Confessions
In Lourdes, the Virgin Mary asked Bernadette to pray for the Conversion of sinners. Although Lourdes is a place of healing for the body, it is above all a place of healing for the soul.
To confess is to receive forgiveness from God, it is to be reconciled with Him, with others and with oneself. The “Chapelains” of the Sanctuary are there all year round to enable us to receive Pardon and are ready and waiting at the Chapel of Reconciliation.
If you don’t know what to do, they are there to guide you through this liberating process and if you are worried, you can simply go to the “listening post”.
EVERYDAY
09.00 am – 10.30 am & 3.30 pm – 5.00 pm
Free access
Join in the celebrations
+33 (0)5 62 42 20 08
(Standard rate number)
Accessibility: YES
How to go to confession? What happens?
Welcome: Briefly introduce yourself to the priest. If you wish, you can tell him your first name, and say whether you have ever been to Confession before. You can also say, “Bless me my father for I have sinned.”
Confession: You can start by telling the priest what you want to say thank you to God for, the special things He is doing in your life.
Then you can express what is bothering you, everything that makes it impossible for you to live in peace in the love of God, so anything that weighs heavily on you and which in front of God you wish you had not done.
Conversion: The priest helps you see more clearly, he speaks to you and offers you a new way of living in the light.
Contrition: You can express your regret by saying one of the prayers the priest suggests to you: “My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.”
or “O my God, I am sorry for my sins because I have offended you. I know I should love you above all things. Help me to do penance, to do better, and to avoid anything that might lead me to sin.”
Absolution: The priest gives you God’s forgiveness by saying a prayer which you answer by saying: “Amen” and by making the sign of the Cross.
