The Raccolta is a book, published from 1807 to 1950, that listed Roman Catholic prayers and other acts of piety, such as novenas, for which specific indulgences were granted by Popes. In 1968 it was replaced by the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, listing fewer specific prayers but including new general grants that apply to a wide range of prayerful actions. The text was in Italian, with the prayers themselves given in Latin.
Name
The Raccolta is an abbreviation of its full title: Raccolta delle orazioni e pie opere per le quali sono sono concedute dai Sommi Pontefici le SS. Indulgenze.
History
The book was first published in 1807 by Telesforo Galli, in association with the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Holy Relics, with successive editions in 1810, 1812, 1814, 1818, 1825, 1831, 1834, 1837, 1841, 1844 and 1849. Following official approval by a Decree of 15 December 1854, later editions were issued directly as publications of the Holy See by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Holy Relics. A general revision was carried out in 1877, declaring that the revision alone was from then on authoritative. Later editions of this were produced in 1886 and 1898. An English version which appeared in 1910 can be read online and downloaded free. Approval of the Roman Congregation was required for publishing a complete translation of the work.
Successor
By his bullIndulgentiarum Doctrina of 1 January 1967, Pope Paul VI ordered a revision of the collection of indulgenced prayers and works "with a view to attaching indulgences only to the most important prayers and works of piety, charity and penance". Since then the official collection of the currently indulgenced prayers and good works is called the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum. The first edition appeared in June 1968. As indicated in an published on the English edition of L'Osservatore Romano of 12 December 1968, it was only one sixth the size of the last edition of the Raccolta. An English translation on the Internet is provided by A digested account is given by Further editions appeared in October 1968, in 1986 and in 1999. The full text of the current edition is available in the original Latin on the of the Holy See. The Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, which is in Latin, differs from the Italian-language Raccolta in listing "only the most important prayers and works of piety, charity and penance". On the other hand, it includes new general grants of partial indulgences that apply to a wide range of prayerful actions, and it indicates that the prayers that it does list as deserving veneration on account of divine inspiration or antiquity or as being in widespread use are only examples of those to which the first of these general grants applies: "Raising the mind to God with humble trust while performing one's duties and bearing life's difficulties, and adding, at least mentally, some pious invocation". In this way, the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, in spite of its smaller size, classifies as indulgenced an immensely greater number of prayers than were treated as such in the Raccolta. The prayers listed in the Raccolta were exclusively from Latin Rite tradition, while the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum includes prayers from the traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Akathistos, Paraklesis, Evening Prayer, and Prayer for the Faithful Departed, Prayer of Thanksgiving, Prayer of the Shrine and the Lakhu Mara, Prayer of Incense and Prayer to Glorify Mary, the Mother of God, Prayer for the Remission of Sins and Prayer to Follow Christ, Prayer for the Church, and Prayer of Leave-taking from the Altar, and Intercessions for the Faithful Departed.
