What are indulgences?
Indulgences played an important part in medieval pilgrimages. The church taught that God forgave sinners who repented their sins and that Paradise awaited those who were saved. But although the sin was forgiven, there was still a price to pay – the sinner had to do penance. This might mean doing time in Purgatory before being allowed into Heaven. The time spent in Purgatory could be reduced or eliminated altogether by earning indulgences.
One way was to perform good deeds, like giving money to the poor or towards the building of a church. Another was to make a pilgrimage to a Holy shrine and repent ones sins.
The doctrine of indulgence was often misunderstood by clergy and laymen alike. A common misconception was that indulgences could be bought and sold, another that they could be collected and used to cover sins committed in the future. Many criticized the misuse of indulgences, and the “indulgence industry” was to damage the credibility of the church in the years prior to the Reformation.
Reforms within the Catholic Church reduced the importance of indulgences and an important incentive for many pilgrims was lost. With the Reformation the numbers of pilgrims decreased, and the great era of European pilgrimage was over.
