On the occasion of the First World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Francis grants Plenary Indulgences to grandparents, the elderly and all the faithful who participate “motivated by a true spirit of penance and charity.”
By Vatican News staff writer
VATICAN CITY — In a note released on Tuesday, The Apostolic Penitentiary explains that “in order to increase the devotion of the faithful and for the salvation of souls,” grandparents, the elderly and the faithful will be able to obtain a Plenary Indulgence on the First World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly to be celebrated on 25 July 2021.
The note says that the Pope has granted this possibility after having listened to the request presented by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, marking the establishment of the World Day that will be observed every year on the fourth Sunday of the month of July.
During solemn celebrations
The Plenary Indulgence will be granted under the usual conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer, according to the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff during the solemn celebration he will preside over in St. Peter’s Basilica or at the various functions that will be held throughout the world.
Visiting elderly in need
“This Court of Mercy also grants the Plenary Indulgence on this same day to the faithful who devote adequate time to actually or virtually visiting their elderly brothers and sisters in need or in difficulty (such as the sick, the abandoned, the disabled and other similar cases),” the note reads.
Through the media
Signed by the Major Penitentiary, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, and by the Regent, Kryztof Nykiel, the note says the Plenary Indulgence may also be granted to those who are unable to leave their homes for serious reasons and “unite themselves spiritually to the sacred functions of the World Day, offering to the Merciful God their prayers, pains or sufferings of their lives, especially during the transmission, through the means of television and radio, but also through the new means of social communication.”
