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unusual facts about public penance



Saint Fabiola

On the day before Easter, following the death of her second consort, she appeared before the gates of the Lateran basilica, dressed in penitential garb, and did public penance for her sin, which made a great impression upon the Christian population of Rome.


see also

Bernard of Italy

In 822, Louis made a display of public penance at Attigny, where he confessed before all the court to having sinfully slain his nephew; he also welcomed his half-brothers back into his favour.

St Paul's Cross

Reginald Pecock, Bishop of St. Asaph, attacked Lollardy from this cross in 1437 but himself did public penance there in 1447 (by which time he was Bishop of Chichester) before a mob of 20,000 and the Archbishop of Canterbury, throwing various examples of his own heretical writings into a fire.