VATICAN CITY, JAN 28 (ZENIT).- The Charlemagne corridor of St. Peter's was dedicated today for recollection and confession, in keeping with the Jubilee message of conversion.

    Among those attending the inaugural ceremony were Cardinals Virgilio Noč and Roger Etchegaray, Arch-priest of the Vatican Basilica and President of the Vatican Committee for the Great Jubilee respectively, as well as Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, Substitute for General Affairs at the Secretariat of State.

    In the Bull "Incarnationis Mysterium," the Pope underlines that "the summit of the Jubilee is the encounter with God the Father through Christ the Savior, present in his Church in a very special way in the sacraments." Consequently, "every Jubilee road has as its starting point and end the celebration of the sacrament of Penance and of the Eucharist, Paschal mystery of Christ, our peace and reconciliation."

    The Holy Father's words inspired the idea of creating a large and tranquil place of silence for the millions of pilgrims who will come to Rome during this Holy Year, where recollected prayer is possible, in preparation for confession as an "encounter" with the Father of Mercies.

    There are two lines of confessionals flanking the walls of the monumental passage that rises to the Basilica. The ambience is simple and austere. The sacrament of Reconciliation will be administered here in dozens of languages. The Vatican Secretariat of State has suggested to priests who work in the Roman Curia to volunteer to spend several hours a week in the confessionals at the disposition of pilgrims. In the center of the corridor there are many pews for prayer, facing the wall that opens to the passage. A large picture of the Holy Door has been placed in the passage, crowned by a crucifix with the "good thief." The picture is surrounded by the 14 Stations of the Cross. Pilgrims will also find books and a number of aids to prepare better for God's forgiveness through this sacrament. ZE00011808