Sabbatine Privilege
In Roman Catholicism, the Sabbatine Privilege refers to a belief in the early liberation of souls from Purgatory, on the first Saturday after death, through the special intercession and petition of the Virgin Mary.
The Privilege is based on an apocryphal Papal Bull Sacratissimo uti culmine, dated 3 March 1322 and attributed to Pope John XXII.
These conditions include: to observe chastity according to their state of life, recite daily the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays, or accomplish faithfully some other similar sacrifice.
[3][4] Determination of the forgery casts serious doubt on its tradition that the Sabbatine Privilege originated in a Marian apparition to Pope John XXII.
[1] The Sabbatine privilege thus consists essentially in the early liberation from Purgatory, through the special intercession and petition of the Virgin Mary, which she graciously exercises in favour of her devoted servants preferentially on the day consecrated to her, Saturday.
In 2001 Patrick McMahon, O.Carm., and Sam Anthony Morello, OCD, completed a booklet[6] containing the updated catechesis on the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
When asked what theological meaning could be drawn from the stories if they are not historically factual, Morello said, “We know that private revelation can neither add to nor detract from the deposit of faith.
We believe that the story expresses our confidence that Mary will seek that grace for all who remain faithful to the Carmelite vocation throughout their lives not only the religious, but the laity who affiliate to the order through the scapular.
"[7] In the early 21st century, the Carmelite Orders — while encouraging a belief in Mary's general aid and prayerful assistance for their souls beyond death, and commending devotion to Mary, especially on Saturdays which are dedicated to her — state explicitly in their official catechetical materials that they do not promulgate the Sabbatine privilege, and are in agreement with official Church teaching on the matter.
