Plenary Indulgences for the Year of St. Joseph

On 8^th December, The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis proclaimed a Year of St. Joseph from 8^th December 2020 to 8^th December 2021.  This beautiful gift from the Church was announced on the 150^th anniversary of the Proclamation of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church.  The Magisterium of the Church also hope that the faithful will re-discover the treasure of St. Joseph, head of the Holy Family, ‘who extracts new and ancient things from his treasure” (Mt 13:52).

Conditions:

The plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions as decreed by Pope Paul VI of:

• Sacramental confession.
• Receive Holy Communion in a state of grace.
• Prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions to include one Our Father and one Hail Mary.

Acts:

There are a number of acts to receive the plenary indulgence:

1. Meditate for at least 30 minutes on the prayer of the Our Father or make spiritual retreat of at least one day a meditation on St. Joseph.
2. Perform a corporal or spiritual work of mercy while rediscovering the value of silence, prudence and loyalty, attributes of St. Joseph.
3. Pray the Holy Rosary as a family to recreate the prayerful example of the Holy Family who lived in intimate communion, love and prayer; this indulgence also applies to engaged couples.
4. Entrustment of daily activities to the protection of St. Joseph and invokes the intercession of St. Joseph for the unemployed so that every person may have the dignity of work.
5. Pray the Litany of St. Joseph or another approved church prayer to St. Joseph e.g. Ad Beate St. Joseph (prayer to St. Joseph  by Pope Leo XIII) for the intention of the persecuted Church or the relief of all Christians suffering persecution.
6. Pray an approved prayer to St. Joseph or make an act of piety in honour of St. Joseph e.g. Ad Beate St. Joseph, on the 19^th day of each month and every Wednesday, the day the Church honours St. Joseph.
7. The sick, elderly and dying who are unable to leave home, may also receive the indulgence in their own home if they are detached from sin and say a prayer to St. Joseph, offering with trust in God the pains and discomforts of life with the intention of fulfilling the three usual conditions, as soon as possible i.e. confessions, sacramental holy communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions to include an Our Father and Hail Mary.