The Catholic Diocese of Dunedin’s St Joseph’s Cathedral was built between 1878 and 1886, and it is the only major Gothic Revival church designed by New Zealand-born architect Francis Petre.
It is symmetrical about a central nave and has 14 stained glass windows and flying buttresses to support the weight of the main roof.
St Joseph’s has three confessionals that are still used, located in the northern aisle of the church, inserted between the buttresses on the exterior wall.
The Bishop of Dunedin, the Most Rev Michael Dooley, said there were two forms of confessions, the individual and the communal.
The individual was done in private, and it was between one person and a priest.
The communal was done in a group setting and was more common around Easter and Christmas time.
A lot of people still made confessions and a lot of the issues brought up were about addiction and relationships, he said.
In the Catholic church, a confession was one of the seven sacraments, reconciliation.
It celebrated God’s forgiveness and mercy.
"It’s a practical and human way for us to experience it by having a rite or symbolic prayers and actions that remind us of God’s forgiveness."
Then the person confesses what is on their mind or feels has been sinful acts and prays a prayer of sorrow.
The priest then prays a prayer signifying God’s forgiveness, which is called the words of absolution, and gives the person a penance — a prayer or action to seek forgiveness.
In an individual confession, the person had the option of having a screen so it could be anonymous.
The tradition was quite important to the Catholic faith, Bishop Dooley said.
"It’s a way of unburdening the soul."
The priest was sworn to the seal of confession, which meant they could not reveal anything that was said behind the confessional doors.
However, if it was something serious then the priest would ask to talk to the person outside the confession and potentially report the matter to the police.
Priests also went for confessions to seek forgiveness.
