Q. I heard that during the Jubilee Year, it is possible to receive two plenary indulgences in one day, as long as you receive communion twice that day. Is that true?
A.
What an indulgence is
Before turning to the special permission granted during the Jubilee Year, it might be useful to review briefly what indulgences are and how they are normally obtained.
An indulgence is “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven” (CCC, §1471). In other words, indulgences do not grant pardon for sins, but they reduce or cancel the purgative punishment for sins which have already been forgiven. An indulgence is called “plenary” if all temporal punishment due to sin is remitted. In contrast, a “partial” indulgence removes only part of that punishment. The Catechism notes that “the faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead” (CCC, §1471).
The ultimate source for the power of an indulgence is Jesus Christ and the mercy he won for us through the cross. He has entrusted the merits of the cross to the Church and given her the authority to dispense his love through indulgences granted to the faithful. This means that the Church determines what specific work (usually prayer or an act of piety) Christians can and must do to obtain indulgences.
It is important to remember that indulgences (or any gift from God) should not be treated mechanistically, as if God were a divine vending machine that dispenses his gifts if we perform the right sequence of exterior behaviors. We cannot forget that “God loved us first” (1 John 4:10) and that He is a good Father “who knows what we need before we ask” (Matt 6:8). Indulgences are not a way to earn some act of mercy which God would otherwise withhold, but rather a concrete way in which we can be sure to encounter his salvific love. The more we seek indulgences in a spirit of humble love and detachment from sin, the more we are disposed to receive the gift they contain.
What are the conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence?
Beyond the obvious requirement of performing the work of prayer or piety to which the indulgence is attached, there are several other conditions which must be met: one must be free from mortal sin, have the intention to gain the indulgence, go to confession, receive holy Communion, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. While one sacramental confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, one must receive holy Communion and pray for the Holy Father once for each plenary indulgence.
How many plenary indulgences can one receive?
Normally, one can receive one plenary indulgence per day. During the 2025 Jubilee Year, however, Pope Francis has declared that “the faithful who have carried out an act of charity on behalf of the souls in Purgatory, if they receive Holy Communion a second time that day, can obtain the plenary indulgence twice on the same day, applicable only to the deceased.” In other words, to obtain a second plenary indulgence, a) one must do some act of charity; b) one must do it on behalf of a poor soul in purgatory; and c) one must receive communion twice on that day.
What are the rules for receiving Communion twice in one day?
According to canon law (Code of Canon Law, can. 917), the faithful are allowed to receive holy Communion twice on the same day. The first time they receive may or may not be during Mass (e.g., at a communion service or from a hospital chaplain on a sick call). If they are to receive a second time, however, they must be attending Mass.
This question was answered by Father James Morin, vice chancellor, Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
