chosen as confessor in articulo mortis with the faculty to apply the plenary indulgence.
However, the faithful had already begun to apply their own indulgences even to the souls of the dead. It can be observed that by around 1350, the practice of applying Jubilee indulgences, Crusade indulgences, and the "Porziuncola" indulgence to the dead was widespread. Ecclesiastical authorities, however, had not yet granted such indulgences; instead, there was the practice of granting an indulgence to the living in exchange for prayers for the dead. It was not until 1457 that Calixtus III granted King Henry IV of Castile a plenary indulgence for the living and, for those who paid 200 maravedís for the Crusade against the Moors, an indulgence for the dead. The bull, however, remained unknown outside Spain, where it caused no small amount of astonishment. Sixtus IV (1476) granted for the cathedral of Saintes (France) a bull valid for ten years, with a plenary indulgence for the living and, *in modum suffragii*, also for the dead. This bull provoked lengthy disputes about the pope's faculty to exercise jurisdiction beyond the grave; however, common doctrine tended toward an explanation through an act of suffrage offered to God, rather than through an act of jurisdiction as with the living. A difficulty also arose regarding the measure of the application of indulgences to the dead—whether it followed with certainty or only according to God's merciful acceptance; the latter view prevailed.
As for the general doctrine concerning indulgences, the main difficulty was in finding the reason why an indulgence could be granted. This was sought in God's mercy, in the value of the Church's prayers, and in the merits of the saints. Some preferred to speak of a kind of substitution in the works of the Church Militant, i.e., a kind of compensation. But Hugh of Saint-Cher, O.P. (c. 1230), instead proposed the idea of a treasury of merits at the Church's disposal, constituted by the immense merits of Christ and the immeasurable accumulation of the merits of the saints—a thesis that then prevailed and was solidly demonstrated by the great scholastics, Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas, and which still forms the core of the explanation of indulgences.
6. Stimulus of Indulgences
A particular aspect of indulgences in the Middle Ages deserves special mention. The piety of the faithful knew how to appreciate the value of indulgences, all the more so as they were still rare. On the other hand, medieval piety manifested itself in an innumerable quantity of particular devotions, of confraternities and guilds, and all this gave occasion to demand ever new indulgences so as to imbue almost the entire religious life with indulgences. The singing of the *Salve Regina*, the recitation of the *Angelus* (first granted for the evening by John XXII in 1318, and in 1327 for Rome), praying for the dead in cemeteries, visiting certain sacred images or relics, listening to sermons, accompanying the Blessed Sacrament to the sick, the feast of Corpus Christi, and on so many other occasions, attendance at Mass, the celebration of patrons, church dedications, anniversaries, the visitation of certain churches, altars, chapels, and shrines, the gatherings of confraternities: so many things were enriched with indulgences, and the piety of the faithful sought ever new and richer indulgences. Hence arose the origin of so many falsifications. But there is more. Indulgences were attached to many works not merely good, but of public utility, both religious and civil. There is scarcely a church that was not built in part with the proceeds of indulgences granted for its construction or restoration; the grand architectural and artistic activity of the Middle Ages is explained, in no small part, by this. But hospitals, leper hospitals, hospices, and schools were also built with the aid of special indulgences. Famous and well-known is the construction of many bridges, even by confraternities, of roads and communications. At times, indulgences were granted for works of land reclamation. This aspect of indulgences, as an effective vehicle of culture and civilization, deserves every praise.7. Abuses
But the granting of indulgences in connection with almsgiving unfortunately also gave rise to most deplorable abuses. Once an indulgence was tied to a contribution for a certain work, *quaestores* were sent to collect the alms. Unfortunately, the preaching of many collectors went far beyond (whether through carelessness or cunning) the dogmatic truth; some even dared to promise the liberation of damned souls from hell. But there was another aspect of indulgences tied to almsgiving proceeds. It began to be permitted for Catholic kings and princes, first on the occasion of the Crusades, to make use of a more or less considerable part of the proceeds gained from alms given to obtain indulgences. Similar permissions were later widely granted for many other enterprises, and princes were not always overly scrupulous. Notable is the indulgence for the construction of the new St. Peter’s in Rome. The Prince of Saxony-Wittenberg, later a great patron of Luther, collected as many relics as he could, in order to avail himself of the rich alms poured out in visiting them to obtain the indulgence. No one denied the existence of abuses, and moreover grave ones. But on the other hand, ecclesiastical authority attempted, perhaps not always with due energy, to restrain the evil. Unfortunately, it was only after the Protestant attack against indulgences that the Council of Trent definitively suppressed the trade in indulgences.Already the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) repressed some abuses regarding indulgences and specified the measure of concessions, establishing for the consecration of churches and anniversaries no more than one year, and for other occasions no more than forty days. But soon these limits were exceeded. And even in the Middle Ages, extraordinarily false documents with indulgences exceeding all measure appeared, not only by hundreds but by thousands of years.
