Over the past few years, genealogy has become one of my favorite pastimes. As odd as it may seem, I love digging through old records and discovering long-forgotten details about my ancestors. Many of the people on my family tree are people who died long before I was born, but I know I wouldn’t be here without them.

When I first started piecing together my family tree a few years ago, I gained a new appreciation for the Catholic practice of indulgences. Although I’ll never meet my long-deceased ancestors in this life, it gives me joy to know that I can offer this spiritual gift for them, just in case they are still being prepared for Heaven.

As explained in a recent article, the Church invites us to perform specific pious works – like visiting our “Jubilee parish” during the Jubilee Year 2025 – to assist the faithful departed in the spiritual purification of Purgatory. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:

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 (CCC 1471, quoting Paul VI, apostolic constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina, Norm 1).

In other words, if we perform certain devout acts as prescribed by the Church for a member of the faithful departed, we can be confident that the merits of Jesus and the saints will be applied to them to assist in any purification that is necessary before entering eternal glory.

The Catholic doctrine of indulgences is based on two essential biblical truths: 1) The communion of saints and 2) the power of the keys entrusted to Peter and his successors.

First, all the faithful are members of the body of Christ, and we have a bond to one another that is not broken by death. We on earth are united both to those who are already in Heaven and those who are in Purgatory. God could certainly purify the souls in Purgatory without our assistance, but he wants to include us in the process – Jesus offered himself out of love for us, and he delights to invite us, as members of his body, to offer ourselves for one another. Charity, after all, is the goal of God’s plan of salvation, so he rejoices to see us performing acts of charity for those who have gone before us.

Second, Jesus gave to St. Peter the authority to free the faithful from sin and its punishment in his name: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). When the successor of Peter, the pope, “looses” the punishment of sin by particular pious acts of the faithful, we can be confident that this action is confirmed in heaven.

The basic conditions for receiving an indulgence are:

1. To perform the indulgenced act (e.g., making a pious visit to St. Aloysius Church or another Jubilee parish), striving to be detached from all sin.
2. Receive Holy Communion, preferably on the same day.
3. Pray for the intentions of the pope, preferably on the same day.
4. Go to Confession within about 20 days before or after.

For more details about indulgences, including the conditions for receiving them, you can read the Manual of Indulgences (Washington, D.C.: USCCB, 1999).

Throughout this Jubilee Year 2025, I highly encourage you to frequently offer indulgences for the souls of your deceased family members, friends, and loved ones.  Since attending Church during the Jubilee Year offers such a simple opportunity to gain indulgences, consider offering many for the souls of the faithful departed.