Summary:
Pope Francis has knelt down before an ordinary priest in St Peter's Basilica in London.

Full article:
By . William Turvill . These photographs show the moment Pope Francis shocked his congregation by dropping to his knees and confessing to his own sins. He knelt before an ordinary priest in St Peter’s Basilica yesterday while presiding at a service intended to show the importance he attaches to the sacrament of reconciliation, commonly known as confession. After reading a sermon, he was to have gone to an empty confessional booth to hear confessions from ordinary faithful as some 60 priests scattered around the huge church did the same. This photograph shows the moment Pope Francis shocked his congregation by dropping to his knees and confessing to his own sins . His master of ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini, pointed him towards the empty booth but the pope went straight to a another one. He knelt before a surprised priest, and confessed to him for a few minutes. He then went back to the empty one and heard the confessions of a number of faithful. The Pope regularly goes to confession – but in private ordinarily. He knelt before an ordinary priest and in St Peter's Basilica yesterday while presiding at a service intended to show the importance he attaches to the sacrament of reconciliation, commonly known as confession .