A Catholic lay association, also referred to as Catholic Congress, is an

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

of lay Catholics aiming to discuss certain political or social issues from a Catholic perspective. The

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their co ...

is the body responsible for approving those Catholic associations that exist at an international level. The structure of some Religious Orders allow for Lay branches to be associated with them. These are often referred to as Third Orders. Some of the best known Catholic Lay Associations are

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

Knights of Columba The Knights of St Columba is a fraternal service order affiliated with the Catholic Church in Scotland and in England and Wales. Founded in Glasgow in 1919, the Knights are named in honour of Saint Columba, a 6th-century missionary descended ...

Catenians The Catenian Association is a Roman Catholic lay society with around 8,000 members (known as "brothers") in a number of English-speaking countries. Catenian men and their families meet socially to help develop their faith and build lasting friends ...

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, the Piusverein in Germany and Switzerland,

Azione Cattolica The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy. History In Italy in 1905, Azione Cattolica was established as a non-political lay organization under the dire ...

in Italy and the UK-based

Catholic Truth Society Catholic Truth Society (CTS) is a body that prints and publishes Catholic literature, including apologetics, prayerbooks, spiritual reading, and lives of saints. It is based in London, the United Kingdom. The CTS had been founded in 1868 by ...

. There are also lay Catholic

guilds A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

and associations representing a whole range of professions. These include the Catholic Police Guild, Holy Name Society (

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

), the Association of Catholic Nurses, the Guild of Catholic Doctors, the Catholic Physicians Guild, the

Catholic Association of Performing Arts (UK) The British Catholic Stage Guild, the main organisation for Roman Catholics in British entertainment, was founded in 1911. The aim of the Guild, as laid out in the 1931 Year Book, was ''"to establish and encourage spiritual, artistic and social in ...

, and the Catholic Actors Guild of America.

List of Catholic lay organisations

This a list of organisations covering Catholic laity. It aims to list ecclesial movements of unspecified standing. For international Catholic movements that have received official approval by the Catholic Church, see

Directory of International Associations of the Faithful The Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, lists the international associations of the faithful in the Catholic Church that have been granted official recognition."The D ...

. *

Apostolate for Family Consecration The Apostolate for Family Consecration is a U.S. Roman Catholic lay movement headquartered in Bloomingdale, Ohio. Founded in 1975 by Jerry and Gwen Coniker. History In 1971, Jerry Coniker (1938–2018) sold his business and with his wife Gwen (193 ...

, founded in the US in 1975 by Jerry and Gwen Conker *

Apostolic Movement A Catholic lay association, also referred to as Catholic Congress, is an association of lay Catholics aiming to discuss certain political or social issues from a Catholic perspective. The Pontifical Council for the Laity is the body responsible ...

, a lay organization founded in

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its ...

, Italy, on 3 November 1979 by Maria Marino. Archbishop Antonio Cantisani and the Calabrian Bishops Conference have approved it statutes. *

Catholic Charismatic Renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Catho ...

, with around 70 million Roman Catholics worldwide active in the movement, founded in the US in 1967 among college students. *

Catholic Worker Movement The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in the United States in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesu ...

: Founded in the US in 1933 by

Dorothy Day Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-know ...

and

Peter Maurin Peter Maurin (; May 9, 1877 – May 15, 1949) was a French Catholic social activist, theologian, and De La Salle Brother who founded the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933 with Dorothy Day. Maurin expressed his philosophy through short pieces o ...

, this movement works for peace and the equal distribution of goods. *

Madonna House Apostolate The Madonna House Apostolate is a Catholic Christian community of lay men, women, and priests dedicated to loving and serving Jesus Christ in all aspects of everyday life. It was founded in 1947 by Catherine Doherty in Combermere, Ontario, and has ...

, founded in Canada in 1947 by

Catherine Doherty Ekaterina Fyodorovna Kolyschkine de Hueck Doherty (August 15, 1896 – December 14, 1985) was a Russian-Canadian Catholic baroness, social worker, racial justice activist, and founder of Friendship House and Madonna House Apostolate. A pio ...

as a community of priests and laypersons has established missionary field houses worldwide. *

National Black Catholic Congress The National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) is a Black Catholic advocacy group and quinquennial conference in the United States. It is a spiritual successor to Daniel Rudd's Colored Catholic Congress movement of the late 19th and early 20th cent ...

, founded in the United States in 1987 as a successor to the

Colored Catholic Congress The Colored Catholic Congress movement was a series of meetings organized by Daniel Rudd in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for African-American Catholics to discuss issues affecting their communities, churches, and other institutions. Pa ...

founded a century earlier by

Daniel Rudd Daniel Arthur Rudd (August 7, 1854December 3, 1933) was a Black Catholic journalist and early Civil Rights leader. He is known for starting in 1885 what has been called "the first newspaper printed by and for Black Americans", the ''Ohio Tribune ...

. *

World Movement of Christian Workers The World Movement of Christian Workers (Mouvement Mondial des Travailleurs Chrétiens) is the Catholic Church's officially recognized association for Catholic workingmen and women. It is a member organization of Vatican's Conference of Internat ...

(WMCW), an international association similar to the Catholic Worker Movement, recognized by the Catholic Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement Catholic Church-related lists Types of Roman Catholic organization

List of Catholic lay organisations

See also

References