Sunday, January 06, 2008

Confession in Rome: protocol...


Americans arrive in Rome and are often lost with the rules prescribing the etiquette - correct procedure - for when a priest is available in the confessional.
The confessional box in Italy that you will see is likely hundreds of years old and so there is no bulb which shines to signal when confessions are available, etc.
The protocol is this - when you see part of the stole visible as in the photo here then you know that the priest is in the confessional and available for confessions.

1 comment:

M.J. said...

Hmm. Very different from the English custom of leaving the priest's door open when he is available and closed when he is with someone.