The Sacrament of Penance is one of two sacraments of healing (the other being the Anointing of the Sick).

Penance is a sacrament of forgiveness and celebrates God’s love and mercy towards us. It is about acknowledging and naming those times when we know we have done wrong, and then making peace and restoring the relationships with those who have been affected by our poor choices.

The Sacrament of Penance is celebrated through the Rites of Reconciliation.

Like all the other sacraments, penance was instituted by Christ. It is the means He left to His Church whereby He would be able to remit sin for all time.

The sacrament of penance consist of four parts, all of which must be fulfilled for the confession to valid and fruitful for the penitent. The four parts are: Contrition, Confession, Absolution and Satisfaction on the part of the penitents.