--- title: Over Tinder? Try 'Sindr,' the Vatican's New Confession App description: The search for a confessional has been revolutionized with a new smartphone app that some are already nicknaming Sindr canonical: https://time.com/4581066/catholic-guilt-sin-sinder-app-confession-tinder-sindr/ author: Feliz Solomon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-23T04:42:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:54:56.634Z og:title: Over Tinder? Try 'Sindr,' the Vatican's New Confession App og:description: The Catholic app lets users search for the nearest confessional og:url: https://time.com/4581066/catholic-guilt-sin-sinder-app-confession-tinder-sindr/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8a4a0334c966e57/6988af9e656a3fe664bcdf58/gettyimages-90935616.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5120 og:image:height: 2880 og:image:alt: Duomo cathedral og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Over Tinder? Try 'Sindr,' the Vatican's New Confession App twitter:description: The Catholic app lets users search for the nearest confessional twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8a4a0334c966e57/6988af9e656a3fe664bcdf58/gettyimages-90935616.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Done With Tinder? 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It covers the reporting, scoops and conversations shaping AI and the decisions facing leaders. #### Where can I get reported AI news rather than commentary? In the Loop is TIME's AI newsletter, built on original reporting and access to the people building and governing AI. It publishes Tuesdays and Fridays and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes TIME's In the Loop? Harry Booth, a tech reporter at TIME, writes In the Loop. #### Is In the Loop free? Yes. In the Loop is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-loop-2026q3/newsletters?i=6fb48a08-365b-4b24-afc5-988b8fce36d3&cr=time-nl-loop-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Done With Tinder? Try ‘Sindr,’ the Vatican’s New Confession Finder App [Watch (HLS stream): Done With Tinder? Try ‘Sindr,’ the Vatican’s New Confession Finder App](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uN8Qppbq.m3u8) (0:55)  _Published 2016-11-23. The Catholic app, to give it its proper name, lets users search for the nearest confessional or Holy Mass_ by [Feliz Solomon](https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon Nov 23, 2016 4:42 AM UTC The Catholic app, to give it its proper name, lets users search for the nearest confessional or Holy Mass by [Feliz Solomon](https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon Nov 23, 2016 4:42 AM UTC For those Catholics itching to be absolved, a Scottish Archbishop may have just [revolutionized the search for a confessional ](http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/11/22/world-first%5Fsacraments%5Fapp%5Fannounced%5Fby%5Fscottish%5Farchbishop/1274011)— with a new smartphone and tablet app launched at the Vatican on Tuesday. [The Catholic app](http://thecatholicapp.com/), which has inevitably been dubbed “Sindr” by [some media](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/22/catholic-churchs-sindr-app-urgent-confession/) and online commentators, is expected to go live in early 2017, according to Vatican Radio. “The idea was really inspired by the Holy Father himself,” Edinburgh’s Archbishop Leo Cushley, who announced the launch, told Vatican Radio. “He said to be imaginative about what to do for the Holy Year of Mercy.” The app, which lets users search for the nearest Holy Mass, confessional or diocesanal statistics, reportedly uses technology by software firm Musemantik to guide the faithful from their current location to the nearest Catholic Church. “I hope everyone’s going to use it,” Cushley said, in hopes that the legacy of Pope Francis’ so-called Extraordinary Year of Jubilee, which just drew to a close, “won’t only be a spiritual one, it will also be a practical one.” > [](https://twitter.com/leocushley/status/801178749639258114) Cushley launched the app at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, [calling](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/22/catholic-churchs-sindr-app-urgent-confession/) it a “smart bit of technology” that could impact “how the Catholic Church brings the mercy of God and the joy of the Gospel to our contemporary world.” ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:04] But I have a lot of chance to play with it yeah and I am [00:06] looking forward to get one there. Because I love these [00:09] thing [ MUSIC ] And [00:15] even we meet the loving God in Christ. Through it we know [00:18] what life is [ MUSIC ] If [00:31] you're in a city like. Like New York or Edinburgh or [00:33] London, it's going to tell you where the nearest Catholic [00:35] Church is. Anyone that's got a smart phone can find [00:40] confession, can find Mass as easily, as quickly as the [00:43] touch of a button on their smart phone. Simple as that. [00:49] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4581066/catholic-guilt-sin-sinder-app-confession-tinder-sindr/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4581066/catholic-guilt-sin-sinder-app-confession-tinder-sindr/"},"headline":"Done With Tinder? 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