Pope Benedict XVI will grant Plenary Indulgence during the Year of Faith (Oct. 11, 2012 – Nov. 24, 2013) to those faithful who follow the due norms and undertake the special prescripts to obtain them.
What are the norms and special prescripts?
“(A) Each time they attend at least three sermons during the Holy Missions, or at least three lessons on the Acts of the Second Vatican Council or the articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in church or any other suitable location.” “(B) Each time they visit, in the course of a pilgrimage to a papal basilica, a Christian catacomb, a cathedral church or a holy site designated by the local ordinary for the Year of Faith…, and there participate in a sacred celebration, or at least remain for a congruous period of time in prayer and pious meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary and, depending on the circumstances, to the Holy Apostles and patron saints.”Archbishop Schnurr has designated four churches/holy sites in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati: The Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains (Cincinnati), St. Helen Church (Dayton), Holy Angels Church (Sidney), and the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics (Maria Stein). “(C) Each time that, on the days designated by the local ordinary for the Year of Faith…, in any sacred place, they participate in a solemn celebration of the Eucharist or the Liturgy of the Hours, adding thereto the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form.”Archbishop Schnurr has designated the following days: First Friday/First Saturday of every month; the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood (June 2, 2013); the Archdiocesan patronal feast days: St. Francis de Sales (Jan.24), ) St. Robert Bellarmine, (Sept. 17), St. Albert the Great (Nov. 15); and the Archdiocesan celebrations of the Year of Faith (Sept. 29th, 2013 at Cintas Center and Oct. 6, 2013 at the University of Dayton Arena at 7:00pm).