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Whereas our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in the hope of arousing in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, of intensifying the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, and of encouraging the faithful to rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived, and prayed, has proclaimed a Year of Faith from October 11, 2012, to November 24, 2013;
Whereas the Apostolic Penitentiary has opened the spiritual treasury of the Church by granting a plenary indulgence to those who make a pilgrimage during the Year of Faith to a papal basilica, a Christian catacomb, or a sacred place designated by the local ordinary and there take part in some sacred function or at least pause in recollection for a suitable length of time with devout meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary or, depending on the case, to the Holy Apostles or Patrons;
Whereas the year of faith coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the erection and dedication of the Schoenstatt Shrine in Madison, where the faith of countless pilgrims has been nourished and deepened;
Now, therefore, I, the undersigned Bishop of Madison, hereby designate the Schoenstatt Founder Shrine at Schoenstatt Heights in Madison (5901 Cottage Grove Road, Madison) as a place of pilgrimage for the Year of Faith, and I exhort all of the faithful to make a devout pilgrimage there and to perform the devotional acts prescribed by the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Furthermore, whereas a plenary indulgence can also be obtained during the Year of Faith by those who, in any sacred place, take part in a solemn Eucharistic celebration or in the Liturgy of the Hours, adding the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, on the days determined by the local ordinary;
Therefore I elect the following memorials, feasts, and solemnities as days on which the indulgence can be obtained:
I. The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe — Wednesday, December 12, 2012
II. The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul — Friday, January 25, 2013
III. The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord — Saturday, February 2, 2013
IV. The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle — Friday, February 22, 2013
V. The Solemnity of Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Tuesday, March 19, 2013
VI. The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord — Monday, April 8, 2013
VII. The Optional Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious — Wednesday, May 22, 2013
VIII. The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Friday, May 31, 2013
IX. The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus — Friday, June 7, 2013
X. The Optional Memorial of St. Josemaria Escrivá de Balaguer, Priest — Wednesday, June 26, 2013
XI. The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles — Saturday, June 29, 2013
XII. The Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot — Thursday, July 11, 2013
XIII. The Memorial of Ss. Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Friday, July 26, 2013
XIV. The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord — Tuesday, August 6, 2013
XV. The Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest — Thursday, August 8, 2013
XVI. The Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot, Doctor of the Church — Tuesday, August 20, 2013
XVII. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross — Saturday, September 14, 2013
XVIII. The Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest — Monday, September 23, 2013
XIX. The Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest — Friday, September 27, 2013
XX. The Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus — Tuesday, October 1, 2013
XXI. The Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi — Friday, October 4, 2013
XXII. The Optional Memorial of Blessed John Paul II — Tuesday, October 22, 2013
XXIII. The Optional Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop, Doctor — Friday, November 15, 2013
XXIV. The Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Thursday, November 21, 2013.
By this decree I also exhort all the faithful of Madison to avail themselves of the other opportunities for obtaining a plenary indulgence in this Year of Faith, namely:
- By attending at least three sermons preached during the sacred missions or at least three lectures on the Proceedings of the Second Vatican Council and on the articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in any church or suitable place;
- By making a devout visit to the baptistery or other place in which they received the sacrament of baptism and there renewing the baptismal promises in any legitimate form;
- By receiving the Papal Blessing, which I will impart on November 24, 2013, the final day of the Year of Faith and the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King;
- And, for those who for serious reasons are unable to take part in the solemn celebrations of the Year of Faith, by reciting at home, or wherever their impediment obliges them to be, the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and other prayers in conformity with the objectives of the Year of Faith, offering up their suffering or the hardship in their lives, all while united in mind and spirit with the faithful present at those celebrations, especially at a moment when the words of the Supreme Pontiff or of the diocesan bishops are broadcast via the television or radio.
Additionally, I remind the faithful of the necessary conditions for acquiring a plenary indulgence, namely, receiving Holy Communion, sacramentally confessing one’s sins, and praying for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, all within the several days surrounding the performance of the prescribed works, and having an interior disposition that is free from all affection for sin, even venial sin; however, when one or more of these conditions is lacking, a partial indulgence can be acquired instead, provided that one is in a state of grace at least when completing the prescribed works.
Lastly, I remind the faithful that they can acquire indulgences on behalf of the holy souls in Purgatory, those saints of the Church Suffering who never cease to pray for us even when we so often neglect to remember them.
Given at Madison on the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this 21st day of November, in the year of our Lord 2012, in the tenth year of my episcopacy.
Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison
Witnessed: Kevin R. Phelan
Chancellor