confessor
(1) One who has given heroic testimony to the Christian faith.
In the early Church, this term frequently designated a martyr.
In modern ecclesiastical language, however, a confessor is a male saint who did not shed his blood for the faith.
The Church divides such saints into two classes: those who were bishops (confessores pontifices); and those who were not bishops (confessores non pontifices).
(2) A priest empowered with the necessary jurisdiction to hear confessions and to impart sacramental absolution.
New Catholic Dictionary
