Conditions to profit from indulgence
To gain plenary indulgence, three conditions must also be met: confession of sins, receiving Holy Communion and praying for the Holy Father’s intentions.
This prayer, indicates the Vatican, “is up to the faithful to choose, but a ‘Our Father’ and a ‘Hail Mary’ are suggested.”
The Vatican further specifies that “it is convenient, but not necessary, that sacramental confession, and especially Holy Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Pope, be made on the same day on which the indulgent work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be performed within a few days (about twenty) before or after the indulged act.”