Mea culpa

Mea culpa is a Latin phrase that means "through my fault" and is an acknowledgement of having done wrong.

Grammatically, meā culpā is in the ablative case, with an instrumental meaning.

The phrase comes from a prayer of confession of sinfulness, known as the Confiteor, used in the Roman Rite at the beginning of Mass or when receiving the sacrament of Penance.

The expression is used also as an admission of having made a mistake that should have been avoided, and may be accompanied by beating the breast as in its use in a religious context. If, for instance, a sports player admits that his team lost a game because he missed an opportunity to score, this acknowledgement may be called a mea culpa.

In the United States, the slang phrase "my bad" might be used in such circumstances.

Religious use

In the present form of the Confiteor as used in the celebration of Mass, mea culpa is said three times, the third time with the addition of the adjective maxima ("very great", usually translated as "most grievous"), and is accompanied by the gesture of beating the breast.

Mea Culpa (Part II)

"Mea Culpa (Part II)" is a song by German musical project Enigma. It was released in April 1991 as the second of four singles from their debut album MCMXC a.D.. Like their previous single "Sadeness (Part I)", "Mea Culpa (Part II)" is sung in French and Latin, though Mea Culpa (Part II) also has a line in English, "The time has come". It was the project's second top ten hit in their native Germany, reaching #7, but it failed to match the success of "Sadeness (Part I)" elsewhere. Nevertheless, the song reached the top ten in Italy, France, Belgium, and Switzerland as well as #7 on the American dance chart.

Track listings

Mea Culpa (disambiguation)

Mea culpa is Latin for "my fault".

Mea culpa may also refer to:

Literature

Film and Television

Film

TV

Music

Albums

Songs