An archconfraternity () is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

confraternity A confraternity (; ) 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 common among Catholics, Lu ...

, 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 (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in 156 ...

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 member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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, prov ...

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 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 (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

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

Present day

* The Archconfraternity of the Misericordia 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 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 (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, 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
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History

Status and operation

Examples

Present day

See also

Notes

Further reading