penitents

Noun

penitent (plural penitents)

1. One who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of their transgressions.
2. One under church censure, but admitted to penance; one undergoing penance.
   • Wamba, who defeated the Saracens in an attempt upon Spain, was deprived of the crown, because he had been clothed in the habit of a penitent, while labouring under the influence of poison, administered by the ambitious Erviga!1837, William Russell, The History of Modern Europe: with an Account of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Longman, Rees, & Co., page 20
3. One under the direction of a confessor.

See all 5 meanings of penitent