The Feast of Our Lady of the Angels and encourages the faithful to receive the Portiuncula Indulgence given by the Church each year on August 2.  The Portiuncula Indulgence given only on the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels was originally proclaimed by Pope Honorius III in 1216 or 1217 and has been confirmed throughout the centuries by other Popes.  This indulgence is called the Portiuncula Indulgence because it was originally extended to anyone who visited the little Portiuncula chapel where St. Francis heard our Lord ask him to “rebuild His Church”.  The chapel was named the Portiuncula of Mary of the Angels.  After hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visited the Portiuncula in Assisi, Pope Sixtus IV extended the Indulgence to all Franciscan Churches in 1481.  The indulgence has been extended to anyone who visits a Franciscan Church on the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels with the intention of receiving this Indulgence.

An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to sin. All sin “has a double consequence” (CCC 1472).  When your sins are forgiven, it is the eternal punishment that is remitted, however the temporal punishment remains.  Temporal punishment can be remitted partially through the Grace received in Reconciliation (CCC 1496), works of devotion, penance, and Charity and through the reception of indulgences (CCC 1478).  The Church receives this power to bind and loose from sin from Christ Himself (Matt. 16:19).  The Church gives these remissions (indulgences) from the “treasury of the merits of Christ and the Saints” (CCC 1478). Indulgences can be applied to the temporal punishment from your personal sins or can be applied to a holy soul in Purgatory.  You can only receive one plenary indulgence per day.  "An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin." (CCC 1471) The Portiuncula Indulgence is a plenary indulgence and given under the following conditions;

• Devoutly visit a Franciscan Church with the intention of
  receiving the Portiuncula Indulgence

• Receive Holy Communion.

• Pray the Apostles Creed and for the intentions of the Pope
  (for example, 1 each; Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.)

• Obtain a good confession within 20 days before the visit,
  the day of the visit, or 20 days after the visit.

• Have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin.