In the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, the friars of the Order of Preachers are entrusted with a privileged ministry of mercy: the administration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In this great Marian basilica, where pilgrims from throughout the world come seeking the intercession of the Mother of God, Dominican confessors serve the Church by welcoming penitents, listening with patience, offering counsel and announcing the forgiveness of Christ.
– Pope Leo XIV
The Apostolic College of Penitentiaries of Saint Mary Major was instituted by Saint Pius V with the Bull Pro nostri muneris officio, dated Sept. 1, 1568, and was entrusted to the Order of Preachers.
Today, the College is composed of 12 ordinary friar confessors and two extraordinary confessors. They belong to various provinces of the Order and come from different nations and language groups, in order to reflect more fully the apostolic and universal nature of the Church.
The Liberian penitentiaries, in the spirit of Saint Dominic, who as father, judge, teacher and friend reconciled penitents to God, exercise their ministry of reconciliation in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, fulfilling the Lord’s mandate: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:23).
