Riding the strength of remarkably high participation levels in 2013, a diocesanwide Day of Penance is taking place again this Lent.
On Tuesday, March 25, all diocesan parishes will offer opportunities for individual confession between 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. One or more priests will be stationed at each parish, although priests in parishes with multiple worship sites will likely divide their time between locations.
This effort will occur one year after the inaugural Day of Penance last March. Mary Dundas, diocesan coordinator of evangelization and sacramental catechesis, noted that Bishop Emeritus Matthew H. Clark originally had sought to establish a Day of Penance prior to his retirement in September 2012. The event was brought to fruition under Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, during his tenure as the Rochester Diocese’s apostolic administrator. Based on the event’s success, Bishop Cunningham had approved another Day of Penance for this year.
Dundas added that Bishop Salvatore R. Matano, who was installed as Bishop of Rochester Jan. 3, "is 100 percent behind it." Upon learning about the success of last year’s Day of Penance, Bishop Matano was "very happy to hear it was a positive experience," she said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For details on the Day of Penance, as well as the sacrament of penance in general, visit http://forgiven.dor.org.
