indulgence is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins"
[1] which may reduce either or both of the
penance required after a sin has been forgiven, or after death, the time to be spent in
Purgatory. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints".
[2]
The recipient of an indulgence must perform an action to receive it. This is most often the saying (once, or many times) of a specified
prayer, but may also include the visiting of a particular place, or the performance of specific
good works.
Indulgences were introduced to allow for the remission of the severe penances of the
early Church and granted at the intercession of Christians awaiting martyrdom or at least imprisoned for the faith.
[3] They draw on the
Treasury of Merit accumulated by
Christ's superabundantly meritorious sacrifice on the cross and the
virtues and
penances of the
saints.
[4] They are granted for specific good works and prayers
[4] in proportion to the devotion with which those good works are performed or prayers recited.
[5]