Vatican offers plenary indulgence for third annual Grandparents’ Day this month
The Vatican will again offer a plenary indulgence to mark the third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on July 23.
The indulgence can be received by grandparents, the elderly, and all Catholics who, “motivated by the true spirit of penance and charity,” participate in Pope Francis’ July 23 Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica or another Grandparents’ Day celebration, or who visit the elderly, the Vatican said.
Chosen by Pope Francis, the theme of Grandparents’ Day 2023 comes from a verse in the Gospel of Luke: “His mercy is from age to age.”
It will be marked this year on July 23, the Sunday before the Feast of Saints Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus.
The concession of the plenary indulgence for Grandparents’ Day 2023 was granted by a July 5 decree from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, the head of the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, a tribunal of the Apostolic See with jurisdiction over indulgences and the absolution of the gravest sins.
An indulgence is defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church as “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.”
The usual conditions for a plenary indulgence require the individual to be in a state of grace, have complete detachment from sin, and pray for the pope’s intentions.
The person must also sacramentally confess their sins and receive Communion, up to about 20 days before or after the prayers for the indulgence.
In his decree, Piacenza asked priests to be more available to hear confessions in light of the possible indulgence.
“So that, therefore, this opportunity to attain divine grace through the power of the Keys of the Church may more easily be implemented through pastoral charity, this Penitentiary firmly requests priests equipped with the appropriate faculties to hear confessions to make themselves available, with a ready and generous spirit, for the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance,” he said.
