Thousands of young Catholics from around the world, including a strong showing from Asia, gathered at Rome’s historic Circus Maximus on 01 Aug to receive the sacrament of reconciliation during the Jubilee of Youth celebrations.
The ancient Roman venue, once a site of Christian martyrdom, became a place of spiritual renewal as pilgrims waited in long lines under the sweltering sun to go to confession.
According to Catholic News Agency (CNA), many of the young participants described the experience as a powerful encounter with God's mercy. Among them was Filipino seminarian Vinnize Rey Pilapil, who traveled with a youth delegation from the Philippines. He expressed surprise at the “enormous number of people” drawn to the event, calling the desire for confession a clear “sign of grace.”
“You are telling your story and confessing your sins to Jesus himself,” Pilapil told CNA. “As we know in the Gospel, he listens, he welcomes you, he embraces you, and most especially, he pardons all your sins.”
Pilapil's reflections echoed the sentiments of many Asian pilgrims who braved the Roman summer to take part in this Jubilee Year of Hope. Nicholas Dastafkan, an Iraqi Christian now living in Turkey, shared with CNA how much he values the sacrament, especially in a place where Catholic churches are scarce. “Whenever I find a Catholic church or even a priest on the street, I go to confession,” he said, describing the experience as being “like a reborn baby without any sins.”
The confessions were not only about personal healing but also about witnessing the Church’s global and youthful spirit. The crowd of penitents reflected a diversity of cultures and languages, yet shared a common yearning: to be reconciled with God and renewed in faith.
Speaking to CAN, Canadian pilgrim Angie Alvarez Salinas put it simply, “Confession is that renewal. Like how Jesus said, ‘I make all things new.’ You’re made clean and you’re made a new creation.”
As the Jubilee of Youth continues, the testimony of Asian pilgrims and others from around the world serves as a living witness to Pope Francis’ call for ecological, social, and spiritual renewal, a Church that welcomes, listens, and forgives.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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