Catholics who are under 60 or so have no idea how much more common Confession was, before Vatican II. This decline - probably over 90% - is really the biggest change in Catholics at least in the West, since 1965 - more significant than the change in Mass, more important than any change brought about by any document of the Council.
We are still feeling the effects of this decline, in many ways.
Now it seems odd to see so many old churches with 4 confessionals. Why not one? But a few decades ago, Confession was considered such a crucial part of priesthood, one confessional was set aside as Father Jim’s confessional, another for Father Joe, and so on.
Some of the confessionals had elaborate woodwork, with some pictorial scriptural reference to sin and repentance. But even where confessionals were simple, the parish clearly spent a fair amount of money, often bumping out part of the building, to ensure a prominent space for this sacrament, so Father Jim could have his own place, and the penitent was considered important to have a significant, permanent place to confess. No makeshift. The huge deemphasis on confession likely played a role in the decline of vocations.
