El Rocío: Apostolic Penitentiary, 3 April 2012, Prot. 155/12/I
El Rocío: prayer visit under the perpetual grant
At the shrine on a qualifying occasion, recite both the Our Father and the Creed.
Time required Variable: the complete devout shrine visit with both prayers, and any qualifying group pilgrimage.
- When
- 5 August; the shrine’s titular feast (Pentecost); liturgical solemnities of the Blessed Virgin Mary; one freely chosen day per year; or each actual devout group pilgrimage. Availability on an otherwise ordinary day rests on the qualifying group pilgrimage or the unused annual choice, not an unrestricted private visit.
- Where
- National Shrine of Nuestra Señora del Rocío, El Rocío, Almonte, Diocese of Huelva, Spain
- Who
- All eligible faithful who complete the work at this specific shrine on a granted occasion
- Application
- Self or the departed
The prescribed work
- Use one granted occasion: 5 August; the shrine’s titular feast, identified by its current directions as Pentecost; a liturgical solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; one day freely chosen by you in the year; or an actual devout group pilgrimage to this shrine. The freely chosen-day option is once yearly; each qualifying group pilgrimage is a separate occasion, subject to the ordinary daily plenary limit. The rites and prayer alternatives share this one annual chosen-day allowance.
- Devoutly visit the National Shrine of Nuestra Señora del Rocío and there recite both the Our Father and the Creed.
- Be truly repentant and fulfil the usual plenary conditions: complete detachment from every sin, sacramental confession, Holy Communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions.
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.
Shrine visit with Our Father and Creed
Duration varies
No fixed number of minutes is prescribed; the visit and group pilgrimage, if used, determine the total.
Recite both prayers during the actual devout shrine visit. The original Latin says Our Father AND Creed. No minimum meditation period or numeric duration is stated. If relying on the group-pilgrimage occasion, complete that pilgrimage too; the recital alone does not stand for the whole work.
Timing sources
- Diocese of Huelva: full Latin rescript and affiliation decree in the official bulletinBoletín Oficial 408 (April–June 2012), printed pp. 75–78: Penitentiary Prot. 155/12/I, 3 April 2012; Latin operative clause p. 76; affiliation decree 4 April 2012. PDF pp. 15–18.
- Shrine of El Rocío: current Pilgrim’s Office directionsFive continuing occasions and usual conditions; identifies titular feast as Pentecost. Its Spanish prayer alternative says “or”, whereas the original Latin rescript requires both the Our Father and Creed.
What the time estimate excludes
- Ordinary travel to and from the venue and waiting outside the prescribed work; any required group pilgrimage remains included
- Separate confession, Communion and prayer for the Pope’s intentions, except where actually included in the prescribed sacred function
- Stated start
- 3 April 2012
Occasion and source notes
For a feast-date prayer visit, Norm 14 permits the visit from noon on the preceding day through midnight ending the named day. This is a permitted visit window, not a requirement to arrive at noon. The shrine’s local calendar and access hours apply. No preceding-noon extension is inferred for the personally chosen annual day or a group pilgrimage. Marian memorials and ordinary feasts are not automatically Marian solemnities. “Any day” reflects an arrangeable actual group pilgrimage; the separate private chosen-day option remains once yearly.
The original Latin rescript expressly grants perpetual validity. It requires either devout participation in a sacred function or the Our Father and Creed together; the Spanish translation and current pilgrim-office summary use “or” between those two prayers, so this entry follows the original Latin. The 4 April 2012 affiliation decree separately confirms the shrine and five occasions. This continuing shrine grant is distinct from the 2026–2027 jubilee associated with the image’s temporary stay in Almonte; the parish is not added to this grant.
Prayer texts and resources
Follow the prayer count and formula specified in the requirements. The two Creed readers are alternatives.
Source and exact reference
- Diocese of Huelva: full Latin rescript and affiliation decree in the official bulletinBoletín Oficial 408 (April–June 2012), printed pp. 75–78: Penitentiary Prot. 155/12/I, 3 April 2012; Latin operative clause p. 76; affiliation decree 4 April 2012. PDF pp. 15–18.
- Shrine of El Rocío: current Pilgrim’s Office directionsFive continuing occasions and usual conditions; identifies titular feast as Pentecost. Its Spanish prayer alternative says “or”, whereas the original Latin rescript requires both the Our Father and Creed.
- Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, fourth editionNorms 13–14: transferred celebrations and dated church visits; Norm 19: church-visit prayers unless the particular concession prescribes otherwise; Norms 17–18 and 20: prescribed work, frequency and ordinary plenary conditions.
Prayer texts and grants have separate source histories. Consult the grant source for the prescribed work, occasion, and conditions.