Confraternities of the Cord

Christian pious associations whose members wear a cord, girdle, or cincture
The Confraternities of the Cord are pious associations in the Roman Catholic Church whose members wear a cord, girdle, or cincture in honour of a saint whom they wish to honour and to bear in mind some special grace or favour which they hope to obtain through the saint's intercession.

In the early church, virgins wore a cincture as a sign purity and hence it has been considered a symbol of chastity as well as of mortification and humility. The wearing of a cord or cincture in honour of a saint is of very ancient origin. The first mention of it is in the life of Saint Monica who in a vision received a belt from the Virgin Mary, who assured her that she would take under her special protection all those who wore it in her honour. In the Middle Ages cinctures were also worn by the faithful in honour of saints, though no confraternities were formally established. At a later date, the church introduced blessings of cinctures in honour of the Most Precious Blood, of the Virgin Mary, of Saint Francis of Paola, and Saint Philomena. Confraternities had their beginnings in the early Middle Ages, and developed rapidly from the end of the twelfth century from the rise of the religious orders. The main object and duty of the confraternities were, above all, the practice of piety and works of charity. There are various confraternities of the Cord, whose members wear a cord as insignia just as members of other confraternities wear a scapular. There are three archconfraternities and one confraternity the members of which wear a cord or cincture.

The oldest and most celebrated of these confraternities of the Cord is probably the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation, also called the Archconfraternity of the Cincture of Saint Monica, Saint Augustine and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino. and a white cord with three knots came subsequently to form part of the Franciscan habit. According to the Franciscan historian Luke Wadding, Saint Dominic received the cord from Saint Francis when they exchanged their girdles in a sign of friendship. From that day on, Dominic always wore it under his habit out of devotion to his fellow founder. Confraternities of the Cord of Saint Joseph must be aggregated to the archconfraternity in the Church of St. Roch at Rome in order to enjoy its spiritual favours and indulgences.

The Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena is an apostolate in which members commit to live "according to the Gospel of Christ with the example of Saint Philomena", spreading devotion to her, and encouraging youth to walk the Christian life. Members of the Universal who wear the Cord of Saint Philomena will be "preserve[d], chaste and pure, safe from temptation" as it has "the virtue of healing sickness of body and spirit". The names of those enrolled at a Confraternity of Saint Philomena site must be forwarded to the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena, in order to be "recorded in the general registry of the Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena".

It is related in the life of Saint Thomas Aquinas that as a reward for his overcoming a temptation against purity, he was girded with a cord by angels and that in consequence, he was never again tempted against this virtue. This cord is still preserved in the church at Chieri, Italy. Soon after the saint's death many of the faithful began to wear a cord in honour of Saint Thomas, to obtain the grace of purity through his intercession. The first Confraternity of the Cord of Saint Thomas was erected at the Catholic University of Leuven by the Belgian Dominican friar Franciscus Deurweerders in 1649, and numbered among its members all the professors and students of the Faculty of Theology (which has Thomas Aquinas as patron saint) and many of the faithful. Thence it spread to Maastricht, Vienna, and many other cities of Europe. In the 17th century, societies were formed at different universities, the members of which wore a cord in honour of Saint Thomas.