In a decree dated January 20, 2023, the Catholic Church granted the petition of the Master of the Order of Preachers, Very Rev. fr. Gerard Francisco P. Timoner III, O.P., for plenary indulgence “on the properly disposed faithful who will participate in the Eucharistic celebrations organized by the Dominican Family in our churches and schools on the important occasions of the jubilee of the canonization and death of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and on the faithful who will make pilgrimages to Churches, shrines, and oratories under his patronage.” The decree is valid for a period of two years, from January 28, 2023 to January 28, 2025.
In his letter dated January 25, 2023, Timoner said that “St. Thomas remains an excellent model and teacher for us today.” He further wrote that the granting of plenary indulgence covers Dominican schools. Among the activities that the faithful can also participate in are pilgrimages, special jubilee rites, and pious reflection in Dominican churches.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471), “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.” The faithful have to be in a state of grace, must have sacramentally confessed their sins, participate in the Holy Eucharist and receive communion, and pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. The decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary was signed by His Eminence Mauro Cardinal Piacenza, Major Penitentiary.
Last January 24 to 27, Masses in honor of St. Thomas Aquinas were celebrated in the Santísimo Rosario Parish.
