Apostolic Penitentiary, 15 March 1975, Prot. 27/75/I, as identified in the archdiocese’s published translation of the 1 December 2020 decree
Santiago de Compostela: its recurring Holy Year
Visit Santiago Cathedral during its officially celebrated Holy Year and take part in a liturgical celebration. The recurring privilege is distinct from obtaining a Camino certificate.
Time required No fixed duration; length of the cathedral visit and qualifying liturgical celebration.
- When
- During officially celebrated Compostelan Holy Years, ordinarily when 25 July falls on Sunday. The next announced Holy Year is 2027; follow the cathedral’s published opening and closing programme.
- Where
- Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
- Who
- All eligible faithful; the indulgence does not require a Compostela certificate or a specified Camino walking distance
- Application
- Self or the departed
The prescribed work
- Visit the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and the tomb of Saint James during an officially celebrated Compostelan Holy Year.
- Participate in the Eucharist or another liturgical act, following the cathedral Pilgrim Office’s current directions.
- During the visit, take a moment to pray for the Pope’s intentions; the cathedral Pilgrim Office gives the Our Father or the Creed as examples. Fulfil the ordinary plenary conditions.
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.
Holy Year cathedral visit and liturgical act
Complete the prescribed event
Length of the cathedral visit and qualifying liturgical celebration
No fixed minute minimum is prescribed in the consulted directions. Include the prescribed liturgical act and moment of prayer for the Pope’s intentions. A Camino walking distance and a multi-day trek are not conditions of this route; the Holy Year is an availability period, not a required duration.
Timing sources
- Santiago Cathedral — current pilgrimage and Holy Year directionsAño Santo: recurring years, visit to the apostle’s tomb, prayer, and distinction from the Compostela certificate
- Santiago Cathedral Pilgrim Office — jubilee indulgenceCurrent institutional directions, first condition: cathedral visit with Eucharist or another liturgical act and a moment of prayer for the Pope’s intentions, with the Our Father or Creed as examples
- Enchiridion Indulgentiarum — norms for indulgenced church visitsNorm 19: ordinary church/oratory visit rule with its exception for particular concessions; Norm 20: ordinary plenary conditions
What the time estimate excludes
- Ordinary travel to and from the venue, and waiting outside the prescribed work
- Separate confession and preparation; Communion and prayers are included when performed as part of the qualifying celebration
Occasion and source notes
The recurring privilege remains institutionally affirmed; it is not an indulgence available every day of ordinary years. The cathedral has announced the 2027 Holy Year.
This conservative route follows the Pilgrim Office’s liturgical-participation directions. The cathedral’s broader summary also describes a tomb visit with prayer; the original 1975 work clauses have not been located. The signed Latin decree of 1 December 2020, published in the archdiocese’s official bulletin, confirms the post-reform recurring foundation and exceptionally extended the 2021 celebration into 2022; the archdiocese also publishes a Spanish translation. That extension is not treated as continuing. Both current cathedral sources give a local confession interval of 15 days before or after the visit; follow the shrine or confessor’s directions alongside the general norms. The cathedral explicitly distinguishes the indulgence from the Compostela certificate and permits travel by any means. The current Pilgrim Office directs a moment of prayer for the Pope’s intentions and names the Our Father or the Creed. This entry follows that published direction and does not turn those examples into an independently required pair of prayers; the complete original 1975 work clauses remain unrecovered.
Prayer texts and resources
Follow the prayer count and formula specified in the requirements. The two Creed readers are alternatives.
Source and exact reference
- Santiago Cathedral — current pilgrimage and Holy Year directionsAño Santo: recurring years, visit to the apostle’s tomb, prayer, and distinction from the Compostela certificate
- Santiago Cathedral Pilgrim Office — jubilee indulgenceCurrent institutional directions, first condition: cathedral visit with Eucharist or another liturgical act and a moment of prayer for the Pope’s intentions, with the Our Father or Creed as examples
- Archdiocese of Santiago: signed Latin extension decree in the official bulletinJanuary 2021, printed page 14 (PDF page 16): signed Latin decree of 1 December 2020, Prot. 586/20/I; identifies the recurring 15 March 1975 grant, Prot. 27/75/I, and extends the 2021 celebration through 2022 only
- Archdiocese of Santiago — Spanish translation of the 1 December 2020 Apostolic Penitentiary decreeInstitutional Spanish translation dated 1 December 2020; expressly identifies the underlying recurring grant of 15 March 1975, Prot. 27/75/I
- Enchiridion Indulgentiarum — norms for indulgenced church visitsNorm 19: ordinary church/oratory visit rule with its exception for particular concessions; Norm 20: ordinary plenary conditions
Prayer texts and grants have separate source histories. Consult the grant source for the prescribed work, occasion, and conditions.