It remits temporal punishment
Sin forgiven in confession still leaves a debt of purification — what the Church calls temporal punishment served in Purgatory. A plenary indulgence remits that debt entirely, for a person who is properly disposed.
A guide for Catholics
The Apostolic Pardon
If you or a loved one is in danger of dying, don’t wait, ask the priest to give the Apostolic Pardon as part of the Last Rites.
The Apostolic Pardon remits all remaining temporal punishment due to sin. When received in the state of grace, it allows the soul to enter heaven immediately, without needing purification in Purgatory.
A blessing most Catholics have never heard named — and one the Church asks priests not to omit when death is near. It is a plenary indulgence for the dying, not a sacrament, and not a substitute for confession.
What it is
In the Catholic Church, the Apostolic Pardon is the name used in the rite for the care of the sick for the apostolic blessing with an attached plenary indulgence. A priest imparts it to a person in danger of death.
It does not forgive sins
Absolution does that. The Apostolic Pardon is not the sacrament of Penance and not the Anointing of the Sick. It should be given with those sacraments, after them, as part of the last rites.
It is in the official book
It is concession 12, “At the Point of Death,” in the 1999 Manual of Indulgences (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum). Older English editions often number it 28. The grant goes back to Pope Paul VI’s Indulgentiarum Doctrina (1967), norm 18.
When it is used
It is for a Catholic in a life-and-death situation — not for ordinary illness, and not as a general blessing after Mass.
In the Pastoral Care of the Sick, the priest may add it:
- after confession or the penitential rite, when Viaticum is given outside Mass
- after the final blessing, when Viaticum is given within Mass
- in the continuous rite and in emergencies, when the sacraments are given together
The usual order families hear described is confession, anointing, Viaticum, then the Apostolic Pardon. The ritual itself places the pardon after the penitential rite or, at Mass, after the blessing. A priest should not neglect it.
Once in the same danger
Unlike Anointing of the Sick, this blessing with its indulgence is imparted only once during the same danger of death. If the person recovers and later faces death again, it may be given again.
It can be received even if another plenary indulgence was already gained that day. The usual “one plenary a day” rule does not block this one.
Who can receive it
The dying person
A baptized Catholic in danger of death, in the state of grace — no known, unconfessed mortal sin — and without attachment even to venial sin. That last condition belongs to every plenary indulgence. The Church is generous with the dying and supplies what they cannot do.
Conscious or not
It is given to those who can ask for it, and also to those who gave some sign of wanting the Church’s help, or who seemed contrite, before becoming unconscious. It is not for the openly impenitent.
Any priest
Any priest who may hear confessions ordinarily has the faculty. It is not reserved to a bishop. The pastor is especially charged with the care of the dying, but a hospital chaplain, a visiting priest, or a priest in the family may impart it.
The words the priest says
The current rite gives two forms. Either may be used.
Form A
Through the holy mysteries of our redemption, may almighty God release you from all punishments in this life and in the life to come.
May he open to you the gates of paradise and welcome you to everlasting joy.
Amen.
Form B
By the authority which the Apostolic See has given me, I grant you a full pardon and the remission of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, ✠ and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
“Remission of all your sins” in Form B is the traditional wording of this indulgence. It does not replace sacramental absolution. The pardon concerns the punishment due to sins already forgiven.
If no priest can be present
The Manual of Indulgences, concession 12, is explicit. If a priest cannot be had, Holy Mother Church still grants a plenary indulgence at the point of death to a person who is rightly disposed and who was in the habit of praying during life. In that case the Church herself supplies the three usual conditions: confession, Holy Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions.
Rightly disposed
In the state of grace, with the intention of receiving what the Church offers, and without clinging to sin.
A habit of prayer
Some regular prayer during life is the condition the Church names. It does not require a specific formula learned in advance.
A crucifix helps
The use of a crucifix or cross is recommended, not required. Family may place one in the person’s hands or before their eyes.
This is not a layperson “giving” the Apostolic Pardon. Only a priest imparts that blessing. The Church’s own grant covers the case when no priest can come.
What families can ask for
Most people at a bedside do not know the name. A simple request is enough:
“Father, please give the Apostolic Pardon.”
You can also ask for “the apostolic blessing for the dying” or “the last blessing with the plenary indulgence.” Priests are instructed not to omit it. Many still do, only because no one asks and the moment is rushed.
If your priest is not familiar with the Apostolic Pardon, show him the prayer he is to say, found on this website.
- Call the parish or hospital chaplain early, not only at the last hour.
- Ask for confession, anointing, Viaticum if the person can receive, and the Apostolic Pardon.
- If no priest can come, pray with the dying person, offer a crucifix, and trust the Church’s grant for the hour of death.
What it is not
It is not a guarantee that bypasses a person’s will, and it is not a ticket printed apart from grace. The Church calls it a salutary gift and asks that the faithful be taught about it. Catechesis on this point is part of the grant itself: the Manual says the faithful should be made aware of it and reminded of it often.
Show thanks for the gift
We are blessed that our Catholic Church has provided for us the Apostolic Pardon, that we may forego the suffering of Purgatory. Let us be thankful and show our gratitude by praying daily the prayer Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great, that it would greatly ease the suffering of those holy souls in purgatory, that the gates of paradise will open for them and that they will be welcomed to everlasting joy.
Let us pray
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
St. Gertrude the Great
“As we enter heaven, we will see them, so many of them, coming towards us. We will ask who they are and they will say: ‘A poor soul in purgatory you prayed for.’” Blessed Fulton J. Sheen
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, through our daily prayer of St. Gertrude the Great, and by the grace of God, our brothers and sisters would be released from Purgatory to join us in Heaven.