BRIDGEPORT—For the third consecutive year, the Diocese of Bridgeport will hold Reconciliation Monday during Holy Week.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be offered on Monday, April 6, in a total of 23 parishes throughout the diocese from 3-9 pm.
Thousands of faithful across the diocese turned out for last year’s Reconciliation Monday, which has become an opportunity for many Catholics who have been away from the sacrament to return to Confession.
Bishop Frank J. Caggiano established Reconciliation Monday in 2018, when he called for the Diocese of Bridgeport to join the New York dioceses in the observance, which was created in the joyful spirit of Pope Francis who said, “Now is the time to be reconciled with God. Staying on the path of evil is only a source of sadness.”
Many of the priests who heard confessions last year said they were encouraged by the number of people who were returning to the sacrament after a long time away.
The bishop said he is grateful for the pastors and parishes participating in Reconciliation Monday and he hoped that Catholics throughout the diocese would take advantage of the opportunity to experience God’s mercy at the beginning of Holy Week.
“In a world that prides itself in self-help remedies and is more comfortable in watching someone tell his or her sins on television rather than to a priest, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation provides a profound opportunity to be freed from our personal sins and to experience the healing love of Christ for you and me,” said Bishop Caggiano.
The bishop said many people have misconceptions about what Confession really is, or think of it as solely a spiritual exercise during which you tell the priest your sins.
“Rather, it is a profound encounter with the Lord Jesus, who through the words and actions of the priest, meets us in our sinfulness and forgives, liberates and empowers us with the Holy Spirit so that we can go forth and sin no more,” he said
Many people took to diocesan social media to encourage each other to attend confession, sharing their experiences from last year’s Reconciliation Monday. Diocesan social media users reported long lines of people eager to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Penance is an experience of the gift of God’s boundless mercy. “Not only does it free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis: “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.”
The bishops’ statement teaches that “With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church. The Sacrament helps us stay close to the truth that we cannot live without God. “In him, we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).”
Priests will be hearing Confessions at the following locations on Reconciliation Monday from 3 pm to 9 pm:
Deanery A (Queen of Peace)
1. St. Andrew Parish: 435 Anton Street, Bridgeport
2. St. Ann Parish: 481 Brewster Street, Bridgeport
3. St. Augustine Cathedral: 399 Washington Avenue, Bridgeport
Deanery B (Mystical Rose)
1. St. James Parish: 2070 Main Street, Stratford
2. St. Lawrence Parish: 505 Shelton Avenue, Shelton
Deanery C (Queen of Martyrs)
1. St. Theresa Parish: 5301 Main Street, Trumbull
2. St. Jude Parish: 707 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe
3. St. Rose of Lima Parish: 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown
Deanery D (Our Lady, Queen of Confessors)
1. Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish: 46 Stone Street, Danbury
2. St. Edward the Confessor Parish: 21 Brush Hill Road, New Fairfield
3. St. Joseph Parish: 8 Robinson Avenue, Danbury
Deanery E (Seat of Wisdom)
1. Sacred Heart Parish: 30 Church Street, Redding
2. St. Mary Parish: 55 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield
Deanery F (Queen Assumed into Heaven)
1. Our Lady of the Assumption Parish: 545 Stratfield Road, Fairfield
2. St. Luke Parish, 49 Turkey Hill Road North, Westport
3.St. Pius X Parish: 834 Brookside Drive, Fairfield
Deanery G (Mother of Divine Grace)
1. St. Aloysius Parish: 21 Cherry Street, New Canaan
2. St. John Parish: 1986 Post Road, Darien
3. St. Matthew Parish: 216 Scribner Avenue, Norwalk
Deanery H (Cause of Our Joy)
1. The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel: 1184 Newfield Avenue, Stamford
2. Holy Name of Jesus Parish: 325 Washington Boulevard, Stamford
3. Sacred Heart Parish: 37 Schuyler Avenue, Stamford
Deanery I (Mary, Mother of the Church)
1. The Parish of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes: 4 Riverside Avenue, Greenwich
2. St. Mary Parish: 178 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich
3. St. Michael the Archangel Parish: 469 North Street, Greenwich
