On Friday, March 17, 2017, Pope Francis went to confession first in Saint Peter’s Basilica and then he, himself, presided over the Rite of Reconciliation of more penitents, with Confession and individual absolution. He did so during the course of a penitential celebration. In a first moment of the liturgy, a community celebration took place with a general confession of sins, intercessions and the recitation of the Our Father. Then came the moment of individual Confession and absolution.
Francis knelt down in a confessional to confess and receive absolution from a priest. As the Holy See Press Office reported, the Pontiff then heard the Confession of seven penitents: three men and four women, all laypeople. In total, the confessions, which began around 5 p.m., lasted about 50 minutes.
During the individual confessions, moments of silence and singing alternated in the Basilica. After the conclusive prayer and the Rites of Conclusion, the Marian antiphon “Salve, Mater Misericordiae” was sung.
The Pope’s celebration on Friday preceded the March 24, 2017 initiative “24 Hours for the Lord,” promoted in all churches worldwide by the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, whose theme this year is “I Desire Mercy” (Matthew 9:13).
In Rome, on Friday, March 24, from 8 p.m. until late into the evening, the churches of Santa Maria in Trastevere and of the Stigmata of Saint Francis will remain open for Eucharistic Adoration and Confessions. On Saturday, March 25, at 5 p.m., at the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, the first Vespers will conclude with a Thanksgiving celebration presided over by Monsignor Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council promoting the initiative.
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On the NET:
To Watch on Vatican YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X2hI9361hk
