Archbishop names six churches as pilgrimage sites for Pauline Year
By Sean Gallagher
In conjunction with the Year of St. Paul, Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein has designated the six parish churches in central and southern Indiana dedicated to St. Paul as pilgrimage sites.
At each of these sites, Catholics can receive a plenary or full indulgence to highlight the Pauline Year and to open the way to, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, the “interior purification” of the faithful during the coming months.
The Holy Father encouraged diocesan bishops to designate places in their local Churches as pilgrimage sites connected to the Year of St. Paul.
The six churches in the archdiocese are:
- SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, 1347 N. Meridian St., in Indianapolis
- St. Paul Catholic Center, 1413 E. 17th St., in Bloomington
- St. Paul Church, 202 E. Washington St., in Greencastle
- St. Paul Church, 9798 N. Dearborn Road, in New Alsace
- St. Paul Church, 218 Scheller Ave., in Sellersburg
- St. Paul Church, 814 Jefferson St., in Tell City
An indulgence is a full or partial remission of the temporal punishment due for sins that have been forgiven. A plenary indulgence can be granted on behalf of the individual petitioner or on behalf of departed souls.
For more information on indulgences, consult paragraphs #1471-#1479 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The Holy See has designated the following conditions to obtain a plenary indulgence at one of the locally designated pilgrimage sites:
• Catholics must confess their sins to any priest at any parish during the week prior to or the week following their visit to the pilgrimage church.
• At the pilgrimage church, pilgrims must:
- Pray for the intentions of the pope.
- Attend a Mass (ordinarily, a regularly scheduled liturgy).
- If pilgrims are unable to attend a Mass there, then they are to pray and reflect before a statue or an image of St. Paul in the church.
- After Mass or the reflection period, pray or sing the Our Father and either the Apostles’ Creed or Nicene Creed.
- Pray an invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Paul. For example, a pilgrim could pray the Hail Mary and a simple invocation, such as “St. Paul, pray for us.”
“This year—in commemoration of the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul—is a call for Catholics to study the life and writings of this great saint and to pray for his intercession,” said Msgr. Joseph. F. Schaedel, vicar general, in announcing the pilgrimage sites.
The jubilee year marking the 2000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul began earlier this summer on June 29, the Solemnity of SS. Peter and Paul. It will conclude next year on the same feast day. †