Elise Harris of the Catholic News Agency reported on an American student having her confession with Pope Francis. To be honest, I would be just as surprised and humbled.
Leslie Knopf who is taking up communications in Rome was very surprised to be selected as one of those would have her confession under the Pope during the "24 Hours for the Lord" event last March 4 and is a yearly activity which started since 2014. An example here in the Philippines is the 24 hours for the Lord in the Diocese of Pasig last March 12, 2016. The Holy Father himself went to confession before giving the sacrament to those who were chosen.
Knopf described the whole experience as "the most private audience you could ever have with the Pope" because she said that it was undisturbed and on a personal level.
She even said that they shared a laugh about her Italian pronunciation and she added that she was "completely comfortable."
She also said that Pope Francis gave some advice about life in general:
"He said that when discerning the will of God, it is really easy - you just have to ask and pray and he will let you know. So ask and pray to the Lord on every step of the way and he will let you know as it comes."
I appreciate Knopf's reflection on the whole experience, on how in persona Christi, Latin for in the person of Christ, and in this case in the Sacrament of Reconciliation meant a whole lot more than it used to be for her. She said that "my preparation should reflect that regardless of who is acting as his representative in the confessional, whether that be a first year priest or the Vicar of Christ on earth."
Her advice for people who may have strayed and have not gone to confession for a long time was St. Pope John Paul's most memorable quote, "to be not afraid" especially in receiving Christ's mercy in the sacrament.
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