My Two Cents: Confessions in Europe

Going to confession is not one of the more looked forward to parts of religion, even for religious people. It is difficult to confess your sins to someone, especially if that person knows you. In most cases, you go to the church you attend to confess and you obviously know the priest, or he knows you. It may be embarrassing which deters some people from going, especially young people.

While on a student trip to Europe in 2008, I encountered an interesting event. We were in Rome visiting St. Paul’s Basilica, also referred to as St. Paul’s Outside the Walls because it is literally outside the ancient walls of the city. It is the second largest of Rome's four ancient major basilicas. The largest is of course St. Peter’s in Vatican City. The other two are St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major.

When we arrived at St. Paul’s, we had one hour in total to visit the church, take photos, use the restroom, buy water, or whatever else we needed to do. This may sound like a lot of time, but it really isn’t. An hour flies by. The reason why being punctual is so important with group travel is that your school is not the only school on the tour. We were a group of 18 but there were several other schools with us as well, filling the bus. So being late would mean holding up other groups of people as well as throwing off the schedule of remaining things to do each day.

For years now I have been lighting a candle for my niece, who has been ill for many years, in every church I visit. The kids inside saw me doing this and some lit candles too. There were also many confessional boxes lining the side of the church with priests ‘on duty’. Above each box was a posted sign saying what language(s) the priest spoke. One of the students asked me if she had time for confession. With 15 minutes to go, I figured she was safe. Another student saw her going and got in line too. As other students were rounding the corner near the confessionals, a few others wanted to go.

A few minutes later I had to round up the remaining kids in the church and direct them back towards the bus. I was missing one boy. When I found him, he saw one of the kids leaving the confessional. He said he wanted to go too. So now I had a decision to make. If I let him go, we would be late. But how on earth could I say no to a teenage boy who wanted to go to confession? I waited for him and we walked back to the bus together, to the wrath of the group director.

I tried to explain that I could not say no to a teenager who wanted to go to confession. If you read my past blogs, you know I like a schedule and like being on time, as much as, if not more than the next person. I knew that I should have said no, but I couldn’t. Shame on me? I think not this time.

The bus seemed lighter that afternoon. Perhaps it was because of the lighter consciences of some of the students, or maybe just the mood that being in such a beautiful basilica can put you in. In any case, I was pleased with our hour ‘and ten minutes’ even though I was wrong to be late.