Today marks the 250th anniversary of Pope Clement XIV appointing the Franciscans of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual as confessors at St. Peter’s Basilica. This significant change, which took place on August 10, 1774, has since played a vital role in the spiritual life of countless individuals. Let’s honor the dedication and service of these humble friars who continue to offer the sacrament of reconciliation with compassion and grace.
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Editorial Staff (08/11/2024 10:29, Gaudium Press) The Apostolic Penitentiary is one of the oldest dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Its origins date back to the 13th century when there was a need to assist the Pope in exercising his jurisdiction for the internal forum. The relevant faculties were conferred on the Cardinal Penitentiary, who made use of an office that already existed during the pontificate of Gregory IX (1227-1241) to carry out his functions.
In 1569, Pope Pius V established three Colleges of Penitentiaries with the task of ensuring adequate celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the basilicas of St. Peter, St. John Lateran, and St. Mary Major. He then entrusted this task respectively to the Jesuits at St. Peter’s, the Friars Minor Observants at St. John Lateran, and the Dominicans at St. Mary Major. In 1933, Pius XI established a fourth College for the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, entrusting it to the Benedictines.
The first pope to call the Conventual Franciscans to the delicate office of hearing confessions in the papal curia at St. John Lateran was Gregory IX, a personal friend of St. Francis. However, it was Pope Clement XIV, of the Friars Minor Conventual, who entrusted the ministry of penance at St. Peter’s to his confreres after the suppression of the Jesuits who had offered this service in the Basilica for two centuries.
The Franciscans began their ministry as penitentiaries on August 17, 1773. The legal formulation of the charge took concrete form on August 10, 1774, with the Motu proprio Miserator Dominus, which constituted them as Vatican penitentiaries in perpetuity.
As a residence, the Pope designated the Della Rovere-Pallotta palace in Piazza Scossacavalli, which had become vacant due to the suppression of the Jesuits. In 1948, by order of Pius XII, the College was transferred from its former residence on Via della Conciliazione to the Palazzo del Tribunale in Vatican City, where it still resides today.
It is required that the religious have knowledge of at least two languages, as well as a solid formation in Moral Theology and Canon Law, and that they be members of the order of Friars Minor Conventual.
Apostolic Penitentiary: 9,000 confessions per year
The Apostolic Penitentiary has competence over everything that pertains to the internal forum and Indulgences as expressions of divine mercy.
It grants absolutions of censures, dispensations, commutations, sanctions, remissions, and other graces for the internal forum, whether sacramental or non-sacramental.
The Apostolic Penitentiary ensures that there are a sufficient number of Penitentiaries in the Papal Basilicas of Rome, endowed with the appropriate faculties.
The Vatican penitentiary operates with shifts of five hours per day, twenty-four hours per week, and handles about 9,000 confessions per year.
On weekdays, the schedule for confessions at the Basilica is from 7:00 AM to 12:30 PM and from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. On Sundays, the schedule is from 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM and from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. When audiences are held in St. Peter’s Square, the sacrament of penance is also available.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
