PROMULGATING A UNIVERSAL JUBILEE TO IMPLORE THE DIVINE ASSISTANCE

LEO XIIL, POFE.

To ail the Faithful of Christ to whom thèse présent % shall corne, health and Apostolic Bénédiction :

The Suprême Pontiffs Our predecessors, according to the ancien t usage of the Eoman Church, hâve been wont, from the commencement of their Apostolic service, to throw open the treasures of heavenly gifts to ail the faithful with paternal liberality, and to prescribe united prayer in the Church, so as to afford to them the opportunity of reaping spiritual benefits, and to urge them to seek the aid of the Eternal Pastor by prayers, by pious works, and by alms to the poor. And that which on the one side was an auspicious gift which the Suprême Pontiffs of religion from the foundation of the Apostolic ministry imparted to their children in Christ, and, as it were, a sacred pledge of the love with which they embraced the family of Christ ; on the other was a solemn act of Christian piety, and an exercise of virtue by which the faithful, with their pastors, united with the visible head of the Church, prayed to God that the Father of mercies would graciously regard, not his flock only, but, to use the words of St. Léo, the S/iepherd also

of his sheep, and vouehsafe to aid, protect, and support him.

With this object in view, We, on the approach of the anniversary of Our élection, following the example of Our predecessors, havre determined to announce an indulgence, in the form of a gênerai Jubilee, to the whole Catholic world. For in the first place, We feel how much Our infirmity stands in need of an abundance of Divine grâces to support Us in the arduous ministry which We sustain ; the expérience of every day shows Us how sad is the condition of the time in which We live, and to what tempests the Church is exposed in the présent âge ; and We cannot but fear that greater evils are yet to corne when We see the détérioration in the management of public afïairs, the pernicious counsels of impious men, and the signs of heavenly wrath, which has already fallen severely upon some.

But inasmuch as the peculiar benefits of a Jubilee consist in this, that the stains of the soûl are washed away, that works of penance and charity are performed, that the duty of prayer is more earnestly discharged, and as the sacrifices of justice and the prayers which are offered up by the united intention of the whole Church are so grateful to Grod, and so fruitful that they appear to do violence to the Divine goodness, We must entertain a firm confidence that the Heavenly Father will regard the humility of His people, and remedying the evils which exist, grant the longed for light and consolation in their affliction. For if, as was said by the same Léo the Great, our spiritual enemies are overœme by that correction of our faults which is due to Divine grâce, the strength of our corporeal enemies also succumbs, and they are weakened by our amendment, who were formidable to us not on account oj their own merits, but of our faults. Therefore We earnestly exhort

ail the sons of the Catholic Church, and we beseech them in the Lord, to join to Ours their prayers, their supplications, their works of Christian discipline and piety, and to zealously avail themselves, with the assistance of Grod, for the benefit of their own soûls, and the welfare of the Church, of the grâces offered in the Jubilee in this time of heavenly mercies.

Wherefore, through the mercy of Almighty Grod, and relying upon the authority of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and in the exercise of that power of binding and of loosing which Grod has conferred upon Us, though unworthy, We. to ail the faithful in Christ residing in Our august city, or visiting it, who between the First Sunday in Lent, which is the second day of March, and the first day of June, which will be Whitsunday, inclusively, shall twice visit the churches of St. John Lateran, of the Prince of the Apostles, and of St. Mary Major, and there pour forth their pious prayers to Grod for some space of time for the prosperity and exaltation of the Catholic Church and of this Apostolic See, for the extirpation of hérésies, and the conversion of ail who are in error, for the concord of Christian princes, and for the peaceand unity of ail the faithful people, and for Our intention, and shall fast once during the above-named time, using only abstinence food, besides the days not included in the Lenten induit, or otherwise consecrated by the precept of the Church as days of fasting, and having confessed their sins receive the Holy Eucharist, and give some alms to the poor or in aid of some pious work, as may be suggested by the piety of each ; and to others dwelling elsewhere than in the above-named city, who shall visit twice — or if there be only two churches, three times, or if only one, six times during the three above-mentioned months — , three churches in the city or place of their abode or in i(s suburbs, to be named by the Ordinaries of the places

or their vicars or officiais, or in the absence of thèse by those who exercise the care of soûls, and who shall devoutly perform the other works recited, grant and concède a Plenary Indulgence of ail their sins, such as is customarily granted to ihose who in a year of Jubilee visit certain churches within and without the above-named city ; permitting also that this indulgence may be applied by way of suffrage for those soûls which hâve departed from this life joined to Grod in charity. Moreover, We empower the Ordinaries of each locality to reduce the number of thèse visits according to their discrétion, in the case of chapters and congrégations, whether of regulars or seculars, of sodalities, confraternities, universities or collèges, who may visit the designated churches in procession.

And We grant that voyagers or travellers when they arrive at their homes, or at some other place, when they hâve performed the prescribed work, and visited six times the cathedral. or parochial church of their home or other place, shall be qualified to obtain this indulgence. And in regard to regulars of either sex who dwell always in cloisters, or to laymen and ecclesiastics, regular or secular, who are in prison or captivity, or disabled by any bodily or other infirmity, who hâve been unable to perform the above-named works or any of them, We grant that a confessor approved by the Ordinary may commute thèse for other works of piety or postpone them to a later time, and prescribe such things as the pénitents may be able to perform, with the faculty of dispensing with the commuion in the case of children who hâve not yet been admitted to their first communion.

