Indulgences offer path to God’s boundless mercy
The faithful pass through the Holy Door of St. John Lateran on Dec. 29, 2024, in Rome. (photo: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News)
King David’s words remind us that humanity is a “pilgrim people” (1 Chr 29:15), constantly evolving and on the move—whether as tourists, migrants, or in daily life.
Pilgrimage, a significant journey for people of faith, deepens our connections with each other and with God.
While some may not start with spiritual intentions, experiences like the Hajj, Mount Kailash, or the Camino de Santiago show that being a pilgrim transcends time and place.
Jubilee Years, celebrated every 25 years since 1300, were preceded by local pilgrimages that have influenced culture and faith, such as The Canterbury Tales and the Exodus narrative.
Each pilgrimage involves a physical journey for a spiritual purpose—whether to reflect, atone, or discover—rooted in hope for the unknown.
The Church often recognises these lived spiritual practices with official proclamations, validating what believers have already embraced.
Pilgrimages signify hope and transcendence. Pope Francis notes that the octagonal shape of baptismal fonts symbolises the ‘eighth day of creation’—the Resurrection, where time and space give way to a hopeful future (Francis, Spes non Confundit n. 20).
In the Resurrection, we experience God’s limitless mercy and the potential for deeper relationships, both with the Divine and with each other. The pilgrimage is a call from the Risen Lord for unity with God and a challenge to our complacency.
In 2025, the Year of Jubilee will be a pilgrimage of hope, emphasising the intertwined gifts of mercy and hope. Francis encourages individuals to undertake personal pilgrimages and has asked dioceses worldwide to designate specific pilgrimage sites, making this transcendent experience accessible to all.
The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God.
May it help us recover the confidence trust that we require in the Church and society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation.
May the witness of believers be for our world a leaven of authentic hope, a harbinger of new heavens and new earth (cf. 2 Pet 3:13), where men and women will dwell in justice and harmony, in joyful expectation of the fulfilment of the Lord’s promises. (Francis, Spes non confundit n. 25)
Yet he also seeks to make this an open possibility for all.
In our Archdiocese four sites or journeys of pilgrimage have been designated: St Christopher’s Cathedral; Sts Peter and Paul, Goulburn; Our Lady Star of the Sea, Eden; and, St Clement’s Monastery, Galong.
Each reflects a site of particular significance for this historically and still today Archdiocesan Church.
A usual feature of pilgrimage in the Catholic tradition is the indulgence which is “a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy” (Francis, Spes non Confundit n. 23). Following the lead of the Holy Father, Archbishop Christopher intends to also grant the indulgence for pilgrims to our own holy sites.
“An indulgence is defined in the Code of Canon Law (can. 992) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471): “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints”.
Indulgences do not forgive sin; that is accomplished through the grace of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Instead, indulgences address sin’s consequences or residual effects (Francis, *Spes Non Confundit, 23).
Individuals must meet specific conditions and perform designated works to gain an indulgence. Indulgences can be applied to oneself or the deceased’s souls but not to living persons. It is essential to be in a state of grace when the indulgenced work is completed to obtain either a plenary or partial indulgence.