‘God never tires of forgiving’: Pope Francis hears confessions at Roman parish

“With the face of God clouded, those of our brothers clouded, the greatness we carry within us blurred, we remain on the path, but we need new signs, a change of pace, a direction that helps us find the way back to baptism, our original beauty, the sense of moving forward,” the pontiff continued. 

Lent, the pope explained, is the best way to get recalibrated and to get back on a path of spiritual renewal. He observed that this task is contingent upon a willingness to connect with God and to seek his forgiveness. 

It is “divine forgiveness” that “makes us new again,” the pope said, and “cleans us inside, making us return to the condition of baptismal rebirth. It makes the fresh waters of grace flow again in the heart, dried up by sadness and dusty by sins.” 

Pope Francis closed his homily by asking the faithful to “welcome this new life,” after which the faithful joined the pontiff in repeating seven times aloud: “Jesus, if you want, you can purify me.”

Following the homily, the celebration continued with Eucharistic adoration while the pope moved from the sanctuary to the right aisle of the mid-20th-century church to hear confessions. 

Matthew Santucci is a CNA Rome correspondent based in EWTN’s Vatican bureau. He grew up in Connecticut and has been living in Rome since 2020. He has a B.A. in History from Fordham and an M.A. in International Relations from Luiss Guido Carli.