A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin. The indulgence applies to sins already forgiven. A plenary indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized. Plenary indulgences obtained during the Jubilee Year can also be applied to souls in purgatory with the possibility of obtaining two plenary indulgences for the deceased in one day.
 
To obtain an indulgence, the usual conditions of detachment from all sin, sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the pope must be met. (Usually, an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be).
 
The following plenary indulgences are designated by the Vatican Office of the Apostolic Penitentiary:
 

1. Make a pilgrimage to Rome and pray for the Pope’s intentions in any one of the Four Major Papal Basilicas (St. Peter’s Basilica, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, or St. Paul Outside the Walls) or any of the special jubilee churches listed by the Apostolic penitentiary in Rome.
2. Make a pilgrimage to one of the following churches in Italy: Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi, Basilica of Our Lady of Loreto, Basilica of Our Lady of Pompeii, Basilica in St. Anthony in Padua; or in the Holy Land: Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
3. Perform an extraordinary work of mercy such as a generous gift to the poor, or visiting nursing homes or prisons.
4. Participate in diocesan or parish sponsored spiritual exercises, missions, or formation activities based on the documents of the Second Vatican Council or the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
5. Visit any local Cathedral, Marian Shrine, or other special church designated by the local bishop for obtaining the Jubilee Indulgence.
6. Fasting at least one day a week from “futile distractions” such as social media, television, video games, or certain phone apps.

 
The following plenary indulgences are designated by the authority of Bishop Michael Sis of the Diocese of San Angelo:
 

1. Jubilee sites: Individually or in a group, devoutly visit any jubilee site and engage in Eucharistic adoration and meditation for at least a half hour, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Creed, and prayers to the Virgin Mary. In the Diocese of San Angelo, the jubilee sites include Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Angelo and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Midland. Besides those, I have chosen to designate the following sacred places in the Diocese of San Angelo as places where the plenary jubilee indulgence may be received: the perpetual adoration chapel at Sacred Heart Church in Abilene, the perpetual adoration chapel at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Midland, the perpetual adoration chapel at St. Mary Church in Odessa, and the perpetual adoration chapel at St. Margaret Church in San Angelo.
2. Shut-Ins: Those who cannot participate in visits to these places (especially cloistered monks or nuns, the elderly, the sick, and prisoners) can obtain the jubilee indulgence in their homes or wherever they are confined, if they recite the Our Father, the Creed, the Hail Mary, and the official jubilee prayer, offering up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives in prayerful union with Christ. The jubilee prayer can be found at the following website: www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/preghiera.html.
3. Carry out any of the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead.
4. Carry out any of the spiritual works of mercy: counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear wrongs patiently, and pray for the living and the dead.
5. Participate in any of the following: parish missions, spiritual retreats (such as Search, ACTS, Cursillo, Kolbe, Awakening, Engaged Encounter, and Marriage Encounter), or faith formation activities on the documents of Vatican II or the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
6. Devoutly pray the Rosary in a church, or in a family, or with a group of fellow believers.
7. Prayerfully read the Bible for at least half an hour.
8. Devoutly pray the Way of the Cross, going from station to station, in any of our churches, or at any of our outdoor sites of the Way of the Cross, such as Christ the King Retreat Center in San Angelo, Sacred Heart Church in Abilene, Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in Midland, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Odessa, and Holy Trinity in Big Spring.