Alicante is the tenth city in the world that has the possibility of having a jubilee year on a regular basis, as happens in Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela or the Murcian town of Caravaca de la Cruz, which celebrates it precisely this year.
Also Alicante, but in his case it is only the second time this has happened. Because? Well, because that privilege was granted very recently, in 2018. It was the current Pope, Francis, who approved that when March 17, the date of the so-called "miracle of tears", coincided with a Sunday, -as happens in 2024 - be a jubilee year for the Alicante temple in perpetuity.
What does that mean for Catholics? Well, in this period, the faithful will have the opportunity to obtain plenary indulgence. In terms of canon law, “indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment for sins, already forgiven, in terms of guilt, which a willing believer and fulfilling certain conditions obtains through the mediation of the Church, which, as administrator of redemption, distributes and applies with authority the treasure of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.”
In reality, the Holy Jubilee Year of the Monastery of the Holy Face began on December 3, 2023 and will close on November 23, 2024. And, as the bishop of the diocese, Monsignor Munilla, recalled yesterday, to obtain the indulgence, For forgiveness, it is a requirement to have the interior disposition of total detachment from sin, to confess, take communion and pray for the Pope's intentions.
Naturally, all this does not concern those who do not profess Catholicism, but it has a verifiable impact on their communities, as is evident in the case of Santiago de Compostela, whose number of pilgrims increases significantly in its jubilee years, or in the case closest to Caravaca de la Cruz, whose sanctuary receives this year a large number of faithful coming from different latitudes precisely because it is celebrated in 2024.
So, perhaps on future occasions, especially if the declaration of the pilgrimage as an Asset of Cultural Interest is achieved on the third attempt, the authorities will consider the possibility of promoting the significant cultural and religious heritage that the Santa Faz monastery represents, as one more of the "attractions" that the city can offer to the potential visitor.
