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The Charitable Activities of Confraternities

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Sacred Charity

Abstract

Drawing upon the notion of the vita activa and rejecting the contemplative tradition of the cloister, confraternities organized the pursuit of salvation through the practise of good works. Pre-eminent among the good works were those of mercy, and it is my contention in this chapter that in observing merciful works as devotional exercises, confraternities created one of the first ‘institutions’ of social welfare in western history. To understand how private gestures of charity, today only a minor and ephemeral part of the welfare process, could have formed the core of traditional poor relief requires that we enter the spiritual consciousness of the past. We must in the first analysis recognize the powerful stimulus provided by the Christian faith to charitable giving.

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Notes and References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Georgia, USA

    Maureen Flynn (Assistant Professor of History)

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© 1989 Maureen Flynn

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Flynn, M. (1989). The Charitable Activities of Confraternities. In: Sacred Charity. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09043-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09043-3_3

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-09045-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-09043-3

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