Apostolic Penitentiary, 31 January 1968; current Salesian 2026 liturgical calendar
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians: annual commemoration of deceased sisters
On the institute’s annual commemoration of deceased sisters, renew the vocational promise and apply the indulgence only to deceased sisters.
Time required Renewal of the promise on an eligible occasion; no fixed duration
- When
- The FMA annual commemoration of deceased sisters, as actually observed in the institute’s proper calendar
- Where
- Within the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
- Who
- Members of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA)
- Application
- The departed only
The prescribed work
- Observe the annual commemoration of deceased sisters in the FMA proper calendar.
- Make or renew, at least privately, the promise to fulfil faithfully the duties of one’s vocation, and fulfil the ordinary plenary conditions.
- Apply this indulgence only to deceased sisters of the institute.
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.
Salesian vocational promise
Duration varies
Make or renew the promise; use the actual event’s rite where applicable
No fixed number of minutes or single formula is prescribed. The institute’s actual annual commemoration is required, with application only to deceased sisters.
Timing sources
- Salesian Central Office: Addenda et varianda in Officio et Missa 2026p.8, Indulgentiae plenariae propriae Salesianorum et Filiarum Mariae Aux.; pp.3–5 for current dates
- Salesian Central Office: Latin proper calendarMay 25 entry: annual FMA deceased-sisters commemoration, expressly applicable by FMA only to deceased sisters; current date notice is internally inconsistent
What the time estimate excludes
- Ordinary travel to and from the venue, and waiting outside the prescribed work
- Preparation and separately fulfilled sacramental conditions
Occasion and source notes
The published 2026 online calendar places a next-day notice under May 25 but also names May 25 within that notice, alongside the transferred Help of Christians celebration. The annual occasion and restriction to deceased sisters are explicit; a fixed May 25 or May 26 date is not inferred.
Source and exact reference
- Salesian Central Office: Addenda et varianda in Officio et Missa 2026p.8, Indulgentiae plenariae propriae Salesianorum et Filiarum Mariae Aux.; pp.3–5 for current dates
- Salesian Central Office: Latin proper calendarMay 25 entry: annual FMA deceased-sisters commemoration, expressly applicable by FMA only to deceased sisters; current date notice is internally inconsistent
Prayer texts and grants have separate source histories. Consult the grant source for the prescribed work, occasion, and conditions.