Pardon of Assisi, Indulgence of

PARDON OF ASSISI, Indulgence of. - Also called the indulgence of the Portiuncula, because it is attached to the visit of the chapel of the Portiuncula, in the basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, near Assisi.
I. LA PORZIUNCOLA E LA CONCESSIONE DELL'IN-

INDULGENCE. — The little church of the Porziuncola (also called, in the 13th century, St. Mary of the Angels), depended on the Benedictines of Assisi, and was the last among those restored by the young Francis (v.), who founded near it the Order of Friars Minor and had there his first habitual dwelling; here he celebrated the General Chapters of the Order and wished to die there in 1226. For it, enclosed within the great basilica of St. Mary of the Angels at the center of the crossing, beneath the dome, St. Francis obtained the celebrated indulgence of the P. of A. The historical accounts relate how Francis had asked Christ, during a vision, for a plenary indulgence for anyone who had visited the chapel. Christ granted it, sending him nonetheless to the pontiff Honorius III, then at Perugia (1216), who after some hesitation would have granted it, but without the corresponding bull, which Francis did not want.

II. INDULGENCE IN PONTIFICAL CONCESSIONS AND CURRENT DISCIPLINE

Despite the various historical uncertainties about the origin of the indulgence, many popes confirmed it and widened its concessions.

At first it could be gained only at the Porziuncola, on 2 August, beginning with first Vespers and lasting until sunset on the day of the feast, and only once; Martin IV again confirmed it, vivae vocis oraculo, to Cardinal Matteo d'Acquasparta, then master of the Sacred Palace. Fairly soon the practice arose of applying it to the dead; but the first papal decree on the matter dates only from 1687, with the brief Alias felicis of Innocent XI. In the second half of the 14th century the practice of acquiring it toties quoties was already common (and hence also the idea of applying it to the dead), as is attested by the jurist Bonifacio de Amamata, but always for the single day of 2 August; nevertheless, only in 1700 and 1723 did two documents of the Congregation of the Council give it official recognition. The extension of the toties quoties to all the days of the year, having come into practice, would have been approved and again granted vivae vocis oraculo by Paul III in 1544, according to an official notarial deposition of the bishop of Chiusi, Masseo Bardi, present at the act, and drawn up later in 1588. The Church nevertheless showed itself unfavourable to this daily indulgence even afterwards, and towards the end of the 17th century certain books that defended it were condemned and a verse alluding to it was ordered to be erased from the chapel. Only with the brief Constat apprime of Benedict XV (16 April 1921) was a solemn concession of it obtained.

People soon began to extend this indulgence to other churches as well. The first recorded is the church of St. Dominic in Perugia, which would have obtained it from Benedict XI probably in 1504. After very numerous other concessions to particular churches and regions, it was extended by Leo X (and perhaps already by Sixtus IV around 1480) in 1517 to all Franciscan churches for the members of the First and Second Order; Gregory XV in 1622 granted it to all the faithful who visited a Franciscan church. Urban VIII in 1643 extended it also to all the churches of the Third Order; Clement X in 1670 to the churches of the Conventuals, while the Capuchins had obtained it from 1622. Subsequently it was extended also to other churches, provided they were situated at a determined distance from Franciscan churches. By decree of the Sacred Penitentiary of 1924 the privilege was extended to the churches for which the bishops made application, provided they were at least three kilometres distant from a Franciscan church, with the faculty of transferring it to the following Sunday if 2 August falls during the week. The usual conditions are required: the visit to the church, Confession, Communion and the recitation of 6 Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be at each visit. This indulgence, outside the Porziuncola, may be gained from midday on 1 August to midnight on 2 August (or respectively of the Sunday determined by the bishop).

III. HISTORICAL TESTIMONIES AND CONTROVERSIES

The greatest difficulty concerning the indulgence of the Portiuncula lies in the fact that none of the most accredited ancient sources of the life of St. Francis, such as Celano and St. Bonaventure, make any mention of it; the Legenda Trium Sociorum is the first to have a chapter on the subject, but it is late (v. QUESTIONE FRANCESCANA). The very practice of pilgrimages seems not to have known such an indulgence before c. 1260. In the last quarter of the 13th century there is a series of notarial testimonies, provoked in part by the provincial of Umbria, Friar Angelo, particularly 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, who reports the testimony of Friar Leo of Assisi (v.); that of Pietro Zalfani, who says he was present at the promulgation made by St. Francis. Also from the end of this century is a Questione by Pietro di Giovanni Olivi on the indulgence, very important from the doctrinal standpoint. Around 1310, besides other very important testimonies, there is the official act of Bishop Teobaldo of Assisi, who gathers the narrative together, adding his own authority to it. Alongside these official depositions, sober and serious, the legend flourishes; and above all the treatise of Francesco Bartholi, in which the popular tradition is amply set forth and enriched with the addition of many miracles. Once the oppositions to the indulgence in the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th had been removed, there arose, at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th, those relating above all to the daily character of the indulgence. The true and profound critical controversy arose in 1900 when P. Sabatier, after having denied credence to the account in the Vie de st François (1894), examining anew the documents for the publication of the Tractatus de indulgentia of Francesco Bartholi, became convinced of its authenticity. There followed among scholars a twofold reaction: among the Protestants there were those inclined to admit it (K. Müller, Zockler), while many Catholics (Van Ortroy, P. A. Kirsch, N. Paulus) abandoned it. A little later, particularly in Franciscan circles, with Lemmens, Oliger, Holzapfel, René de Nantes and also Msgr. Faloci-Pulignani, the thesis was upheld along Sabatierian lines, albeit with differing opinions concerning the extent of the indulgence granted to St. Francis. The objections raised are: the silence of the most ancient and genuine sources; the contrary custom, in the 13th century, regarding concessions of this kind; the strong doubts against the attached documents, especially because the need was felt to give them official form, etc. The reply was: sources such as Celano and St. Bonaventure are also silent about many other more important events in the life of St. Francis; it is not entirely outside the papal concessions of the 13th century (Pierens), and on the other hand there may well be an exception; the official form of the documents was required by the public oppositions of the time.

On the whole it seems that credence cannot be denied to a concession, imprecise for now in its extent and content, of an indulgence by Pope Honorius III to St. Francis.

Alberto Ghinato