Looks like I’m going to Rome in October for a short week.
I’d like to go to confession, go through the the holy door, and then mass. I won’t be there on a Sunday.
I can’t make heads nor tails out of what I have seen on the Internet in terms of how this might happen…
Can someone give me some information? Have you had this experience?
Thanks in advance.
The best time to come for Mass at the Basilica is early in the morning. From 7-830, priests come to celebrate Mass before work (or priests come who are on pilgrimage). The basilica is very quiet and can be enjoyed, as the tourists come later in the morning.
You have two choices. You can stake out an altar at which you want to hear Mass – the tomb of Pope St. John Paul II, the tomb of Pope Saint Pius X, the tomb of Pope Saint John XXIII, the tomb of Pope Saint Gregory the Great or of Pope Saint Leo the Great…or, in the crypt, the exquisite Clementine chapel or the Chapel in front of the Confessio with its niche of the pallia and between the tombs of Pope Pius XI and Pope John Paul I. Of course, the Mass could be in any language.
Or…you can go to the sacristy door, which is on the left in the interior of the basilica, beyond the chapel of the canons. Priests emerge from there, vested, to go celebrate Mass. As he exits, you say which language you want…those of us who are accustomed will announce which language before we proceed…and you can then follow him to the altar where he is offering Mass. It depends upon which you prefer…a specific altar or a language you can understand.
One thing to remember, if you are at a Mass where you do not know the language. We ask at the offertory how many will be receiving Communion. If everyone around you raises your hand and you wish to receive Communion, please raise your hand, too. It can save the priest from having to begin fracturing hosts because he asked in German who wanted to receive Communion and those who speak only English do not raise their hand but then go forward for Communion. (We only consecrate what we need because there are many many more altars than there are tabernacles in the basilica)
Public Masses are said later during the day, in Italian, at either the altar of Saint Joseph or at the altar of the Chair.
As for Confession, they are heard by the confessors of the Basilica…you will find them hearing in shifts in the transepts of the basilica. Consult the signs on the confessionals as they list the hours the confessor hears and the languages he can confess in – as confessors hear in different language but not everyone can speak every language! If you want to confess in English, you need to go to the English Confessor…not the Dutch or the French Confessor.
For Saint Peter’s, you can plan to confess during the morning…until about 1 p.m. or else after pranzo and siesta…that is to say, 4 p.m. and after.
