Confessor

Confessor is a term used in religious, historical, and secular contexts. It derives from the Latin confessor, from confiteri meaning to confess, and denotes one who confesses or one who hears confessions. In everyday language, a confessor can be someone who admits a truth or wrongdoing, or who relates a confession publicly or privately.

In religious usage, a confessor is typically a priest or cleric authorized to hear the sins of penitents and grant absolution within the sacrament of reconciliation. In Catholic and some Anglican traditions, confessors may be designated to hear confessions, offer spiritual guidance, and assign penance. The word is also used in hagiography to describe a saint who endured suffering for the faith or who lived virtuously without being martyred, often styled as a holy confessor.

Beyond religious contexts, confessor can simply mean a person who confesses or reveals something that was kept secret, or someone who speaks openly about guilt, a wrongdoing, or a hidden truth. The term can appear in journalism, psychology, or everyday language to describe someone who discloses information.

In fiction and popular culture, confessor is sometimes used as a title or role for characters who elicit, reveal, or compel confessions, or who assume a priestly or advisory function within a narrative. The exact meaning depends on the work and its cultural or fictional backdrop.

See also: confession, sacrament of reconciliation, absolution, penitent.