Vatican to Extend Jubilee Privileges at End of Holy Year

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 52, 30 December 1925, Page 19

Vatican to Extend Jubilee Privileges at End of Holy Year

(By x.xONSiGNOS, Enrico Pucci, -N.C.W.C. Correspondent)

" According to the. custom of his predecessors . : at the conclusion of past Holy Years, Pope S| Pius XI, as soon as the Holy Door closes will publish a bull extending- the Jubilee in- • dulgence to the whole world. It is assumed that the extension of the indulgence will be on the same conditions as those prescribed by Pope Leo XIII at the end of the last Holy •Year. That Pontiff decreed that all of the faithful, even those who had come to Rome .- during the Holy Year, might obtain the spiritual favors of the Jubilee by making prescribed visits to churches in their localities under conditions set forth in the Bull, and by praying for intentions set out by the . Pope. Certain exemptions were provided for religious leading a monastic life and for :.* sailors, travellers, prisoners, and some others. :_ First Extension of -Privileges. The extension of the jubilee privileges to - the whole world dates back to Pope Alexander VI, Who first proclaimed it at the end of the eighth Holy Year in 1500. Prior to that time there had been only partial extensions. It was this same Pope Alexander VI who introduced the ceremonies of the open- ; ing and the closing of the Holy Door to mark the beginning and the end of the Holy Years. When Alexander VI inaugurated the custom of a general extension of the jubilee : privileges the Christian nations were en- £ gaged in war with the Turks and the Pope sent his representatives to the various nato proclaim the extension and, at the same time, collect alms to support the Chrisl tian .armies!. These alms were fixed at one fifth of the amount which it would have cost the faithful to make the journey to Rome -r for the jubilee. The Franciscans were given charge of the extension in Italy. Gaspero Gulfi from Castel della Pergola, Bishop of Cagli, went to Poland and induced the king _ ■ to join in the Holy war. V''./■.;.. Alms Meet War Cost. To the King of Hungary and Bohemia, the Pope granted the faculty to. all ecclesiastics to collect alms to arm the troops destined to fight the Turks. The cardinal of St. Maria Nuova was sent as legate to Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Prussia to the Emperor Maximilian and other princes and : was very successful. Alexander also assessed the clergy of Rome, including the cardinals, to pay the expenses of the war and obtained contributions for the same purpose from the Jews. ".'.',.. The ninth Holy Year, celebrated by Pope Clement VII in 1525, two years before the troops of the Constable of Bourbon sacked - Rome, was very unsuccessful as regards the : : number of pilgrims attracted to the Eternal Pi City. It was only a few years before the r < heresy of Luther and was further handicapped ; by an epidemic then raging in Rome which made many persons fear to make the pilgrimage. In 1526 the Pope extended the j.; jubilee privileges to those who had been un- --, able to come to Rome. At Naples the cere-

mony of the opening of the Holy Door was reproduced in the Church of St. Peter ad Aram. : - './ / ; Asked by St. IgnatiusExtensions of the jubilee were granted by Pope Julius 111 after the Holy Year of 1550 to the Emperor Charles V and to the latter's son, Phillip, as well as to members of their court. At the instance of St. Ignatius of Loyola an extension was also granted to the army of Charles V, then engaged, in alliance with the Genoese, Pontifical, Florentine, and ""> Maltese galleys, in an expedition against the - famous pirate Draguto Rais. Also at the instance of St. Ignatius the Pope granted the jubilee indulgence to the peoples of the East Indies, Brazil, the Congo, and other far-off countries then recently converted. When Pope Gregory XIII decided to extend the jubilee indulgences after the Holy Year of 1575 the condition of the Catholics in England caused him to make some vdfy unusual provisions as applied to them. They were permitted to gain the indulgence by visiting churches in their locality for 15 days but, in places where the exercise of the Catholic religion was banned, they were.permitted to gain the same indulgence by doing such pious works as their confessors prescribed. Other Instances. In places where it was not even possible to have confessors they were allowed to gain the indulgence by reciting the Rosary 15 times with true contrition. Pope Clement VIII extended the jubilee to the entire world after the Holy Year of 1600, and in 1626 it was extended to France by Pope Urban VIII. Innocent X extended the jubilee to the entire world after the 14th Holy Year of 1650, prescribing that it could be gained by all the faithful who visited four churches in their home communities 15 times. From 1650 down to the present time the practice of extending the jubilee to the entire world has been followed by the popes,at the conclusion of each successive Holy Year. - ■• ' Gratify JYofes (Contributed.) ~ Sunday, December 6, was a memorable day for the Catholics of Granity. On that day about twenty little children received our Eucharistic Lord for the first time. This event coincided with the annual Communion breakfast for the Old Boys' Guild and Children of Mary Sodality. The usual lachrymose state of the West Coast interfered with the arrangements regarding a procession in regalia— procession to consist of Children of Mary,""Holy Angels, and First Communicants, with the Boys' Guild as a guard of honor outside the church door. Although the weather was sorrowful unto tears, the hearts of the. little Communicants were bright with the sunshine of.„, innocence begot

by purity of soul. Their little baby voices raised in : prayer sent a thrill through - the | hearts of the adult congregation. Our dear Lord's own words, "Suffer little children to 1 come unto Me," were verified in the great act about to be performed. He drew theml to the altar rails and when His Sacred Body rested in their innocent little hearts, they bowed low their tiny heads in silent adoration. These wee tots of seven believed, loved,"adored. ,~f£ The combined singing of the sodalities during Holy Mass was devotional and good. One of the hymns sung was "The Shower of Roses," the words of which are so well known to all lovers of the "Little Flower." vAfter Mass the First Communicants and members of the different sodalities returned! to the convent, where the breakfast tables were laboring 'neath their burdens. The rain still rained, but the smiles smiled with' an equal persistency. ' Rev. Father Long addressed the children for a few minutes. He congratulated the members of the different sodalities on their grand display of faith, and told them that they had much for which to be -grateful—firstly to God, and, under God, to their devoted and self-sacrificing teachers, the Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters looked with genuine love and pride on their old pupils who had not missed a monthly Communion since their school days, which for some was a period of nearly a decade of years. Granity may justly be counted among the hidden works, but perhaps all the spiritual success of the schools' offspring can and may be attributed to the fact that only the noble woman can keep, her lamp burning in dul!, monotonous semi-darkness. _Vi The music pupils of the local convent held a pleasant afternoon in the school on Saturday, December 12. Had the day been fine ; it rains sometimes on the West Coasta Christmas tree was to have sprung into existence on the lawn, as did the Maoris' magic bridge, but it grew, perhaps more magically, through the boards of the schoolroom floor. It held prizes for all — special ones for Naomi Norganty and Colin Campbell, - who secured 90 per cent, in the recent examination. Little Flossie Russell, who left the district a few weeks ago and who had been a pupil of the convent for three years, carried with her a special prize for having, secured five certificatesincluding three —during that time.