Today, Fr. Mike tells us about the story of the patron saint of confessors, St. John Nepomucene, who gave up his life because he refused to break something called the “seal of confession”, which is a sacred duty of a priest to never reveal what is said in the confessional.
God himself established the priesthood as the mediators of reconciliation in the Gospel (John 2-:21-22). The Church takes this sacred responsibility so seriously, that any priest who breaks the seal of confession it is automatically excommunicated.
Meet Fr. Mike Schmitz
Fr. Mike Schmitz serves as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and as chaplain for the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
He is a presenter in Ascension’s Chosen, Altaration, and The 99 programs, and has a channel on Ascension Presents. He is also the host of the Ascension podcasts The Bible in a Year and The Catechism in a Year.
When I look online it says St. John Nepomucene is the Patron Saint of Czechoslovakia, and the matyr of the confessional. Not the patron saint of confessors, is that right?