Confession and Prayer of Absolution

[totustuus20]

I just returned from confession, and as I was walking home, I realized that the priest did not say the formal prayer of absolution. He said "I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," but he did not say the full prayer of absolution. Is my confession valid?

[Luigi]

I just returned from confession, and as I was walking home, I realized that the priest did not say the formal prayer of absolution. He said "I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," but he did not say the full prayer of absolution. Is my confession valid?

​I believe so. For almost any ritual in the Church, there are several possible forms - some longer and some shorter. I think you got the shorter one, that's all.

[Nihil Obstat]

According to Thomas Aquinas and the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the absolute minimum form of a valid absolution is "I absolve thee (ego te absolvo)." So your confession is certainly valid. 

Valid, but that minimal form would be illicit.

The current law has "Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis, in nomine Patris +, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti" as a shortened, licit formula. This is taken from the full formula, which currently is "God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of His Son, has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

So, your absolution was both valid and licit. It would have been valid but illicit if the Trinitarian formula had been omitted. It would have been invalid if and only if the priest had not said "I absolve you."