Confessing your sins in Spanish vs. English

[MaureenTeresa]

Hello! I have a question about confessing in Spanish, so hopefully any native speakers or others proficient in the language can help me out. I am about to spend 4 months in Chile and I know that if I go to confession while I am there, the priest and I will most likely be communicating in Spanish. While I am not a native speaker and still have a lot to learn, I know enough Spanish that I should be able to confess my sins and understand the priest’s counsel without too many issues. But I am curious if Spanish speaking Catholics follow the same basic formula when confessing their sins. What I mean is that whenever I go to confession, I always do the following:

1. Make the sign of the cross and say “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been X amount of time since my last confession and these are my sins”
2. List my sins
3. Listen to the priest’s counsel on my sins, including my penance if there is one
4. Pray an act of contrition
5. Make the sign of the cross while the priest says the prayer of absolution
   So is it exactly the same when confessing in Spanish, or are there other prayers/phrases that Spanish speakers use? I assume it would be, but since I’ve never been to confession in a language other than English, I thought I should ask. Thanks!

 

[pianistclare]

Yes.

 

[todoeldiapulpin]

Basically yes, though some priests may skip the ‘Forgive me, father…’ and the act of contrition. They begin with ‘Ave María Purísima’ and the penitent replies ‘sin pecado concebido Santísima’.
Blessings.

 

[MaureenTeresa]

Basically yes, though some priests may skip the ‘Forgive me, father…’ and the act of contrition. They begin with ‘Ave María Purísima’ and the penitent replies ‘sin pecado concebido Santísima’.
Blessings.

Thank you so much! This is very helpful

 

[Filius_Prodigus]

Basically yes, though some priests may skip the ‘Forgive me, father…’ and the act of contrition. They begin with ‘Ave María Purísima’ and the penitent replies ‘sin pecado concebido Santísima’.
Blessings.

The reply would be just, “Sin pecado concebida”.

Pero no te preocupes… una vez que el cura sepa que no eres de por allí, comprenderá que no estés al tanto de todas las costumbres latinoamericanas.

 

[adamhovey1988]

Hello! I have a question about confessing in Spanish, so hopefully any native speakers or others proficient in the language can help me out. I am about to spend 4 months in Chile and I know that if I go to confession while I am there, the priest and I will most likely be communicating in Spanish. While I am not a native speaker and still have a lot to learn, I know enough Spanish that I should be able to confess my sins and understand the priest’s counsel without too many issues. But I am curious if Spanish speaking Catholics follow the same basic formula when confessing their sins. What I mean is that whenever I go to confession, I always do the following:

1. Make the sign of the cross and say “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been X amount of time since my last confession and these are my sins”
2. List my sins
3. Listen to the priest’s counsel on my sins, including my penance if there is one
4. Pray an act of contrition
5. Make the sign of the cross while the priest says the prayer of absolution
   So is it exactly the same when confessing in Spanish, or are there other prayers/phrases that Spanish speakers use? I assume it would be, but since I’ve never been to confession in a language other than English, I thought I should ask. Thanks!

Chile has a significant ethnically Basque population. Learn how to do it in Basque. Most of them (even those of Basque descent) will have no idea what you’re saying, but I think it would fun to figure out which ones would. (I have no excuse, I just don’t speak Spanish)

 

[Filius_Prodigus]

Practically all Chileans speak Spanish.

Un sacerdote chileno que no hable español es prácticamente una contradicción.

 

[jtkalehua88]

Normally in Spanish we start out “Ave Maria purisima” and the respondent would say “Sin pecado concebida” then proceed to confess your sins

 

[WingsOfEagles]

Sounds like you know enought to make a good confession. I’m sure the Priest will be able to tell that Spanish is a second language and help you through any language barriers.