Bishop Mark Hagemoen has designated several sacred sites in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon where pilgrims who fulfill the conditions laid out in Catholic teaching can obtain a Jubilee Indulgence in 2025:
- The Cathedral of the Holy Family, Saskatoon
- St. Paul’s Co-Cathedral, Saskatoon
- St. Peter’s Abbey, Muenster (contact the Benedictine Abbey at: guestmaster@stpeters.sk.ca or 306- 682-1775)
- Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows and Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Blumenfeld, SK (annual pilgrimage June 8, 2025)
- St. Anthony Church, Grosswerder, SK (annual pilgrimage June 13, 2025)
- Holy Rosary Shrine and Church, near Reward, SK (annual pilgrimage July 13, 2025)
- Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, near Carmel, SK (annual pilgrimage July 20, 2025)
- Millennium Pro-Life Cross, north of Aberdeen (annual pilgrimage Sept. 4, 2025
Background information
Excerpts from “Celebrating the Jubilee Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope” by Fr. David Tumback, Chair of the Jubilee 2025 Diocesan Committee:
When the first Jubilee was proclaimed, the faithful could receive an indulgence by making pilgrimages to the tombs of Saint Peter and St. Paul. Today, we are offered the same opportunity to receive the indulgence.
What is an Indulgence?
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence is “a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as “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…”
Indulgences can be partial (remitting some of the temporal punishment due to sin) or plenary (which remits all punishment).
How do we Receive an Indulgence?
Pope Francis has instructed that an indulgence is granted for the following, provided that all conditions are met.
- Make a pilgrimage to Rome.
- Visiting your local Cathedral or other local church or shrine selected by the Bishop. (See list posted above)
- Performing works of mercy such as visiting prisoners, spending time with the lonely and elderly, assisting the sick and helping those in need.
- Acts of penance, such as fasting one day a week from social media and television, volunteering for the less fortunate and those agencies defending life, donating money to the poor, fasting from food, supporting religious and social works, to name just a few.
What are the Conditions for Receiving an Indulgence?
To receive the plenary indulgence the following conditions must be met, as instructed by Pope Francis.
- Detachment from all mortal and venial sin.
- Avail oneself to sacramental Confession, reception of Holy Communion, and praying for the intentions of the Holy Father. These three conditions can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is most appropriate that Holy Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.
- A single sacramental Confession is sufficient for several plenary indulgences, but the faithful are encouraged to frequent confession so that it might foster a deeper conversion, transformation, and purity of heart. For each plenary indulgence that is sought, however, a separate reception of Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father are required. (The prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father is left up to the choice of the individual, although the suggestion is an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary.”)