8. Tridentine and Post-Tridentine Legislation
The Council of Trent, after those of Lyons and Vienne, again took up the question of indulgences, especially in view of the relentless war waged by the Reformers against them. In Session 21, chapter 9, it suppressed the institution of the *quaestores*, i.e., the collectors of money for indulgences, which had done so much harm because of the abuses that crept in, and reserved the publication of indulgences solely to Ordinaries; they may also, if necessary, collect alms without any compensation. Finally, in Session 25, the famous decree *De indulgentiis* was issued, in which, after defining that the Church has the power to grant indulgences from Christ the Lord, it again approves the use of indulgences as *maxime salutarem* for the Christian people, abolishing once more every kind of trade in indulgences, and orders that bishops vigilantly oversee any possible abuse in their dioceses, denouncing them in provincial synods and to the Supreme Pontiff.After the Council of Trent, Clement VIII established a cardinalatial commission to deal with indulgences according to the mind of the Council, which continued its work under Paul V, preparing various bulls and decrees on the matter. But it was only Clement IX who created a true Congregation for Indulgences (and Relics) with the brief of 6 July 1669; in April 1668 the first decrees of the same were issued. Pius X, with a *motu proprio* of 28 January 1904, united the Congregation of Indulgences with that of Rites, but in 1908, with the new organization of the Curia, the entire matter of indulgences passed to the Holy Office. Benedict XV, however, with a *motu proprio* of 25 March 1915, transferred the section on indulgences from the Holy Office to the Apostolic Penitentiary, referring to the Holy Office all that pertains to doctrine on indulgences. This was confirmed by the Code, canon 258 § 2.
Another scholar, B. Poschmann, drawing on the historical material of Paulus, continued the investigation especially from the perspective of Catholic penance and its practice through the centuries, in order to further clarify the nature of indulgences and their, so to speak, legitimacy. He demonstrated that indulgences did not arise from elements foreign to the practice and doctrine of the Church regarding penance, but rather conformed to them, even if they appeared to deviate from certain customary forms of his time. His principal works are immediately cited: *Die abendländische Kirchenbusse am Ausgang des christlichen Altertums*, Bonn 1928; *Die abendländische Kirchenbusse im frühen Mittelalter*, 1v 1930; *Poenitentia saeculi*, 1v 1940; *Der Ablass im Lichte der Bussegeschichte*, 1v 1948. In 1932, J. A. Jungmann contributed to the discussion with his substantial work: *Die lateinischen Busriten in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung*, Paderborn 1932.
Other works of notable importance include: A. Gottlob, *Kreuz- und Almosenablass*, Eine Studie über die Frühzeit des Ablasses, Stuttgart 1906; E. Goller, *Der Ausbruch der Reformation und die spätmittelalterliche Ablasspraxis*, Freiburg 1917; H. Delehaye, op. cit. (3 articles extracted from *Anal. Boll.*, 44 [1926], 45 [1927], 46 [1928]). The fundamental practical work on indulgences is *Die Ablässe, ihr Wesen und Gebrauch*, first published by Fr. F. Beringer, Paderborn 1860, continued by J. Hilgers and finally by P. A. Steinen (15th ed., 2 vols., 1v 1921-22). Hilgers also published his own study: *Die katholische Lehre von den Ablässen und deren geschichtliche Entwicklung*, 1v 1914, in which he sought to trace the origin of indulgences as far back as possible, but was strongly opposed by Paulus.
In the major French encyclopedias: E. Magnin, *Indulgence*, in *Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique*, VII, cols. 1594-1636; P. Galtier, *Indulgence*, in *Dictionnaire de Spiritualité*, II, cols. 718-52; H. Leclercq, *Indulgence*, in *Dictionnaire d'Archéologie Chrétienne et de Liturgie*, VII, cols. 535-40; the same authors candidly admit to having drawn their material for these expositions from the works and articles of N. Paulus.
