Apostolic Penitentiary, 27 October 1995, Prot. 122/95/I
Ladies of Charity: enrollment and association occasions
Actual members of the Ladies of Charity express or renew their intention to observe its statutes on a listed occasion.
Time required Interior statutory intention: about 1–5 minutes (editorial estimate); actual enrollment takes a variable time.
- When
- Actual enrollment; Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (27 November); St Vincent de Paul (27 September) and the commemoration of his Patronage; St Louise de Marillac (9 May); St Catherine Labouré (28 November); anniversary of the association’s institution.
- Where
- No special location is prescribed for the statutory intention. Actual enrollment follows the association’s admission procedure.
- Who
- Actual members of the Association of the Ladies of Charity named in Prot. 122/95/I.
- Application
- Self or the departed
The prescribed work
- Be an actual member of the Association of the Ladies of Charity covered by the decree; volunteering for another Vincentian organization does not establish this membership.
- On the qualifying occasion, express or renew, at least interiorly, the intention to observe the association’s statutes.
- Fulfil the ordinary plenary conditions, including sacramental confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the Pope’s intentions, and detachment from every sin.
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.
Actual enrollment with the statutory intention
Complete the prescribed event
Actual admission procedure; duration varies
Complete actual enrollment and make the required interior intention. The decree prescribes no number of minutes.
Timing sources
- Vincentiana 39 (1995), no. 6: Apostolic Penitentiary decreesComplete official English translation: common conditions and Prot. 122/95/I, dated 27 October 1995; enrollment, listed celebrations and association-foundation anniversary; renewed in perpetuity.
- Ladies of Charity USA: Association Reference Manual, revised 2023Pages 26–27 establish continuing Ladies of Charity identity; pp.69–72 describe actual admission; pp.84–86 give current Vincentian calendar dates. This manual is used for identity and calendar context, not as a new indulgence decree.
Listed feast or association anniversary: interior statutory intention
Editorial estimate
About 1–5 minutes (editorial estimate)
The decree prescribes the intention to observe the statutes, not a timed formula. This estimate concerns a simple interior renewal; the occasion itself does not impose attendance at an entire celebration.
What the time estimate excludes
- Ordinary travel to and from the venue, and waiting outside the prescribed work
- Separate fulfillment of the usual plenary conditions, except prayers or Mass expressly included in the branch.
Occasion and source notes
The four dated feasts follow the current Vincentian calendar in the Ladies of Charity’s 2023 manual. Follow lawful transfers. The decree’s institution anniversary and Patronage commemoration are left to the association’s proper calendar; unrelated Vincentian foundation or anniversary dates are not substituted.
The full decree is reproduced in the Congregation of the Mission’s official journal and expressly renews this grant in perpetuity. Current institutional sources establish continuing association identity and calendar usage; they are not represented as a new rescript.
Source and exact reference
- Vincentiana 39 (1995), no. 6: Apostolic Penitentiary decreesComplete official English translation: common conditions and Prot. 122/95/I, dated 27 October 1995; enrollment, listed celebrations and association-foundation anniversary; renewed in perpetuity.
- Ladies of Charity USA: Association Reference Manual, revised 2023Pages 26–27 establish continuing Ladies of Charity identity; pp.69–72 describe actual admission; pp.84–86 give current Vincentian calendar dates. This manual is used for identity and calendar context, not as a new indulgence decree.
- Pontifical Council for the Laity: International Association of CharitiesOfficial directory traces the Ladies of Charity confraternities to the AIC federation and records confirmation as an international association of the faithful on 15 March 2007.
Prayer texts and grants have separate source histories. Consult the grant source for the prescribed work, occasion, and conditions.