I confess to almighty God,
to blessed Mary ever Virgin,
to blessed Michael the Archangel,
to blessed John the Baptist,
to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul,
to all the Saints,
and to thee, Father,
that I have sinned exceedingly
in thought, word, and deed,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault.
Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin,
blessed Michael the Archangel,
blessed John the Baptist,
the holy Apostles Peter and Paul,
all the Saints,
and thee, Father,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
Amen.
CATHOLIC 16TH CENTURY AD (CODIFIED)
The Confiteor
Also known as I Confess to Almighty God ยท Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti
Other forms
Latin (Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti)
Confiteor Deo omnipotenti,
beatae Mariae semper Virgini,
beato Michaeli Archangelo,
beato Ioanni Baptistae,
sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo,
omnibus Sanctis,
et tibi, pater,
quia peccavi nimis cogitatione,
verbo, et opere:
mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem,
beatum Michaelem Archangelum,
beatum Ioannem Baptistam,
sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum,
omnes Sanctos,
et te, pater,
orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum. Amen.
About this prayer
The Confiteor is one of the foundational penitential prayers of the Catholic Mass, said by the priest and the people at the beginning of the Mass during the Penitential Act. The prayer is a corporate acknowledgment of sin and a request for the intercession of Mary, the angels, the apostles, and all the saints. The prayer's structure is a sequence of confession (to whom one confesses), acknowledgment of fault (in what one has sinned), and petition (for intercessory prayer).
The prayer's form was codified at the Council of Trent in 1570 for the Roman Missal, but versions of the Confiteor in essentially the same structure had been in use for several centuries before. The prayer's invocation of Mary, the Archangel Michael, John the Baptist, the apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints reflects the medieval Catholic understanding of the communion of saints: the petitioner asks not only God but also the entire heavenly church to pray for them.
The English translation included here is from the standard pre-1923 forms used in Catholic devotional manuals in the English-speaking world. It precedes the 2011 International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) translation that is now the official English form for Mass in the United States, which is in copyright. The translation given here faithfully renders the Tridentine Latin form of the Confiteor without reproducing any specific modern copyrighted English version.
The phrase 'mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa' ('through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault') is one of the most famous in the Catholic liturgical tradition. The threefold repetition with the intensifying 'maxima' (greatest) is a deliberate rhetorical emphasis: the petitioner acknowledges sin not as something happening to them but as something they themselves have done. The phrase entered English usage as 'mea culpa' (often translated 'my bad' in casual modern English) precisely because of its prominence in this prayer.
When it's said
At every Mass in the Roman Catholic Church, during the Penitential Act at the beginning of the liturgy. Also at the conclusion of Compline and certain other liturgical hours in the Liturgy of the Hours. Used in the rite of Confession by some priests as a personal preparation, and in private devotion as an act of contrition. In some Catholic religious orders, the Confiteor is said daily at the opening of the community office.
Notes on the text
The 2011 ICEL English translation now used at Mass in English-speaking Catholic parishes restores the threefold 'through my fault' that had been reduced to a single 'through my own fault' in the 1973 English translation. The pre-1923 English forms (such as the one in this entry) consistently use the threefold formula, matching the Latin original. In the older form of the Mass (the Extraordinary Form, often called the Tridentine Mass), the Confiteor is said twice: once by the priest at the foot of the altar (with the server answering), and once by the server on behalf of the people (with the priest answering). In the post-Vatican II Ordinary Form Mass, the Confiteor is one of three options for the Penitential Act and is said once by priest and people together. The striking on the breast at 'through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault' is a traditional gesture accompanying the prayer. The practice is preserved in both the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms of the Roman Mass and reflects the ancient Christian penitential practice of beating the breast as a sign of sorrow for sin.
Common questions
What does 'mea culpa' mean?
'Mea culpa' is Latin for 'through my fault' or 'my fault.' It appears three times in the Confiteor, the last time intensified with 'maxima' as 'my most grievous fault.' The threefold repetition is a deliberate rhetorical emphasis acknowledging that sin is not something that happens to the petitioner but something they themselves have done. The phrase entered general English usage from this liturgical context.
Why does the prayer ask Mary and the saints to pray for the sinner?
The Confiteor reflects the Catholic doctrine of the communion of saints, which holds that the saints in heaven and the faithful on earth are united in one Church and can intercede for one another in prayer. The Catholic Catechism (2683) teaches that the saints, having reached the perfection of charity in heaven, intercede with God for those still on earth. The petitioner asks the entire heavenly church (Mary, the Archangel Michael, John the Baptist, the apostles, all saints) to pray on their behalf, in addition to confessing directly to God.
Is the Confiteor said in every Catholic Mass?
The Confiteor is one of three options for the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass in the Ordinary Form (the post-Vatican II Mass). The other two options are a shorter responsorial form and an invocation form with Kyrie eleison. In the Extraordinary Form (the Tridentine Mass), the Confiteor is always said. In practice, most Catholic parishes use the Confiteor at most Sunday Masses in the Ordinary Form, while the other options appear more frequently at weekday Masses.
Source
Pre-Tridentine origins; codified in the form given here in the Roman Missal (1570) of Pope Pius V, the foundational liturgical book of the Tridentine Mass. The English translation here follows the pre-1923 forms found in Catholic devotional manuals such as Lasance's The Blessed Sacrament Book (1913) and earlier sources in the public domain.
Last reviewed: June 2026 against primary source.