What is the Year of St. Paul?
This year, June 29, 2008 - June 29, 2009 proclaimed by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, to celebrate the bimillennium of the Apostle's birth.

What is a pilgrimage?
A pilgrimage is to travel to a holy place in order to obtain some spiritual benefit. The purpose could be to venerate a sacred object or relic; to be in the presence of a holy person, to do penance, or to offer thanksgiving for graces received.

Where are the pilgrimage sites for the Archdiocese of Denver?
His Excellency, Archbishop Chaput, OFM Cap., has designated three parishes as official pilgrimage sites of the Archdiocese: The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Wheat Ridge, and St. Paul Parish in Idaho Springs.

Is there an indulgence attached to this special year?
Yes, there is an indulgence attached to this year of St. Paul. One may obtain an indulgence, either Plenary or Partial by making a pilgrimage to one of the three designated pilgrimage sites; on the opening and closing of the Pauline Year, June 29, 2008 & June 29, 2009 in any parish; and by participating devoutly in a sacred function or a pious public exercise in honor of St. Paul, e.g. a public novena to St. Paul.

What is an indulgence and how does one receive an indulgence?
An indulgence is a way in which the Church, with the power of the Keys which Our Lord gave to St. Peter and his successors, joins our good works to the merits of the saints in Paradise and to Our Lord's own sacrifice. Like a parent who supplements a child's allowance to pay for a broken window, the spiritual treasury of the saints is opened up for us through the Church's loving ministry. To receive an indulgence, one must be in the state of grace, which requires a good sacramental Confession and reception of Holy Communion, preferably on the day when the indulgenced work is performed (or two weeks before or after to fulfill the requirements of the indulgence).
We can also obtain the indulgence for ourselves or for the sake of the faithful departed, who are completing their final purification in Purgatory.

What are plenary and partial indulgences?
A plenary indulgence removes all the temporal punishment due to sin, while a partial indulgence removes only part of the debt. The Church makes this distinction because some of our good acts have the potential to be "life-changing" acts of conversion, while others represent smaller but still very important aspects of the of the journey of conversion. A plenary indulgence may only be obtained once a day, whereas a partial indulgence can be obtained many times a day. One has the obligation to perform the indulgenced work either, two weeks before or after to fulfill the requirements of the indulgence.

What prayers need to be said in order to obtain the indulgence?
The faithful need to devoutly recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding prayers in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Paul, while keeping close in mind the memory of the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter.