In the celebration on Ash Wednesday, the Missionaries will concelebrate the Eucharist with the Holy Father and receive from him the mandate, together with the faculty for the entire Jubilee period to absolve even sins which are reserved to the Holy See.
One of these chosen priests is a Belgian Salesian, Fr Albert Sabbe, who this year will have the mission to be "a living sign of God's mercy." Fr Sabbe, who now resides in Belgium after working as a missionary for over 30 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, explained how he was chosen for this special assignment: "Bishop Luc Van Looy, SDB, my bishop, asked me to accept the invitation of Pope Francis, together with four other priests of the diocese. I was moved by this request. Two days after the appointment I told my community, explaining that this year I would be carrying out this ministry of mercy.”
Fr Sabbe has been back in Belgium for six years, due to some health problems. Nevertheless, he continues to carry out his priestly ministry as chaplain at a hospital in Sint-Denijs-Westrem and for six weeks every year he moves to Lourdes to hear the confessions of pilgrims, an opportunity he believes is a gift of God for him. "When someone comes to ask me to hear their confession, I feel the responsibility to bring God's forgiveness. I hear the confessions of many people when they are in Lourdes and I perceive the great joy of the people when they feel loved by God."
"Unfortunately,” he adds, “especially in northern Europe, people do not go to confession and they find it very difficult to tell others their sins; so I understand the reason for the deep sadness of many people."
As a Salesian, Fr Sabbe feels particularly close to Don Bosco, who saw in the sacrament of confession a safe path of holiness for young people. "Hearing confessions makes me very happy. I am convinced that when someone comes to confession and asks for the mercy of God they are accompanied by the Virgin and always, at the end of the confession, when I give the penance, I ask the person first of all to pray a Hail Mary to thank her for this gift that she has obtained for them by bringing them to this sacrament. "
