“When was the last time you made a confession?” Pope Francis asked during a general audience last year.

“And if much time has passed, do not lose another day. Be courageous, and go to confession!”

This straightforward exhortation is typical of the way Pope Francis speaks about the sacrament of confession. And his words lend enthusiastic support to dioceses around the country that are making confession more readily available during Lent to encourage people to prepare their hearts for Easter.

The most prominent Lenten confession initiative is “The Light Is On.” It began in 2007 in the Archdiocese of Washington.

“Lent is the season Catholics often focus on God’s mercy and forgiveness,” said Washington archdiocesan spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi.

“This year for ‘The Light Is On,’ we’re partnering again with our neighbor Diocese of Arlington (Virginia),” she noted. “That means more than 200 churches in the Washington area will be open for confessions and prayer on Wednesday evenings.”

For this annual initiative that continues through March 25, Arlington has 69 parishes offering confession, according to diocesan spokeswoman Elise Italiano.

“Basically, if you’re on either side of the Potomac in the D.C. area on Wednesday evenings, you can stop in and go to confession,” emphasized Father Bill Byrne, pastor of St. Peter Church on Capitol Hill and the secretary for pastoral ministry and social concerns for the Washington Archdiocese. “The Light Is On” initiative falls under his secretariat. He is also the voice of the initiative, running 30-second spots on local radio and TV stations, inviting people to go to confession.

That’s not the only way both dioceses are reaching out to welcome people back to this sacrament.

“The footprint is large,” said Father Byrne, noting ads on the Metrorail and on buses. “People are able to see where there are confessions in church, but also see the Church is actively seeking to bring God’s mercy to people.”

 

Social Media at Its Finest

Father Byrne said that, in the last couple of years, social media has been advertising the event, with the initiative being blogged about, tweeted and given a Facebook and YouTube presence.

“One thing new this year is that the initiative is enhanced by a texting campaign,” added Noguchi. Individuals can text LENT to 84576 to receive free daily reflections. They can receive them by email, too, or see them directly on the website.

“We realize we need to reach people where they are,” she said, “and where they are is on their mobile devices.”

“No matter how people receive their information,” Father Byrne agreed, “they can use those [media] so that God can touch people’s lives.”

Italiano concurred: “We’re trying to meet them in the digital world,” especially those who are not frequently at church or who might not get their information through the Church.”

Further, the diocese is offering short, 150-word daily reflections through text message or email for those who opt to receive them. Through that service, the diocese offers a reminder about confession, too. “It’s a gentle invitation, should they choose to receive the sacrament.”

 

 

Results Multiply

In the Arlington Diocese, Italiano explained that “many pastors have made the decision to have confessions year-round because of the positive response to this campaign. The more frequently you offer confessions, the more frequently people go.”

Father Byrne has had the same experience.

“That’s the real blessing about it,” he said. “It’s not uncommon [for] people who’ve been away for some time [to come]. Suddenly, because it’s there [more readily], they take advantage of this incredible opportunity.”

“We’ve taken the idea and tried to make it available for people throughout the year,” he added. “At the same time, we expanded the hours. In my parish, we offer confessions most evenings. We’re learning the truth of ‘If you build it, they will come.’ People are so grateful, especially those who work downtown.”

 

Initiative Spreads

The Lenten confession initiative has spread to other dioceses.

While exact numbers aren’t available, Father Byrne assessed, “Since Cardinal [Donald] Wuerl founded the program, it has spread across the nation.”

The Archdiocese of Boston and Diocese of Dallas have adapted the program. Another successful result is in the Diocese of Venice, Fla.

This year, Bishop Frank Dewane inspired all in his diocese, by writing: “Whether you regularly go to confession or you haven’t been in decades, I encourage you to make this season an opportunity to receive the mercy of God in a new way and to find healing and joy in his great sacrament.”

In fact, when Eric Sammons — who previously lived in the Washington Archdiocese — mentioned the program when he became director of evangelization in the Venice Diocese in 2012, Bishop Dewane immediately introduced the initiative.

Then, as well as today, every Catholic parish in the diocese is open for confession on Friday evenings from 5 to 7pm and on Saturday mornings from 9 to 11am.

Sammons described how the diocese went all out to bring the message to people.

Twitter and Facebook posts help to steer people to the official diocesan website (TheLightIsOnCatholic.org) for the initiative, so that they “have more in-depth information encouraging them to go to confession,” explained Sammons.

Among the information are videos featuring diocesan priests. “We created our own commercials with priests from our own diocese and then put them on all the TV and radio stations. I interviewed them with basic questions they said people ask,” Sammons explained. “We wanted to have the common questions answered” — including “Why should I confess my sins to a priest?” — to dealing with comment responses like: “I’m embarrassed to go to confession.”

Sammons noted how pleasantly surprised priests were about the initial turnout.

“People who had been away even 20 and more years came back to confession. There was also an uptick in regulars. Some parishes not only did the hours we had but added hours on their own, like every Wednesday night, too,” he said.

 

The Power of An Invitation

Sammons said one parish used its successful Friday night fish fry during Lent as a way to encourage confession during the same timeframe.

When no one was in line for confession, the priest would walk to the fish fry and announce, “We have confessions now. When you’re finished, come on over.” And they did.

“When a priest takes the effort and reminds them, sure enough, people started going over,” said Sammons. “That was a great example of a priest taking the initiative. It was a perfect example of Christ reaching out, grabbing them and bringing them to the mercy of God.”

 

No Name, Same Results

There is no particular name for the Lenten confession initiative in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn. But the initiative started just less than five years ago under the leadership of Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, during the time he was bishop of Bridgeport.

Confessions are held every Tuesday night from 7 to 9pm at each of the 82 parishes in the diocese.

Pastors there are equally enthusiastic about the results.

“They’ve been very successful because people have come back who have been away from the sacrament for years,” said Father Brian Gannon, pastor of St. Theresa Church in Trumbull, Conn.

At St. Mary Church in Norwalk, Conn., Father Greg Markey, the pastor, observed, “People rely on those Tuesday nights to go to confession. Definitely people are coming who want to receive the Lord’s mercy. I’m happy to be able to provide that, because there’s no better way to prepare for Easter than to make a good confession.”

The Holy Father agrees.

This year, Pope Francis himself is leading a worldwide initiative called “24 Hours for the Lord,” now in its second year, March 13-14.

“Do not be afraid of confession!” he exclaimed in his general audience in February 2014. “When one is in line to go to confession, one feels all these things, even shame, but then, when one finishes confession, one leaves free, grand, beautiful, forgiven, candid, happy. This is the beauty of confession!”

 

Joseph Pronechen is the Register’s staff writer.