Catholic Teaching
Indulgences and the Rosary
An ancient gift of the Church: the remission of the temporal punishment for sins already forgiven. A short, clear guide to what indulgences are, how they are received, and the specific graces attached to praying the Holy Rosary.
The Teaching
What Is an Indulgence?
An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. The Church teaches this in the Catechism (§1471) and the Code of Canon Law (Canon 992), drawing from a tradition reaching back to the earliest centuries of Christian life.
Sin has two consequences. Grave sin separates us from God and is forgiven in sacramental confession. But even after a sin is forgiven, an interior disorder remains, an attachment to the things of this world that must be purified. This purification is what the Church calls the temporal punishment for sin. It is not God's anger; it is the lingering wound that healing love still works in.
An indulgence draws on the merits of Christ and the saints, kept by the Church as a spiritual treasury, to remit that remaining temporal punishment. Indulgences are given by the Pope or by competent Church authority, never by mere private prayer.
Two Kinds
Plenary and Partial
Plenary Indulgence
Remits all of the temporal punishment due to sin up to that moment. It is a complete healing of the soul's debt, and can be received once per day under the usual conditions below.
Partial Indulgence
Remits some portion of the temporal punishment. The Church no longer specifies this in days or years; the measure is now the depth of one's charity in performing the work attached to the indulgence.
Indulgences may be applied to oneself or offered for the souls of the faithful departed. They cannot be offered for the living.
The Four Usual Conditions
For a Plenary Indulgence
For a plenary indulgence to be obtained, the work itself (in our case, the Rosary prayed in a qualifying way) must be accompanied by all four of the conditions below. If any one is lacking, the indulgence received is partial rather than plenary.
- I
Sacramental Confession
Made within about twenty days before or after the work. A single confession can serve for several plenary indulgences.
- II
Holy Communion
Received on the day of the work, preferably during the same Mass. Unlike confession, a separate Communion is needed for each plenary indulgence sought.
- III
Prayer for the Holy Father's Intentions
Customarily one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be, offered for the intentions the Pope holds for the universal Church. The prayer flow on this site includes this offering at the close of every Rosary.
- IV
Freedom from Attachment to Sin
The most demanding of the four: an interior disposition that no sin, however small, is loved or held to. When this disposition is incomplete, what would have been a plenary indulgence is received as partial. It is a grace to pray for, not an achievement to claim.
The Rosary
The Indulgence Attached to the Holy Rosary
The Manual of Indulgences (the current Vatican norms) grants a plenary indulgence when a full set of mysteries is prayed in a church or oratory, or with a family, religious community, or pious association, with continuous meditation on the mysteries, and with the usual conditions fulfilled.
In all other cases, the Rosary is granted a partial indulgence: a real grace, lovingly given by the Church to anyone who prays it with devotion.
The five decades must be prayed without interruption to qualify for the plenary; the prayers and the mysteries are equally part of the work.
A Note
In the Right Spirit
Indulgences are a gift, not a transaction. They are not bought, not earned by clever counting, and not the goal of devotion. The goal is union with God.
The Church offers this grace as an encouragement to deeper prayer, frequent sacraments, and a softening of attachment to sin. When you pray the Rosary, pray it for its own sake: for love of Mary, for love of Christ, for someone in need. The indulgence is offered freely on top.
The indulgence is a gift granted through the ministry of the Church, who, as the steward of the redemption of Christ, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction of Christ and the Saints.