The Archconfraternity of the Holy Family is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

archconfraternity 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 ...

, founded in 1844 in Belgium.

Foundation

This archconfraternity owes its origin to Henri Belletable, an officer in the Engineers' Corps, Liege, Belgium.''A Catholic Dictionary'', (William Edward Addis, Thomas Arnold, eds.), Benziger Brothers, 1893, p. 436
/ref> He resolved to establish a society, which he would divide into companies of twelve in military fashion. The first reunion was held on the evening of Whit-Monday, 1844, in the room of a carpenter. When their numbers outgrew the room, the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

placed an oratory at their disposal, and Father

Victor-Auguste-Isidor Deschamps Victor Augustin Isidore Dechamps (6 December 1810, in Melle – 29 September 1883, in Mechelen) was a Belgian Archbishop of Mechelen, Cardinal and Primate of Belgium. Biography He and his brothers made rapid progress in science under th ...

, rector at Liège, took up the work. He brought it to the notice of Bishop von Bommel, who gave it his formal approval on 13 February 1845, erected it into a confraternity with the title of Holy Family, 7 April following, and remained its lifelong promoter. Its purpose was to honor the Holy Family of Nazareth, and to encourage each other in the practice of Christian virtues. The statutes then drawn up were later presented to

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

, who approved them by Briefs dated 20 and 23 April 1847, raised the society to the rank of an archconfraternity, enriched it with indulgences, and made the rector of the Redemptorists' Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Liege, its director. The development spread from Belgium to the Netherlands, and finally throughout the Catholic Church. The Archconfraternity was a particular apostolate of the

. It was established in 1861 at the parish of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in Manhattan; there was also an active confraternity at St. Alphonsus Liguori Church in St. Louis. An Archconfraternity for men was founded in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in 1868, where street processions were an important feature of the Archconfraternity until the late 1930s.de Cléir, Síle. ''Popular Catholicism in 20th-Century Ireland'', Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017, p. 32
/ref>

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

, when he established his own association of the Holy Family and suppressed all other associations of the same title, wished this archconfraternity to continue its work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archconfraternity Of The Holy Family Confraternities Catholic lay organisations