2. Official literature on indulgences: one of the officials of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, the pious priest Telesforo Galli, published in 1807 a *Raccolta di alcune orazioni e pie opere individuali e delle dai papi*. After his death, another official, Luigi Prinzi, continued the publication, which was highly esteemed. In 1854, the 13th edition was declared authentic. Only in 1877 did the Congregation itself publish the *Raccolta* as its own work, which received the direct approval of the Supreme Pontiff. The 2nd and 3rd editions appeared in 1886 and 1898, followed by some appendices. Finally,
remission, that is, the remission of punishment through a judicial act of power, which entails a satisfaction, that is, a payment made with the common goods of the Christian family (v. COMMUNION OF SAINTS). For the dead, the indulgence is applied by way of suffrage: the dead are no longer subject to the jurisdiction of the Church, so one cannot speak of judicial absolution, but only of suffrage, in the sense that the faithful pilgrims in this world (*homines viatores*) perform a good work and, through the authority of the Church, offer the satisfactory merits of Jesus Christ to the Lord, praying that He may accept them in remission of the punishments which the souls in purgatory still have to endure. Such remission of punishment operates not only in the external forum, before the Church, but also in the internal forum, before God. The ecclesiastical authority, in granting indulgences, draws from the treasury of the Church, which consists of the satisfactory merits of Jesus Christ, to which are added those of the Virgin and the saints. Every good work, performed in a state of grace, besides the meritorious part, which is inalienable and entitles one to just reward, carries with it a satisfactory part, through which the temporal debt contracted by sin can be expiated and which can even be applied to others. This treasury is applied through the Communion of Saints, by virtue of which the Church triumphant, the Church suffering, and the Church militant do not constitute three societies, but form one body, of which Christ is the head and the faithful are the members, united by the bond of love so that the goods of the community are as if they were the property of each and benefit all (1 Cor. 12:12-26).
III. POWER TO GRANT INDULGENCES
This resides in the Church, in those to whom the power of the keys has been entrusted and who, therefore, by divine right, govern the Church. This truth, defined by the Council of Trent (Denz-U, 989), is deduced from the words of Jesus Christ addressed to St. Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven... Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). If the Church can, in the Sacrament of Penance, wash the soul from the stain of guilt, it can certainly also free it from a lesser evil, that is, from the state of punishment.IV. DIVISION
Indulgences are divided into: a) plenary and partial. Plenary is that which, according to the mind of the grantor, remits all temporal punishment; it can be plenary *totaliter* or *relative*, depending on the dispositions of the one who acquires it (can. 926). A plenary indulgence, unless expressly stated otherwise, can be gained only once a day, even if the prescribed works are performed more than once (can. 928 § 1); if it can be gained more than once a day, it is called *toties quoties*. Among the *toties quoties* plenary indulgences, the well-known one of the Portiuncula, granted for August 2, is particularly notable. The daily plenary indulgence, usually granted for a church visit, is to be understood in the sense that it can be gained on any day, but only once a year (can. 921 § 3). The Jubilee (v.) is a plenary indulgence enriched with particular privileges by the Roman Pontiff, and differs from other plenary indulgences in the solemnities with which it is granted and in the privileges that accompany II. These extrinsic circumstances are ordered to deepen the dispositions of the faithful and thus, subjectively, to secure more certainly the remission of all temporal punishments. It must therefore be held that the Jubilee is not superior to other plenary indulgences *quoad effectum*, but only *quoad affectum* (cf. F. L. Ferraris, *Promptuarium bibliothecae canonicae*, IV, Montecassino 1848, p. 280). Partial is the indulgence that remits only a part of the temporal punishment; unless expressly stated otherwise, it can be gained as many times a day as the prescribed work is performed (can. 928 § 2); b) personal, real, and local, according as they are granted directly to persons or classes of persons, e.g., to religious; or are attached to the use of particular sacred objects, e.g., medals, rosaries; or are granted for the visit to a particular sacred place; c) perpetual or temporary, according as they are granted without time restrictions or are limited to a certain number of years; d) for the living or for the dead or for both. For some personal indulgences attached to membership in Catholic Action, confraternities, and Third Orders, see the respective entries. Likewise for some principal local (e.g., Way of the Cross, privileged altar, Portiuncula, etc.) and real indulgences (e.g., those attached to various rosaries, see ROSARY; scapulars, see SCAPULAR; medals or the like, see AGNUS DEI; MEDAL).REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GRANTING AND ACQUISITION OF INDULGENCES
1. – From the part of the grantor, it is required that he possess legitimate authority: for it is those who preside over a society who are charged with the distribution of its goods, such as the indulgences are with respect to the Christian family. Moreover, a just and legitimate cause is required: for he who is entrusted with the granting of indulgences is not a squanderer but a dispenser of the treasure of the Church.
