Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, beátæ Maríæ semper Vírgini, beáto Michaéli Archángelo, beáto Ioánni Baptístæ, sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo, ómnibus Sanctis, et tibi, pater: quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo et ópere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ídeo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, beátum Michaélem Archángelum, beátum Ioánnem Baptístam, sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et te, pater, oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum. Amen.
✦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 you, 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 you, Father, to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.
The Confiteor — from its first word, "I confess" — is the Church's public confession of sinfulness at the threshold of the holy things. In the traditional Mass it is said twice at the foot of the altar: first by the priest, bowing low, then by the servers on behalf of the people, each asking the prayers of Our Lady, the angels, the saints, and one another before daring to approach the altar of God.
Its pattern is ancient — the acknowledgment of sin before God and the whole company of heaven — but the received form was fixed in the Roman Missal of Pope St. Pius V (1570). At the words mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa — "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault" — the one praying strikes his breast three times, a gesture of sorrow drawn from the publican of the Gospel who "struck his breast, saying: O God, be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13).
Beyond the Mass, the Confiteor is prayed at Prime and Compline in the Divine Office, before the reception of Holy Communion, and in the last rites. It names specific intercessors — Mary ever Virgin, St. Michael, St. John the Baptist, Ss. Peter and Paul — a small litany that expresses the Communion of Saints: the sinner does not stand alone, but asks all heaven to pray for him.
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 you, 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 you, Father,
to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.
Confíteor Deo omnipoténti,
beátæ Maríæ semper Vírgini,
beáto Michaéli Archángelo,
beáto Ioánni Baptístæ,
sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo,
ómnibus Sanctis, et tibi, pater:
quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo et ópere:
mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa.
Ídeo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem,
beátum Michaélem Archángelum,
beátum Ioánnem Baptístam,
sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum,
omnes Sanctos, et te, pater,
oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum. Amen.
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 you, 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 you, Father,
to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.