In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
 

Your Eminence, Your Excellency, dear priests, deacons and others who are with us today, good morning and welcome!

I am very pleased to meet those who, in the early stages of their priestly ministry or whilst awaiting ordination, are perfecting their training as confessors through the Course on the Internal Forum, offered annually by the Apostolic Penitentiary.

I extend a cordial greeting to His Eminence, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Major Penitentiary, to the Regent, Monsignor Nykiel, and to all the members of the Penitentiary, to the ordinary and extraordinary penitentiaries of the Papal Basilicas, and to all of you participating in this Course. It was strongly desired by Saint John Paul II, who supported it with his pastoral zeal; it was confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI with his theological wisdom, as well as by Pope Francis, who always took great care to show the merciful face of the Church.

I too urge you to continue in this service, deepening and expanding the programme of formation, so that the fourth Sacrament may be ever more deeply understood, properly celebrated and thus serenely and effectively lived by all God’s holy people.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation – as we know – has undergone significant development throughout history, both in theological understanding and in the form of its celebration. The Church, our mother and teacher, has progressively recognized its meaning and function, broadening the scope of its celebration. Yet the fact that the Sacrament can be received repeatedly is not always matched by a willingness on the part of the baptized to make use of it: it is as though the infinite treasure of the Church’s mercy remained “unused”, due to a widespread distraction among Christians who, not infrequently, remain in a state of sin for a long time, rather than approaching the confessional with simplicity of faith and heart to receive the gift of the Risen Lord.

It was the Fourth Lateran Council, in 1215, which established that every Christian is obliged to make a sacramental confession at least once a year; and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, following the Second Vatican Council, confirmed this norm (cf. CCC, no. 1457), which is also a law of the Church: “After having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year” (Code of Canon Law, 989).

Saint Augustine affirms: “He who confesses his sins, and accuses them, does now work with God. God accuses your sins: and if you also accuse, you are united to God” (In Iohannis evangelium tractatus, 12, 13: CCL 36, 128). To recognize our sins, especially in this time of Lent, therefore means “being in harmony” with God, uniting ourselves with Him.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is thus a “workshop of unity”: it restores unity with God through the forgiveness of sins and the infusion of sanctifying grace. This fosters the inner unity of the individual and unity with the Church; consequently, it also promotes peace and unity within the human family. One might well ask: do those Christians who bear grave responsibility in armed conflicts have the humility and courage to make a serious examination of conscience and to go to confession?

But – again we ask ourselves – can man, a small and simple creature, truly “break unity” with the Creator? Is this image not perhaps a partial and, ultimately, demeaning interpretation of the Revelation that Jesus has given us of God?

On closer inspection, sin does not break unity, understood as the creature’s ontological dependence on the Creator: even the sinner remains totally dependent on God the Creator, and this dependence, when recognized, can open the way to conversion. Rather, sin breaks spiritual unity with God: it is turning one’s back on him, and this dramatic possibility is as real as the gift of freedom that God himself has bestowed upon human beings. To deny the possibility that sin truly breaks unity with God is, in reality, a failure to recognize the dignity of man, who is – and remains – free and therefore responsible for his own actions.

Dear young priests and ordinands, may you always be keenly aware of the most exalted task that Christ himself, through the Church, entrusts to you: to restore people’s unity with God through the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A priest’s entire life can be fully realized by celebrating this Sacrament assiduously and faithfully. And indeed, how many priests have become saints in the Confessional! Let us think only of Saint John Mary Vianney, Saint Leopold Mandić and, more recently, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina and Blessed Michał Sopoćko.

The unity restored with God is also unity with the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ: we are members of the “whole Christ”. The theme of your Course this year: “The Church called to be a house of Mercy”, would be incomprehensible if we did not start from the root, which is the risen Jesus Christ. The Church welcomes people, as a “house of Mercy”, because first and foremost she continually welcomes her Lord, in the Word heard and proclaimed, and in the grace of the Sacraments.

For this reason, in the celebration of the sacrament of Confession, whilst penitents are reconciled with God and with the Church, the Church herself is edified and enriched by the renewed holiness of her repentant and forgiven children. In the confessional, dear brothers, we collaborate in the ongoing edification of the Church: one, holy, catholic and apostolic; and in so doing we also give new energy to society and to the world.

Unity with God and with the Church, finally, is the prerequisite for the inner unity of individuals, so necessary today, in this age of fragmentation in which we live. This inner unity is found as a genuine desire, especially among the younger generations. The unfulfilled promises of unbridled consumerism and the frustrating experience of a freedom detached from the truth can, through divine mercy, be transformed into opportunities for evangelization: by bringing to the surface a sense of incompleteness, they allow us to awaken those existential questions to which only Christ can give a full answer. God became man to save us, and He does so also by nurturing our religious sense, our irrepressible longing for truth and love, so that we may embrace the Mystery in which ‘we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28).

This dynamism of unity with God, with the Church and within ourselves is a prerequisite for peace among people and nations: only a reconciled person is capable of living in an unarmed and disarming way! Those who lay down the weapons of pride and allow themselves to be continually renewed by God’s forgiveness become agents of reconciliation in everyday life. In him or her are fulfilled the words attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace”.

Dear friends, never neglect to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation yourselves, with faithful constancy, so that you may always be the first to benefit from divine Mercy, of which you have become – or will become – ministers. May Mary, Mother of Mercy, always accompany you on your journey and enlighten your steps. I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing upon you and your daily efforts. Thank you.

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Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 13 March 2026