a) that he be baptized. Only those who are members of a society can share in its goods: one becomes a member of the Church through Baptism;
b) that he be in a state of grace, at least when he performs the last prescribed work: so long as there is guilt, there can be no remission of punishment;
c) that he be subject to the grantor (but if the grantor is the bishop of a diocese, all who are found within its territory may gain the indulgence: can. 927);
d) that he have the intention, at least general, of gaining the indulgence; it is not necessary that this intention be actual or virtual: habitual intention suffices;
e) that he fulfill all the conditions. Those commonly imposed for the acquisition of plenary indulgences are: Confession, Communion, the recitation of some prayer according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff, and a visit to a church or public oratory, or, for those who lawfully use them, a semi-public oratory.
When Confession is prescribed, it must be made even by those who are not conscious of any mortal sin; however, it may be made within the eight days immediately preceding the day to which the indulgence is attached, or within the eight days following. When, moreover, the indulgence is attached to several exercises (tridua, septenaries, novenas), Confession may be made within the eight days immediately following the completion of the exercise. Furthermore: in this latter case, Confession is not obligatory for those who communicate almost daily with right intention, even if they abstain from it once or twice a week; nor for those who habitually confess at least twice a month. This privilege is excepted in the case of the Confession prescribed for the acquisition of the Jubilee or of indulgences granted in the manner of a Jubilee (can. 931).
Communion must be sacramental and spiritual Communion does not suffice; the Communion received as Viaticum and even the paschal Communion suffice (with the exception of the case of the Jubilee or of indulgences granted in the manner of a Jubilee). It suffices if it be made on the vigil of the day to which the indulgence is attached, or within the octave that follows. In the case of indulgences granted for tridua, etc., what was said of Confession applies also to Communion.
It is not necessary that the Communion be made in the church whose visit is prescribed for the acquisition of the indulgence. With a single Communion, several plenary indulgences granted for the same day may be gained, provided that the other conditions prescribed for each of the indulgences one wishes to acquire are fulfilled (can. 931).
The visit to a church, when prescribed, may be made from noon of the vigil until midnight of the day fixed for the indulgence (can. 923). It is required to approach the prescribed place with the general or implicit intention of honoring God. If the place of the visit is not prescribed in a determinate manner, those living in a religious house, colleges, boarding schools, hospitals, etc., and those attached to their service or care, may gain the indulgence by visiting the chapel of the Institute in which they fulfill the festive precept (decision of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, 20 Sept. 1933, AAS, 25 [1933], p. 446).
The prayer must be at least in part vocal and not merely mental (can. 934 § 1), and is free in choice unless there are special prescriptions. To satisfy the clause “according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff,” the recitation of one Pater, Ave, and Gloria suffices (cited decision, ibid., p. 446); however, in the case of the indulgence of the “Pardon of Assisi” or of indulgences *toties quoties*, for which the visit to a church is required, six Paters, Aves, and Glorias must be recited, without the possibility of substituting another prayer, even a longer one (decision of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, 5 July 1930, AAS, 22 [1930], p. 363).
It is to be noted that the prayers may be recited alternately with a companion, or followed mentally when recited by another (can. 934 § 2); the mute may gain the indulgences by uniting themselves with the faithful who pray and raising their hearts to God; and they may recite the prayers mentally, expressed by their proper gestures or followed on the book with their eyes (can. 936). Finally, the indulgences attached to invocations and ejaculations may be gained by all with the mere mental recitation (decision of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, 7 Dec. 1933; AAS, 26 [1934], p. 35). When, for a reasonable cause, one cannot hold in hand the indulgenced rosary or crucifix, the indulgences may be gained if the indulgenced object is carried on one’s person (decision of the Sacred Penitentiary, 9 Nov. 1933; AAS, 25 [1933], pp. 502–13).
For the jubilee indulgence, V. **GIUBILEO**. For other various apostolic and non-apostolic indulgences, V. the respective entries: **ATTO EROCIO DI CARITÀ**; **BENEDIZIONE**; **CROCE**, V. **Il segno della C.**