Confiteor

American  

[kuhn-fit-ee-awr] / kənˈfɪt iˌɔr /

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

1. a prayer in the form of a general confession said at the beginning of the Mass and on certain other occasions.

---

Confiteor British  

/ kənˈfɪtɪˌɔː /

noun

1. RC Church a prayer consisting of a general confession of sinfulness and an entreaty for forgiveness

---

Etymology

Origin of Confiteor

1150–1200; Middle English; after first word of Latin prayer: I confess

Example Sentences

He made a huge sign of the cross, lowered his head and recited, again with perfect Latin diction, the Confiteor.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

We have to know by heart all the prayers, the Hail Mary, the Our Father, the Confiteor, the Apostles’ Creed, the Act of Contrition, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

With a quiet deliberateness that surprised me, I said the "Confiteor," and accused myself of the long catalogue of sins that I had prepared.

From Tell England A Study in a Generation by Raymond, Ernest

The first question the priest uniformly puts to the penitent is, "Can you repeat the Confiteor?"

From The Station; The Party Fight And Funeral; The Lough Derg Pilgrim Traits And Stories Of The Irish Peasantry, The Works of William Carleton, Volume Three by Carleton, William

The laity on the floor saying their beads, or making their acts; the choir singing out the Kyrie; and the priest and his assistants bowing low, and saying the Confiteor to each other.

From Loss and Gain The Story of a Convert by Newman, John Henry