Catholics’ experience of the sacrament of penance will be slightly different beginning this Lent because of approved changes to the English translation of the Roman rite.
By the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday, April 16, 2023), Catholics in the U.S. celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation will have noticed some changes in the words used by the priest. Those changes are not related to any alteration of the rite itself – whose parts and flow remain the same – but merely to an updated translation. This new Order of Penance represents but one more step in the gradual process whereby all liturgical books, beginning with the 2011 Roman Missal, are retranslated to more formally reflect the underlying Latin of the Roman Rite.
While penitents are most likely to notice slight changes in the prayer of absolution, the sacramental form concluding that prayer remains exactly the same: “I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” What does change for the penitent is the Act of Contrition translation. See the new English translation below. Also learn more about these changes on the Diocese of Grand Rapids' Website. Note that the Spanish translation has not changed.
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