Year of St Paul

Pope Benedict XVI has declared June 2008 - June 2009 a Year of St Paul in celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the apostles birth. It is reckoned that St Paul was born between 7 -10 A.D.
The Holy Father explained that:

"The Apostle of the Gentiles, who dedicated himself to the spreading of the good news to all peoples, spent himself for the unity and harmony of all Christians. May he guide us and protect us in this bimillenary celebration, helping us to advance in the humble and sincere search for the full unity of all the members of the mystical body of Christ"

Pope Benedict XVI has granted the faithful a Plenary Indulgence to mark the Year of St Paul.

How to gain the Plenary Indulgence:

"During the year of St. Paul we will be able to seek and obtain those graces which we call "Indulgences" from the Treasury of the Church. To gain such a Plenary Indulgence at this time, we are asked to:

Offer personal prayers before the Blessed Sacrament
To recite the Our Father and the Creed with prayers in honour of Our Lady and St. Paul
The usual conditions of Confession, Communion and prayers for the Pope's intentions are also to be observed.

Within our own Archdiocese the Plenary Indulgence may also be gained in churches dedicated to St. Paul in each of three of our deaneries, as well as two churches dedicated to the Apostles St. James, St Matthew and St. Peter in three other of our deaneries as well as in St. Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh and in our Schoenstatt Shrine at Clachan of Campsie, Lennoxtown."

The sick or those who legitimately cannot leave their homes, can obtain the indulgence if they spiritually unite themselves to a jubilee celebration in honour of St. Paul, offering their prayers and suffering to God for the unity of Christians"
(This last part on the plenary indulgence is adapted from the Archdiocesan Newsletter of St. Andrews and Edinburgh)