Moreover, to ail the faithful in Christ, as well to laymen as to ecclesiastics, secular and regular, of every order and institute, We grant and concède the priv-

ilege to choose to this intent as a confessor any priest officialy approved (a privilège which may be used by nuns, novices, and other women dwelling in cloisters provided the confessor be approved of for nuns) who, during the time indicated, may absolve ail persons of either sex who may corne to him to make their confession with the object of obtaining the Jubilee, and of performing the other works necessary for gaining it, for that time only and in foro comcientiœ alone, from ail ecclesiastical sentences, whether of excommunication, suspension, or otherwise, from ail censures a jure or ab homine for whatever cause imposed, or inflicted even by the Ordinaries of the place, or by Ourselves, or the Holy See, even in cases reserved in a spécial manner to the Suprême PontifF and to the Apostolic See, and which are not included in any other concession, however ample, and from ail sins and excesses, however grave and enormous they may be, even as We hâve said from those which are reserved to the Ordinaries, to Us, and to the Apostolic See, imposing upon them a salutary penance, and enjoining other things required by justice, and if it be a matter of heresy, ail errors being first abjured and retracted ; and he may dispense and commute for other pious and salutary works vows, even those consecrated by oath and reserved to the Holy See, (excepting those of chastity, religion, and those involving obligation accepted by a third party, or in which a third party might be prejudiced, and penitential vows which are called préservât ives from sin, unless the commutation be considered to be of such a nature as to restrain from the commission of sin as much as the vow il self), and with regard to pénitents in this condition who are in holy orders or régulais, be may dispense from secret irïegularity which prevénts them from the exercise ofthe orders which they baye received, or from receiving higheT orders, provided that it hâve heen contractée! only by the violation of censures.

We do not, however, intend by thèse présents to dispense from any other irregularity, whether caused by act or by omission, or by any public, secret, known, or other incapacity, however contracted, nor to give any power to dispense them, or to re-establish in his former state any one subject to them, even in foro conscientiœ ; nor to derogate from the constitution, with the annexed déclarations, of Our predecessor of happy memory, Benedict XIV., which commences, " Sacramentum Penitentiœ ; " nor shall thèse présents in any way avail or be applicable to those persons who hâve been excommunicated by name, suspended, interdicted, or declared to haye incurred other sentences and censures, or who hâve been publicly denounced, unless within the time named they shall hâve made satisfaction and become reconciled, where that is necessary, with the parties. But if, within the prescribed time, they hâve not been able, in thejudgment of their confessor, to make satisfaction We grant that they may be absolved in foro conscientiœ, with theeffect of enabling them to receive the indulgence of the Jubilee, but enjoining upon them the obligation of making satisfaction as soon as they are able.

Wherefore, in virtue of holy obédience, by the ténor of thèse présents, We strictly prescribe and command ail and every the Ordinaries of the whole world, their vifears and officiais, or, ;in their absence, those who exercise the cure of soûls, that as soon as they hâve received « transcript of thèse présent letters or even printed copies of the same, thw shall publish them or cause them to be published throughout their churches, diocèses, provinces, states, towns, districts and places, and to point out to the peoples, duly prepared, as for as possible, by the preaching of the word of G-od, the church or churches tobe visited according to what has already been said.

The Apostolic constitutions and ordinances notwithstanding, especially those by which the power of absolving in certain cases therein expressed is in such a manner reserved to the Roman Pontiff for the time being, that concessions, similar or dissimilar, of Indulgences, and of faculties of that kind — unless there be express mention of them, or a spécial dérogation of them — can profit no one ; notwithstanding also the rule of not granting indulgences ad instar, and notwithstanding the statutes and customs of ail Orders, Congrégations, and Institutes, even when strengthened by oath, by Apostolic confirmation, or by any other authority ; notwithstanding also privilèges and Letters Apostolic granted, approyed, and renewed, to the same Orders, Congrégations, and Institutes, and their members in any way whatsoever ; from ail and each of which, in order to the carrying out of the foregoing — although of them and of their whole ténor there should hâve to be spécial, spécifie, express, and individual mention, and not by gênerai clauses conveying the same idea, or although some other expression should hâve to be used, or any other recognized form should hâve to be adopted to this effect — holding their ténor to be sufhciently expressed, and the traditional form to be observed by those présents, We, on this occasion specially, nominally, and expressly derogate, ail others things to the contrary notwithstanding. And in order that Our présent letters, which cannot be conveyed to every place, may the more easily be brought to the knowledge of ail persons, We will that in ail places and among ail peoples the same crédit be accorded to copies of thèse présents, even when printed (provided they be subscribed by the hand of some notary public, and then authenticated 1-. the seal of a person Lnvested with some occlesiastical dignity) ; as would be accorded to thèse présents if they were exhibited or shown.

Griven at Rome, at St. Peter's under the Seal of the Fisherman, the 15th day of February, 1879, and the first year of our Pontificate.