Bishop Names Blessed Sacrament Church as a Place of Pilgrimage for the Year of Faith

Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde has named our Church of the Blessed Sacrament as a place where Catholics can obtain a plenary indulgence as part of the observance of the Year of Faith. A plenary indulgence is the complete remission of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains,

Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. (CCC, 1472)

The gift of a plenary indulgence takes away temporal punishment so that a person can begin again with a “clean slate,” so to speak, in one’s relationship with Almighty God as well as with our brothers and sisters in the mystical body, the Church. According to a decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary, which governs the reception of indulgences in the Church, the faithful can obtain the plenary indulgence if one is truly repentant, has received the Sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion, and prays for the intentions of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, at a place designated by the local bishop. There the person should at least pray with devout meditation and end the visit with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith, and any invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the patron saints of the shrine or church. (See the Decree of the Apostolic Pententiary, 14 September 2012)

In addition to the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Bishop Loverde has designated the Cathedral of St. Thomas More and the Churches of Our Lady of Hope, St. John the Baptist, All Saints, St. Andrew, and St.Mary’s Fredericksburg as places of pilgrimage for the Year of Faith.

Blessed Sacrament Church is open every day by 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, by 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays, and 6:30 a.m. on Sundays.