Plenary indulgence during the interregnum

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Is it possible to gain a plenary indulgence during the interregnum? One of the requirements fore gaining a plenary indulgence is to pray for the Pope’s intentions. However there is no Pope during this period. It just occurred to me since I go to daily Mass and when it was time for me to pray for the Pope’s intentions, realizing there’s none for the moment.
 
I’m not aware of any instruction regarding this, but we do know that a plenary may be gained from the period twenty days preceding the exercise up to twenty days afterwards. So the 40-day span would allow you to gain this and apply it when the conclave has elected a pope, I would think.

May I ask what a several daily plenaries would gain for you personally? Could this be bordering on excessive scrupulosity? OTOH, if it is for the Poor Souls, we are not taught that a plenary is applied to them, but that they benefit from our suffrage only in the manner God wills for them, which is unknown. It has been my practice to offer my daily plenaries for them, even though it is uncertain how they are applied.

In addition, the Manual of Indugences explains that if we have been in the habit of obtaining plenaries, when we are at the moment of our own death, a plenary will be immediately applied. There is no requirement to pray for the pope’s intentions in this instance.
 
When you pray for the Pope’s intentions, you are praying for the public intentions that he has published, not for whatever private intentions he has at the moment. So since the intentions for this month have already been published, we can pray for those intentions. Furthermore, the new Pope will likely not change the public intentions that Benedict published, although he is of course free to do so.
 
It is a very good question and the replies as good but I have one question, why even bother thinking about indulgences?

When I was younger all I did were prayers that gave the biggest indulgence for my time. I would pray for the the plenary and pass up more appropriate prayers.

I gave up chasing the indulgence and prayed because I wanted to say a certain pray not because it gave me 10 yrs partial or 1 plenary. The indulgence has a place in our history but I think, in my case, it did more harm then good because my focus wasn’t on God it was on the indulgence.

My unsolicited comment, I hope I didn’t offend.

Mike
 
michaelmas said:
The indulgence has a place in our history but I think, in my case, it did more harm then good because my focus wasn’t on God it was on the indulgence.

My unsolicited comment, I hope I didn’t offend.

Mike
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Very good point, this is possible too. There are, however, people who carry a certain (sometimes huge) burden of guilt and very bad memories and fears about the consequences of their sins, even after confession and penance, and who really feel the need to “start anew”. Also, there are many people who use to offer up these indulgences for the souls in Purgatory.
 
michaelmas said:
It is a very good question and the replies as good but I have one question, why even bother thinking about indulgences?

When I was younger all I did were prayers that gave the biggest indulgence for my time. I would pray for the the plenary and pass up more appropriate prayers.

I gave up chasing the indulgence and prayed because I wanted to say a certain pray not because it gave me 10 yrs partial or 1 plenary. The indulgence has a place in our history but I think, in my case, it did more harm then good because my focus wasn’t on God it was on the indulgence.

My unsolicited comment, I hope I didn’t offend.

Mike
Click to expand...
The Church attaches indulgences to certain prayers because they are tried and true methods of spiritual advancement - the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, Eucharistic adoration, reading the Scriptures, and the most favored prayers of the saints over the centuries. Further, the “usual conditions” are the frequent reception of the sacraments and detachment from sin, along with prayer for the Pope’s intentions that fosters unity between the visible head of the Church and her members. So “chasing indulgences” is actually a common sense program for holiness.
 
Sirach2 said:
In addition, the Manual of Indugences explains that if we have been in the habit of obtaining plenaries, when we are at the moment of our own death, a plenary will be immediately applied. There is no requirement to pray for the pope’s intentions in this instance.
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The condition for gaining the Apostolic blessing is to have a habit of prayer, which wouldn’t necessitate gaining plenary indulgences during life.
 
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