The ‘Pardon of Assisi’ is an Indulgence granted to those who, repentant of the sin committed and in a contrite spirit, pilgrimage to the Church of the Porziuncola in Assisi or any Franciscan temple in the world.
Newsroom (July 29, 2021 12:47 PM Gaudium Press) The Penha Convent in Espírito Santo, Brazil is prepared to celebrate next Friday, July 30th, the traditional feast of the Pardon of Assisi, known as the Celebration of Reconciliation.
Because of the new sanitary measures, only five hundred people will be allowed to attend the event, and they will have to register on the Convent’s website. The ceremony will also be broadcast via the Convent’s social networks: Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
We are called to the exercise of forgiveness
The organizers of the initiative point out that “we have been living in dark, difficult times, especially because of the pandemic.” But it is also “the time of grace, the time of redemption. It is time to open up to a reunion with oneself in an exercise of humility, recognition of the fault committed, and the generous willingness to bet on the possibility of starting over.”
Emphasizing our call to the exercise of forgiveness, they explain that “forgiveness is the ability to go to the ground, both for the one who forgives and for the one who asks for forgiveness. The one who asks for forgiveness is willing to come down from the mountain of his own pride, to overcome the obstacles of his own arrogance, and to find himself on the ground of his own fullest truth, full of beauty, but bearing limits. Whoever is forgiven feels free from the chains of contempt and anger.”
Origin of the Feast of the Pardon of Assisi
The beautiful Franciscan tradition of the Feast of the Pardon was born in 1216, when St. Francis, at prayer in the Porziuncola Church, had a vision in which Our Lord Jesus Christ asked him what he wished for souls to be saved.
The Saint’s answer was immediate: “Although I am a miserable sinner, I ask Thee that all those penitents who come to visit this Church may receive a wide and generous pardon, with a complete remission of all their faults.” The Indulgence of the Pardon of Assisi was approved by Pope Honorius III. When the Pontiff asked the Saint for how many years he wished people to receive the indulgence Francis replies, “Holiness I don’t want years, I want souls!”
That being the case, all those who confess and receive Communion, with sincere desires to live obedience to God’s will, can receive the indulgence of the Pardon of Assisi. It is enough to go to a parish or Franciscan Church today, pray the Our Father, the Creed, and a prayer for the Pope. Those who visit the Church of the Porziuncola in Assisi, Italy, can receive the same grace throughout the year, according to a special decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary dated July 15, 1988 (Portiuncolae sacrae aedes). (EPC)
Compiled by Zephania Gangl
