“The idea of a Church on pilgrimage is essential to the spirit of the jubilee year. By making our way through the busy world, pilgrim journeys help us to appreciate the beauty of creation, recall the need for silence and recollection, form friendships with fellow travelers, and seek Christ, who is the way (John 14:6) and the gateway (John 10:9) to eternal life, in every encounter and situation.”
-Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron
An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment (the effects of sin that linger in us) caused by sin. Because sin is a preference for self-love, it leaves behind an unhealthy attachment to (or a disordered love for) earthly things, even after it is forgiven. The Church teaches that these earthly attachments can be purified either here on earth (through an indulgence) or after death in Purgatory. God’s abundant mercy is such that he offers to free us from earthly attachments through the granting of indulgences by means of heavenly remedies, such as prayers, pilgrimages, devotions, and works of mercy.
During the Jubilee Year 2025, the faithful can obtain a plenary indulgence – that is, complete remission of the temporal punishment due to sin – by making SPACE for God in their day:
- Avoid SIN (have complete detachment from all sin, even venial ones)
- Offer PRAYERS for the Pope (Our Father and Hail Mary)
- Perform the ACTION (see activities below)
- Go to CONFESSION (about 20 days before or after the action is performed)
- Receive the EUCHARIST
In the event of serious impediments (especially cloistered nuns and monks, but also the elderly, the sick, prisoners, and those who, through their work in hospitals or other care facilities, provide continuous service to the sick), the truly repentant faithful unable to participate in the celebrations, pilgrimages or visits will be able to obtain the Jubilee indulgence under the same conditions if they recite in their home or from wherever they are impeded from traveling, the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form and other prayers compliant with the purposes of the Holy Year, offering up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives.
Jubilee activities include:
Pilgrimages
Making a pilgrimage visit to:
- Basilica of Ste. Anne, Detroit
- Blessed Solanus Casey Center, Detroit
- Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit
- Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield
- National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica, Royal Oak
- Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, Riverview
- Our Lady of Hope Cemetery, Brownstown
- Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel, Madonna University, Livonia
- Shrine of Jesus, The Divine Mercy, Clinton Township
- Shrine of St. John Paul II, Orchard Lake
- Shrine of St. Joseph, Detroit
- Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pontiac
Works of devotion:
- Participating in a parish mission
- Studying the documents of Vatican II or Catechism of the Catholic Church
Works of mercy:
- Visiting those in need or in difficulty, e.g.: the sick or prisoners
- Those who are lonely, elderly, or disabled
Works of penance:
- Abstaining from distractions (e.g., the use of smartphone apps or social media) at least one day a week
- Abstaining from certain food and drink (fasting) at least one day a week
- Abstaining from meat (abstinence) at least one day a week
- Donating money to the poor
- Supporting the work of those who defend and protect life in all its phases, Supporting the ministry of those who work with abandoned children, young people in difficulty, the needy or lonely elderly people, or migrants
- Dedicating one’s free time to community service or parish ministry