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Archconfraternity of Death and Prayer

A huge famine and the particularly intense cold that struck Rome in the winter of 1538 killed many Romans and impoverished pilgrims. Moved by human compassion, a group of believers founded the Compagnia della buona morte to bury people who had passed away in poverty, alone or far from their homes, and who would therefore not otherwise have had a decent burial. The organization was later renamed the Confraternita della morte ed orazione, owing to its custom of praying for the souls of the dead and for performing the Forty Hours’ ritual, which they did every third Sunday of the month. Pius IV elevated it to the status of confraternity in 1560. The charter on show, which was approved in 1590, was reformed in 1698. It was reprinted to mark the 1750 Jubilee. The Roman archconfraternity was associated with a number of Companies, which they welcomed and accommodated during Jubilees.

Statuti della vener. Archiconfraternità della morte et oratione, Roma 1590

Data on the number of pilgrims and companies catered to by the Santissimo Crocifisso di San Marcello and the Death and Prayer archconfraternities during the 1675 Jubilee

In the Holy Year of 1675, the Arciconfraternita del Santissimo Crocifisso di San Marcello greeted and accommodated close to thirty different companies. Even more detail comes from Abbot Caetano of the Arciconfraternita della morte e orazione, which greeted around five thousand people from twenty-one different companies, in exchange receiving more than 1300 escudos in alms.

Ruggero Caetano, Le memorie de l'anno santo M. DC. LXXV celebrato da papa Clemente X e consacrate alla santità di n.s. papa Innocenzo XII, descritte in forma di giornale..., Roma 1691

The Archconfraternity of Death and Oration of Rome

A huge famine and the particularly intense cold that struck Rome in the winter of 1538 killed many Romans and impoverished pilgrims. Moved by human compassion, a group of believers founded the Compagnia della buona morte to bury people who had passed away in poverty, alone or far from their homes, and who would therefore not otherwise have had a decent burial. The organization was later renamed the Confraternita della morte ed orazione, owing to its custom of praying for the souls of the dead and for performing the Forty Hours’ ritual, which they did every third Sunday of the month. Pius IV elevated it to the status of confraternity in 1560. The charter on show, which was approved in 1590, was reformed in 1698. It was reprinted to mark the 1750 Jubilee. The Roman archconfraternity was associated with a number of Companies, which they welcomed and accommodated during Jubilees.

Statuti della ven. archiconfraternita della morte, ed orazione prima approvati, e confermati l'anno 1590, e poi riformati l'anno 1698, e ristampati nell'anno del santissimo giubileo MDCCL, Roma 1750