confessant

plural confessants

1. obsoleteOne who confesses to a priest.

   [T]he poſture of the Confeſſant and the Prieſt in Confeſsion: which is, that the Confeſſant kneeles downe before the Prieſt ſitting in a raiſed chaire aboue him.

   1625, Francis [Bacon], “[Apophthegm 213]”, in Apophthegmes New and Old. […], London: […] Hanna Barret, and Richard Whittaker, […], →OCLC, page 234

   1 more example

   In 2013, though, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that clergy were required to report abuse because confessants "cannot have an objectively reasonable expectation that such a statement will remain confidential."

   2019 July 18, Jacob Wallace, “In 44 States, Clergy Don't Have to Tell Police When Someone Confesses to Child Sex Abuse”, in Newsweek

   Synonyms: penitent