Poland: Apostolic Penitentiary, 6 February 1968
Bitter Lamentations in Poland
Participate devoutly in the Lenten Gorzkie Żale devotion.
Time required Length of the Bitter Lamentations devotion
- When
- Once per week during Lent
- Where
- Churches and chapels in Poland
- Who
- All eligible faithful
- Application
- Self or the departed
The prescribed work
- Participate in the devotion in a church or chapel within Poland.
- This territorial grant may be gained once per week during Lent.
The work and its conditions
A plenary indulgence also requires complete detachment from every sin, sacramental confession, Holy Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions, subject to the grant’s stated exceptions. The ordinary limit is one plenary indulgence per day.
Conditions common to every indulgence
The person gaining an indulgence must be baptized, not excommunicated, and in the state of grace at least when the prescribed works are completed. There must be at least a general intention to gain indulgences, and the prescribed work must be performed at the time and in the manner required by the grant.
Read the full conditions and norms. The cited grant and its specific provisions govern.
Time required
Read each branch with its own conditions. An editorial estimate is not a prescribed minimum.
Prescribed work
Complete the prescribed event
Length of the Bitter Lamentations devotion
No fixed number of minutes is prescribed. Participate in the church or chapel devotion in Poland; the once-per-week Lenten limit is frequency, not a duration.
What the time estimate excludes
- Ordinary travel to and from the venue, and waiting outside the prescribed work
- Preparation and separately fulfilled sacramental conditions, except where the prescribed work itself includes Communion or a liturgical celebration
Prayer texts and resources
Follow the prayer count and formula specified in the requirements.
Source and exact reference
- Diocese of Łomża, Liturgical Calendar 2019Lenten directions; Apostolic Penitentiary, 6 February 1968
- Parish of the Nativity of Mary, Głubczyce: OdpustyIndulgences during the year, no. 3
Prayer texts and grants have separate source histories. Consult the grant source for the prescribed work, occasion, and conditions.