24 Catholic Churches To Celebrate Daylong "Festival Of Forgiveness"

CHICAGO (CBS) -- As part of Lent, Archbishop Blase Cupich has announced two dozen Chicago area churches will be open for 24 hours next week, so local Catholics can seek penance and healing for their sins.

The Festival of Forgiveness will involve 24 parishes in Chicago and nine suburbs. All of those churches will be open for 24 hours, starting at noon Friday, Feb. 27.

The parishes will offer Catholics the chance to participate in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, or confession.

Catholic churches unable to stay open for 24 hours during the Festival of Forgiveness will offer other opportunities for confession and prayers of healing.

Cupich acknowledged Catholics have gotten away from reconciliation over the years.

"I personally receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis, and have found it over the many years – as a priest and a bishop – to be a very important moment to offer me a barometer of being honest with myself," he said.

The archbishop said he believes people, deep down, want to be honest with themselves; and confession is a good way to do that.

For more on the Festival of Forgiveness, including list of the churches that will be open for 24 hours, click here.

In:
• Bernie Tafoya
• Susanna Song
• Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago