Don’t confuse these Catholic lay groups with the KKK

In Ajaccio on December 15, 2024, Pope Francis will give the concluding address at a symposium dedicated to "popular religiosity" in the Mediterranean. The event will focus on confraternities, an ancient form of Christian commitment that is enjoying a new vitality on the “Isle of Beauty” and in other places.

In 2001, the Vatican published a Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy, which gives an overview of how the Church understands these types of devotions -- from processions to certain traditions linked to a particular sanctuary, or other acts and organizations -- as well as warning against misunderstandings and excesses.

I.MEDIA takes a look at the origins, functioning, and role of confraternities.

The history of confraternities can be traced back to the first lay movements of the early Middle Ages, when “disciplines” appeared: groups responsible for charity and popular piety. These movements took on greater importance in the 13th century, in the wake of the formation of the mendicant religious orders such as the Franciscans, which challenged the idea of the secular clergy's monopoly on spiritual matters.

One of the first confraternities to emerge was that of the “disciplinati” or “battuti” in Perugia in 1260. It was a lay movement with the purpose offering reparatory sacrifices, in a context marked by the plague and conflict between the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire (Guelphs versus Ghibellines). It became famous for the processions during which its members could flagellate themselves in public.

Although such mortification generally disappeared in the following centuries, the importance of processions remained central to the functioning of the brotherhoods, and many brotherhoods are still referred to as “confraternities of penitents.”

The movement experienced a particularly strong development in 1399 with the march of the “bianchi” — men in white (“bianco” in Italian) robes. It began in the Genoa region (which dominated Corsica from 1284 to 1735) and reached Rome on the occasion of the Jubilee.

Well received by the popes, the members of these companies continued to spread throughout the Mediterranean basin, gradually forming confraternities throughout Europe, with increasing emphasis on devotion to local saints and the Virgin Mary.

In the 16th century, the Council of Trent attempted to limit deviations and purify certain practices by placing confraternities under the direction of the diocesan bishop and emphasizing the oversight role of the parish priest. The phenomenon of confraternities continued to grow until the end of the 18th century, with the creation of archconfraternities, which brought together several confraternities of the same type.

The number of confraternities declined sharply with the French Revolution and then when Napoleon outlawed them. Many disappeared from the European ecclesial landscape in the 19th and 20th centuries, until a recent comeback in the 21st century, sometimes in a secularized form.

A confraternity is an association of lay members who place themselves under the protection of a saint or a mystery of the faith (for example, the Blessed Sacrament or the Holy Cross). Established by the decree of a religious authority (most often a bishop), the confraternity operates according to a statutory rule that defines its mission.

A confraternity often unites people living in the same place, in the same part of town, or working in the same trade. They are always attached to a church or chapel, under the supervision of the local parish priest, who may also act as spiritual advisor.

A confraternity is also distinguished by a "habit" -- a vestment -- that varies according to region and occasion, but whose colors and motifs must represent the associated mission or devotion. This habit would generally only be used by the members during processions or liturgies linked to their special feast or saint.

Most often, confraternity members wear a robe that conceals their normal clothing, various articles similar to a religious habit, or even a capirote, a tall pointed hat that also covers the person’s face and shoulders. The hat points toward heaven, a symbol of the penitent's purpose and goal.

Note: Some aspects of these uniforms have been inherited or appropriated by secular fraternal orders or other groups, such as the notorious white supremacist organization known as the Ku Klux Klan — which, ironically, is historically anti-Catholic.

Confraternities are also hierarchical organizations with a collegiate council or government, headed by a prior and any subordinate ranks (vicars, councillors, etc.). There are often associated traditions of initiation, with a form of novitiate. Both confraternities and archconfraternities are canonically recognized as diocesan juridical personalities, similar to third orders and pious unions.

There are many different types of confraternity. Some are trade-related, and in the past were linked to guilds or “schole” in Venice, with an associated patron saint, such as St. Joseph for carpenters or stoneworkers. Many of these forms of confraternity have turned secular today, but continue to gather members for social activities. In a way, the lodges of Freemasonry can be seen as a form of secularized confraternity.

In the strictly religious sphere, confraternities are often a way of bringing together the faithful of a given region to participate in ecclesial life, whether in the charitable sphere (care of the sick, prisoners, and the poor), or the liturgical sphere (songs, processions, promoting a devotion, etc.). Confraternities also have a catechetical and vocational mission.

In Spain, Portugal, and Corsica, confraternities are sometimes central to the organization of popular devotions during Holy Week. This includes particularly spectacular traditions, during which members may wear hoods or sing songs associated with the Passion of Christ.