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Origins of the confessional -

The origins of the confessional in its present form date back no later than the 16th century.

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Cardinal Charles Borromeo (1538–1584) -

Cardinal Charles Borromeo, the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584, is credited with designing the confessional box. He later insisted on the additional use of a metal grill between priest and penitent.

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Catholics and confession -

Originating in monasteries during the first millennium, long before the appearance of Borromeo's confessional box, confession was not required of all Catholics until the 13th century.

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Administering the sacrament -

Then it was normal practice for the priest to administer the sacrament in its private form while seated on a chair in some part the church. The penitent stood or sat beside him and knelt for absolution.

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Confession as interrogation -

From the 1300s, confession was typically practiced just once a year, an imposition enforced by Church leaders who expected priests to interrogate penitents and learn if they might be heretics.

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The power of a priest -

By virtue of confession and the authority to grant absolution, a priest was a powerful figure in the early Middle Ages.

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The need for absolution -

By absolving their sins, a priest opened the path for a believer to enter heaven. Without absolution, death brought with it the possibility of purgatory or worse: the eternal damnation of hell.

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The practice of confession -

But from its very beginnings, the practice of confession varied widely among both priests and laypeople.

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Upholding the seal of confession -

While compassion and forgiveness and faithfully upholding the seal of confession was demonstrated by some clergy, others weren't so devout.

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Scandalous times -

The early medieval era records many occasions where priests exploited their power and information captured during the sacrament. More worryingly, accusations of sexual misconduct by the clergy began to circulate.

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Peter Damian (c. 1007–1073) -

The 11th-century Italian monk Peter Damian (pictured) recognized this abuse of trust and famously rebuked clerics for alleged inappropriate behavior against minors, which often began with the penitent-confessor relationship. Today Damian is seen as a reformer, someone who urged Pope Gregory VI to deal with the scandals enveloping the Catholic Church in Italy at the time.

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The abuse of confession -

Centuries later, another prominent clergyman would consciously address the allegations of physical abuse of confession—Cardinal Borromeo. The box he designed separated priest from penitent, thus obstructing any physical contact.

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Designing the confessional -

Cardinal Borromeo's confessional box was a wooden structure with a center compartment—entered through a door or curtain—in which the priest sat. On each side there was a latticed opening for the penitents to speak through and a step on which they knelt.

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Use of the word confessionale -

It was around the mid-1600s that the word confessionale was first recorded. The term originally applied to the place where a martyr or "confessor" (in the sense of one who confesses Christ) had been interred.

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Witnessing the confession -

While the penitent was visible to other believers, the arrangement of confessionals from this period also afforded visibility to the priest. Today many priests prefer to stay hidden behind the confessional curtain.

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Secrets of the sacrament -

For centuries, the confessional represented secrecy and the mysterious power of the Catholic Church.

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The forensic probing of sin -

Priests were regarded as interrogators persuading lay people to reveal the secrets for which they should feel most ashamed. Confession became known as a forensic probing of sin.

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The need to repent -

To confess, however, was seen as a required action of repentance and a necessary precursor to penance and atonement.

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A close relationship with God -

Lay people understood that, to maintain a close relationship with God, it was necessary to confess their sins to Him as soon they'd become aware of having transgressed.

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Confession and Holy Communion -

Catholics today are still required to receive the sacrament at least once per year, if they intend on receiving Holy Communion annually. All, though, are encouraged to take advantage of the sacrament on a regular and frequent basis.

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Following the Code of Canon Law -

This is especially so if they desire to receive Holy Communion on a weekly or daily basis. In this case, they'll need to go to confession every time they are "conscious of grave sin," according to the Code of Canon Law.

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Acknowledging sin -

The belief is that having sin in your life that has not been acknowledged prevents one from having the right communion with God.

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Confessional for the masses -

The confessional needn't be located within a church. Here, the faithful confess ahead of the mass celebrated for the beatification of Alvaro del Portillo in Madrid in 2014.

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The "Grand Pardon" -

A woman confesses her sins to a priest as Catholics attend the "Grand Pardon" religious procession in 2016 in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, western France. This Catholic pilgrimage is a distinctly Breton tradition and has taken place since 1625.

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The pope confesses -

And even popes confess! In this image, Pope Francis kneels before a priest to confess during a penitential liturgy mass on the Friday of the Third Week of Lent in 2019 at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

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Ecclesiastical works of art -

Confessionals sometimes form part of the architectural scheme of a church. The most impressive of these ecclesiastical works of art tend to date back to the late 16th and the 17th centuries. The historical confessionals at Milan Cathedral owe their design to those originally conceived by Cardinal Charles Borromeo.

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Relics from the past -

Among the most ornate confessionals is the one found at Toulouse Cathedral in France. Constructed from polished oak in the 17th century, it stands in the chapel of relics.

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Religious artifacts -

Also in France at Nevers Cathedral is a confessional box crafted from walnut in the 16th century.

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The modern confessional -

And in the spirit of modernism, the confessional boxes gracing the floor of Brasilia Cathedral in Brazil, designed by acclaimed architect Oscar Niemeyer, reflect the reinvention of confession over the last 50 years or so.

Sources: (National Catholic Reporter) (Oxford Academic) (The Irish Times) (Faith Gazette) (Aleteia) (The Holy See)

See also: Scandals that the Catholic Church doesn't want you to know about

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