United Kingdom: A Mercy Bus for confessions

The diocese of Salford, in northeastern England, has converted a double-decker bus into a confessional on wheels. Christened the Mercy Bus, it travels each Saturday to a variety of locations in the region of Manchester to invite people aboard, so if they wish they, go to confession.

According to Catholic American news agency CNS on February 23, 2016, this initiative is “part of the Year of Mercy,” and is intended to “reach out to people who don’t go to church.” Members of the faithful speak to passers-by and offer them Miraculous Medals blessed by Pope Francis. Once they have made contact, their interlocutors are invited to step onto the bus, where they can meet a priest, receive a blessing and go to confession. They leave with information about the Catholic Faith and a schedule of Masses in the region.

According to CNS, over 400 people entered the bus, and priests heard “the confessions of a large number of non-practicing Catholics, of which some had not gone to church for decades.”

Initially, the plan was to operate the bus each Saturday of Lent, but the response has been so successful that the diocesan authorities are planning to keep the vehicle in use until the end of the Holy Year, in November.

(Sources: kipa-apic.ch – CNS – DICI no. 333, 25/03/16)