A few hours after urging priests to be generously available for the sacrament of penance, Pope Francis went to confession, then offered the sacrament to seven Catholics.
Presiding over the annual Lenten penance service on March 17 in St Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis was one of 95 priests and bishops listening to confessions and granting absolution.
After the reading of a Gospel passage, the Pope did not give a homily. Instead, he and the thousands of people gathered in the basilica prayed in absolute silence for 10 minutes.
