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.
In June 1876, Charles Théodore Colet, Archbishop of Tours, erected the Confraternity of the Holy Face at the Oratory of the Holy Face. [1] Based in part on the spirituality of the Discalced Carmelite Mary of Saint Peter, it’s chief objective is reparation for blasphemy and not keeping the Lord’s day. This devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus was based on images of the Veil of Veronica, as promoted by Leo Dupont, rather than the Shroud of Turin, which image first appeared on a photographic negative in 1898.
Thérèse of Lisieux enrolled in the confraternity in April, 1885; as did her parents, Louis and Marie-Azélie Martin. The following October, Pope Leo XIII approved the Scapular of the Holy Face and elevated the confraternity to an archconfraternity. [2]
The home of the Archconfraternity is the Centre Spirituel de la Sainte Face in Tours, run by the Dominican Fathers of the French Province. In 1960, the Confraternity of the Holy Face was canonically erected at Carmelite Monastery of the Little Flower of Jesus, in Buffalo, New York; it is affiliated with the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face at Tours, France. [3] There is also a confraternity at the Monastery of the Infant Jesus of Prague & St. Joseph in Dallas, Texas. [4]
The Scapular of the Holy Face originated in 1885, based on the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. It is worn by the members of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face. [5]
The wearing of this picture is simply one of the pious practices of the archconfraternity, without any special indulgences for its use. [6] [7]
This scapular is made of two pieces of white cloth. On one is a well-known picture connected with St. Veronica. [8] [9] [6] Members can, however, wear the picture on a medal or cross, in place of the scapular. [6]
Saint Veronica, also known as Berenike, was a widow from Jerusalem who lived in the 1st century AD, according to extra-biblical Christian sacred tradition. A celebrated saint in many pious Christian countries, the 17th-century Acta Sanctorum published by the Bollandists listed her feast under July 12, but the German Jesuit scholar Joseph Braun cited her commemoration in Festi Marianni on 13 January.
A scapular is a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the monastic and devotional scapular; both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular". As an object of popular piety, a scapular serves to remind wearers of their commitment to live a Christian life.
The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Divino Niño, and Santo Niño in Hispanic nations, refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity until age 12.
The Infant Jesus of Prague is a 16th-century wax-coated wooden statue of the Child Jesus holding a globus cruciger of Spanish origin, now located in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories in Malá Strana, Prague, Czech Republic. First appearing in 1556, pious legends claim that the statue once belonged to Teresa of Ávila and was consequently donated to the Carmelite friars by Princess Polyxena of Lobkowicz in 1628.
The Church of Our Lady of Victories, also referred as the Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague, in Malá Strana, the "Lesser Quarter" of Prague, is a church governed and administered by the Discalced Carmelites.
Purgatorial societies are Roman Catholic Church associations or confraternities which aim to assist souls in purgatory reach heaven. The doctrine concerning purgatory, the condition of the poor souls after death, the communion of saints, and the satisfactory value of our good works form the basis of these associations.
The Holy Face of Jesus is a title for specific images which some Catholics believe to be miraculously formed representations of the face of Jesus Christ. The image obtained from the Shroud of Turin is associated with a specific medal worn by some Roman Catholics and is also one of the Catholic devotions to Christ.
Mary of Saint Peter was a Discalced Carmelite nun who lived in Tours, France. She is best known for starting the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus which is now one of the approved Catholic devotions and for the The Golden Arrow prayer. She also introduced the "Little Sachet" sacramental.
Leo Dupont, also known as "the holy man of Tours" or "the apostle of the Holy Face", was a Roman Catholic layman who helped spread various devotions such as that of the Holy Face of Jesus and the nightly Eucharistic adoration. He was declared venerable by Pope Pius XII.
An archconfraternity is a Catholic confraternity, empowered to aggregate or affiliate other confraternities of the same nature, and to impart to them its benefits and privileges.
Charles Théodore Colet was a French Roman Catholic Archbishop.
Reparation is a Christian theological concept closely connected with those of atonement and satisfaction. In ascetical theology, reparation is the making of amends for insults given to God through sin, either one's own or another's. The response of man is to be reparation through adoration, prayer, and sacrifice. In Roman Catholic tradition, an act of reparation is a prayer or devotion with the intent to expiate the "sins of others", e.g. for the repair of the sin of blasphemy, the sufferings of Jesus Christ or as Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary.
The Pontifical Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face is a Roman Catholic women's congregation of pontifical right whose focus is providing Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ.
The Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood was founded by Francesco Albertini, canon of the Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere, Rome, in 1808.
The Roman Catholic tradition includes a number of devotions to Jesus Christ. Like all Catholic devotions, these prayer forms are not part of the official public liturgy of the church but are based on the popular spiritual practices of Roman Catholics. Many are officially approved by the Holy See as suitable for spiritual growth but not necessary for salvation.
The Blue Scapular of the Immaculate Conception is a devotional scapular that traces its roots to Venerable Ursula Benincasa, who founded the Roman Catholic religious order of the Theatine Nuns. This scapular must have a blue woollen cloth and on one side bears a symbolization of the mystery of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady and on the other the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Scapular of Saint Michael is a Roman Catholic devotional scapular associated with Michael, the Archangel and originated prior to 1878. It was formerly the badge of the now defunct Archconfraternity of the Scapular of Saint Michael.
The Oratory of the Holy Face is a Roman Catholic oratory in Tours France. It was originally established on the Rue St. Etienne, in the former home of Venerable Leo Dupont who did much to promote devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. The Oratory was subsequently relocated to 8 Rue Bernard Palissy. The Dominican Fathers of the French Province have care of the Oratory. It is visited by many Catholic pilgrims every year.
The Archconfraternity of Holy Agony is a lay association for giving special honour to the mental sufferings of Christ during His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was founded as a confraternity in 1862, at Valfleury, France, by Antoine Nicolle (1817–90), a Vincentian priest. Joseph A. Komonchak described it as a type of "counterrevolutionary mysticism".
Our Lady of Pellevoisin is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary which refers to a series of Marian apparitions in Pellevoisin, Indre, France. Pellevoisin is west of Châteauroux in the Catholic Archdiocese of Bourges.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Hilgers, Joseph (1912). "Scapular". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
