The Archconfraternity of Confalone
The Arciconfraternita del Confalone, Roman’s oldest confraternity, dates back to 1246, when the Società di Raccomandati della Vergine company was founded to look after the sacred image of the Salus Populi Romani in the Liberian Basilica. Other “Raccomandati di Maria” groups sprung up in Rome in the fourteenth century, before joining together under the name “Raccomandati del Confalone”, a reference to the Pope’s standard –at that time the Pope was based in Avignon – which they raised during processions to reiterate the pontiff’s sovereignty over Rome. In 1486, Pope Innocent VIII approved the religious guild of the Raccomandati under the name “Confraternita del Confalone”; the association was elevated to Arciconfraternita status in 1579. Pope Gregory XIII entrusted this group with the delicate task of freeing Christian prisoners. The Archconfraternity received funds for this task from associated companies across Italy. In the 1600s, the custom of greeting associated companies as they arrived in Rome for the Holy Year with great fanfare and special rituals became an opportunity to inspire awe. In order not to be upstaged by its counterparts, the Arciconfraternita del Confalone hired a special celebrant, Geronimo Pisone, who was given the title “festarolo”.
Statuti della venerabile Archiconfraternita del Confalone, Roma 1633