An archconfraternity ( es, archicofradía) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

confraternity A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most c ...

, empowered to aggregate or affiliate other confraternities of the same nature, and to impart to them its benefits and privileges.

History

In 1569,

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat a ...

started archconfraternities in Milan as a way to standardize the practice of the various penitent confraternities.

Status and operation

''Canonical erection'' is the approval of the proper ecclesiastical authority which gives the organization a legal existence. Archconfraternities do not erect confraternities; they merely aggregate them. It ordinarily belongs to the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

to erect confraternities. In the case, however, of many confraternities and archconfraternities, the power of erection is vested in the heads of certain religious orders. Sometimes the privileges of these heads of orders are imparted to bishops. The

vicar-general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

may not erect confraternities unless he has been expressly delegated for the purpose by his bishop.Donnelly, Francis. "Archconfraternity." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 30 Dec. 2014
/ref> Aggregation, or affiliation, as it is also called, may be made by those only who have received from the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

express powers for that purpose. They must make use of a prescribed formula. In the same church only one confraternity of the same name and purpose may be aggregated. The consent of the bishop must be given in writing. In the case of religious orders aggregating their own confraternities in their own churches, the consent of the bishop given for the erection of the house or church of the order is sufficient. The bishop must approve, but may modify the practices and regulations of the confraternity to be aggregated, except those to which the indulgences have been expressly attached. Only those indulgences are imparted by aggregation which have been conceded with that provision. Only the general process of conducting the aggregation is given. If it pertains to the bishop to erect the confraternity, then the pastor of a church or the superior of a religious house petitions him for canonical erection,. If the erection pertains to the head of a religious order, then the bishop's consent to the aggregation is required.

Examples

Examples of archconfraternities include the following. *

Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood The Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood was founded by Francesco Albertini, canon of the Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere, Rome, in 1808. Background Confraternities in honor of the Blood of Christ first arose in Spain. In the life of the ...

Archconfraternity of the Holy Family The Archconfraternity of the Holy Family is a Roman Catholic archconfraternity, founded in 1844 in Belgium. Foundation This archconfraternity owes its origin to Henri Belletable, an officer in the Engineers' Corps, Liege, Belgium. He resolved to ...

* Archconfraternity of St. Stephen *

Archconfraternity of Holy Agony An archconfraternity ( es, archicofradía) is a Catholic confraternity, empowered to aggregate or affiliate other confraternities of the same nature, and to impart to them its benefits and privileges. History In 1569, Charles Borromeo started ar ...

Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone Santa Lucia del Gonfalone is a church in the diocese of Rome, Italy. It is located on Via dei Banchi Vecchi just one block south of Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The former site of the Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone, the Claretian Missionaries ...

- dissolved 1890 * Archconfraternity of the Holy Infancy * Archconfraternity of the Divine Child Jesus * Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation * Archconfraternity of the Cord of Saint * Archconfraternity of the Cord of Saint Joseph *

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) is a catechesis program of the Catholic Church, normally for children. It is also the name of an association that traditionally organises Catholic catechesis, which was established in Rome in 1562. Rel ...

Bona Mors Confraternity The Roman Catholic Bona Mors Confraternity (Bona Mors is Latin for "Good" or "Happy Death") was founded 2 October 1648, in the Church of the Gesu, Rome, by Father Vincenzo Carafa, seventh General of the Society of Jesus. In 1729 it was raised to ...

* Archconfraternity of the Scapular of St. Michael

Present day

* The

Archconfraternity of the Misericordia Confraternities of penitents ( es, Cofradía Penitencial; it, Fratellanza penitenziale; pt, Irmandade Penitencial) are Christian religious congregations, with statutes prescribing various penitential works; they are especially popular in the ...

was founded around 1244 in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest private voluntary institutions in the world still active since its foundation. The Misericordia continues to offer a network of free services for needy people: transport to hospitals, home healthcare, lending health equipment, and many others. * The

Archconfraternity of the Holy Face The Archconfraternity of the Holy Face was established in Tours, France in 1876, by Archbishop Charles Colet; and raised to an Archconfraternity by Pope Leo XIII in 1885. History In June 1876, Charles Théodore Colet, Archbishop of Tours, erect ...

was erected in Tours, France in 1885. It is based at the ''Centre Spirituel de la Sainte Face'' in Tours, run by the Dominican Fathers of the French Province. * Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers: The Confraternity of Christian Mothers began in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, France in 1850. German Capuchins brought it to the United States, where in 1881, it was canonically erected at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Later it was raised to the rank of an Archconfraternity. The Capuchins serve as directors."Christian Mothers Movement Grows", ''Capuchin Blessings'', Spring 2021
/ref>

History

Status and operation

Examples

Present day

See also

Notes

Further reading