Priest: We notice all young people ask for Confession

For one day during the Jubilee of Youth, the Circus Maximus, Rome's famous ancient arena, was transformed into a huge confessional zone. Confessions began at 10 a.m. and continued uninterrupted despite the scorching sun. Around 6 p.m., as the doors closed, more than 25,000 people had received the sacrament of reconciliation, according to an official.

Nearly 1,000 priests speaking 16 different languages — including Swahili, Vietnamese, Slovak, and Chinese — took turns throughout the day to accompany the pilgrims in their act of contrition.

“I feel pretty peaceful,” said a British man in his 30s as he emerged from a white tent.

A resident of Portsmouth and a regular penitent, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to come to the Circus Maximus. Although he goes to confession often, he admits that it’s not always easy to bring himself to ask for forgiveness, especially when it comes to the same sins over and over again.

A Milanese man, comfortable speaking English, took advantage of the shorter line for English speakers to avoid waiting on the Italian side. He doesn't regret his choice: “It was incredible. The priest was great, he helped me a lot, I feel lighter.”

A few tents away, we find the Italians, who are in the majority, since they’re in their home-country.

“I feel freer,” admits a young woman who came from Salerno with her friends. Although she is involved in Franciscan spirituality, she admits that it had been “a little too long” since she’d set foot in a confessional. “It's a good habit that I'm going to take up again. I won't wait for the next Jubilee,” she says with a touch of mischief.

In another row of tents, a French woman says she hasn't been to confession in nearly 10 years. Although she’s a “practicing and committed Catholic,” she took the plunge “a little reluctantly.”

“I was very stressed. Confiding in a stranger is a little scary,” she explains. “But I was listed to very well, and now I feel at peace. It's a huge weight off my shoulders,” she says with a big smile. She says she wants to go to confession more regularly, believing that ”it helps to stay on the right path."

Finally, a man from Madagascar is among the last to enter the confessional area just before it closes at 6 p.m. “It's been too long since I've felt like this. It fills my heart with joy,” he says. He’s “certain” that what the priest told him will help him a lot. Visibly at peace, he enjoys the view. He has never been to Rome before and gazes in admiration at the ruins of the Palatine Hill overlooking the ancient racecourse.

“As priests, we notice that all young people ask for confession, even at odd hours, even at 11 p.m. when we’re all tired or at 7 a.m. when we’ve just gotten up,” says Father Charles-Thierry Ndjandjo. Ordained a priest in 2020 for the Diocese of Pontoise, France, this priest, whose family roots are in Cameroon, has seen a huge increase in the number of young people seeking spiritual guidance in the last five years. Many of them come to church with friends, without their parents.

“Confession may have been a somewhat outdated practice for the previous generation, but this generation has a great awareness of sin and the Lord's mercy. It’s not about self-flagellation, but rather a feeling of needing support in their faith and on the path to holiness,” explains Father Charles-Thierry. 

He came to Rome with a group from France, specifically accompanying a dozen young people from the university chaplaincy in Cergy-Pontoise. Half of them are recent converts or are on the path to conversion.

“During my high school years, I found it difficult to move from childhood to adulthood, but I became interested in Christianity because I felt that Jesus shared my values, even if some people spit on him and mock him,” explains Adrien, a young engineer who was baptized this Easter.

“There was no sudden revelation, but at one point I decided that I couldn't beat around the bush anymore. So I started participating in chaplaincy activities, somewhat timidly at first, then more strongly in my second year, until I was baptized,” he explains.

This experience earned him a place at Tuesday morning's audience with Leo XIV. “We saw the pope from two meters away,” enthuses the young man, who was also deeply moved by passing through the Holy Door at St. John Lateran.

His friend Mathis, who was baptized as a child but says he only rediscovered his faith at around 17 or 18, received the sacrament of confirmation last year. "I'm discovering Rome, which allows me to visualize the context of St. Paul's letters to the Romans. I really like the figure of St. Paul, with his conversion. It shows that it’s not our past that will be judged, but the sincerity of our conversion,” explains the young man, who is training to become a nurse. “It's good to see so many Catholics, to feel less alone. There will be a difference before and after the Jubilee,” he says.