Shoppers Unburden Themselves At Christian 'Confess-A-Thon'

A priest hears confession at a Colombian shopping mall Colombian Bishops' Conference

Bishops in Colombia have held their second "confess-a-thon" in the capital city Bogotá.

The secular rubbed shoulders wth the sacred in Gran Estación shopping mall as 230 priests administered the Sacrament of Reconciliation to any shoppers who felt called to confess, according to CNA.

The initiative of the Catholic bishops' conference of Colombia is part of Pope Francis' current Year of Jubilee, which has "mercy" as its theme.

CNA reports that the priests descended on the mall during the "Faith Cup", a football tournament held for the Colombian Church's priests to build fellowship. 

The tournament included teams from the Archdiocese of Guadalajara in Mexico and Quito in Ecuador.

The Cup of the Faith motto this year was "Mercy is forgiveness, reconciliation and peace". The 600 priests who took part wanted to promote a message of reconciliation and show that fair play is possible, according to the cup broadcast website.

In addition, 360 priests visited detention centres and prisons to hear confessions, including at the Good Shepherd women's prison.

The confess-a-thon even trended on Twitter with the hashtag #Confesatón2016. 

Gladys Lopez was among those who took the opportunity to unburden herself at confession.

"You come totally convinced that God is giving you the chance to have a clear conscience and to be able remove those things that are weighing us down in our lives, and it's an opportunity that everyone should take advantage of," she said, according to CNA.

Luz Estella Rey said that it had been a long time since she had experienced this sacrament and said that she felt "very grateful, with no fear of doing something scary." 

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