The Plenary Indulgence: A Clean Slate for the Pilgrim

The plenary indulgence is the total remission of the temporal penalty for sins already forgiven. We tell you its history and what you need to do to gain it in Santiago during the 2027 Holy Year: visit the Tomb of the Apostle, pray, confess and receive Communion.

The term "indulgence" is defined by the dictionary of the Real Academia Española (RAE), in its first sense, as "ease in forgiving or overlooking faults, or in granting favours." In other words, it would basically be the capacity that people or institutions have to forgive. In the religious context, the Pilgrim's Office explains it as the total remission before God of the temporal penalty still owed for sins already forgiven. That is, it is not a forgiveness of the sins themselves (that is what confession is for), but a genuine clean slate for the believer.

The Plenary Indulgence in the Holy Year

In Santiago de Compostela, this forgiveness is obtained fully and regularly in every Holy Year or Compostela Jubilee, celebrated whenever the Apostle's feast day, July 25th, falls on a Sunday. This happens on a cycle of 6, 5, 6 and 11 years: after 2027, the next ones will be 2032, 2038 and 2049.

In addition to these regular holy years, the ecclesiastical authority can grant extraordinary jubilee years or extend existing ones. This happened with the Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2016, or with the extension of the 2021 Holy Year into 2022 after the pandemic, both decided by Pope Francis.

The History of This Act of Forgiveness

The historical precedent for this act of forgiveness goes back to Jewish tradition and its jubilee years, which sought purification and a return to the natural, balanced state of things — that is, restoring man to the original innocence with which he was conceived by God. In a word, it would be a rebirth.

In the Christian tradition we must go back to the eleventh century, when these acts of forgiveness were not granted because someone had gone on pilgrimage or because it was a holy year — a celebration that did not yet exist at the time. Indulgences were originally granted by the will and initiative of the popes, prompted by some good deed carried out by a person or a group. This is the case, for example, of the one granted by Pope Urban II in 1095 to those who died on the way to the First Crusade in the Holy Land. The oldest known indulgence, offered by Pope Alexander II in 1063, was also prompted by the struggle against the Muslims.

The First Plenary Indulgences: Rome and Santiago de Compostela

Be that as it may, plenary indulgences became linked to the creation of holy years. In the case of Rome, in the year 1300, Pope Boniface VIII inaugurated the first Roman jubilee for pilgrims travelling to Rome, with generous grants of forgiveness. In the case of Santiago de Compostela, according to tradition, the Compostela Holy Year dates back to the twelfth century, to Popes Callixtus II and Alexander III (bull Regis aeterni, 1179), although the first holy years documented with certainty date from the fifteenth century. However, as early as the twelfth century the papacy was already granting indulgence, without it being a holy year, to pilgrims who died in the city. Even the bold Archbishop Diego Gelmírez granted it to those who fought against the Muslims.

As we can see, in some cases it seems to have been a kind of trade-off, a sort of reward to the faithful for services rendered to the Church. Another reason for granting plenary indulgences may have been the drawing power they carried: the faithful felt called to travel to holy places. In the case of Santiago de Compostela, with the decline of pilgrimages from the sixteenth century onwards, indulgences helped in some way to bring pilgrims to the city, reviving traffic on the different routes to Compostela. We could say that, thanks to the plenary indulgence, the tradition of pilgrimage has survived.

And Nowadays, How Is It Obtained?

According to the Archbishopric of Santiago and the Pilgrim's Office, to obtain the plenary indulgence in the Holy Year you must sincerely intend to turn away from sin and fulfil these conditions:

• Visit the Tomb of the Apostle in Santiago Cathedral and pray there, at least a Creed and an Our Father.
• Pray for the Pope's intentions.
• Confess, within the fifteen days before or after the visit to the Tomb.
• Receive Communion, preferably on the day of the visit itself.

Attending Mass is highly recommended, but it is not a requirement. And the indulgence can be gained for oneself or applied to the deceased.

Many people mistakenly believe that to obtain the plenary indulgence it is essential to enter through the Holy Door of the Cathedral or to embrace the statue of the Apostle at the main altar. It is also believed that it is necessary to walk one of the official routes of the Camino de Santiago to obtain it.

Nothing could be further from the truth: crossing the Holy Door or embracing the Apostle are gestures loaded with symbolism, and highly recommended, but they are not conditions for gaining the jubilee. Nor do you need to arrive on foot: the indulgence is not the same thing as the Compostela, which is obtained by covering at least the last 100 km on foot or on horseback, or 200 km by bicycle.

Other Indulgences

"We must always forgive, remembering that we ourselves have needed forgiveness. We need to be forgiven much more often than we need to forgive." So said Pope John Paul II, stressing the importance of forgiveness. And there are other occasions and types of indulgence. Let's look at them.

By tradition, Santiago has also granted plenary indulgence in years that are not holy years on three specific dates:

• July 25th, the feast of Saint James.
• December 30th, the feast of the Translation of the Apostle's remains to Galicia.
• April 21st, the anniversary of the consecration of the current Cathedral in the year 1211.

If you plan to go on pilgrimage on one of these dates with that intention, it is worth confirming it with the Cathedral beforehand. In addition, the indulgence is also granted to any pilgrim to Santiago who dies on the Camino, whatever the time or place.

There are also partial indulgences, as opposed to plenary ones, as well as indulgences granted by other pilgrimage centres besides Santiago de Compostela and Rome. For example, Santo Toribio de Liébana in Cantabria, Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia, or Santiago de los Caballeros de Gáldar in Gran Canaria. All of them must follow the line set out by the Code of Canon Law.

Oh! And did you know that at the Cathedral of Santa María in Lugo, the starting point of the Primitive Way, you can gain the plenary indulgence on any day of the year?

We tell you all about it in the daily plenary indulgence of Lugo Cathedral.

A Full Pilgrimage in the 2027 Holy Year

The next Holy Year will be in 2027, and the Cathedral's Holy Door will open on December 31st, 2026. If you want to gain the jubilee and have it be the crowning moment of your pilgrimage, arriving in Santiago on foot, after several days on the Camino, gives it a very special meaning.

In a Holy Year, accommodation fills up earlier, so it's worth planning ahead: work out the price of your Camino for the Holy Year here.

Ultreia et suseia!