Jus novum (c. 1140-1563) Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of the faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life In the Catholic Church, an association of the Christian faithful or simply association of the faithful (Latin: consociationes christifidelium[1]), sometimes called a public association of the faithful,[2] is a group of baptized persons, clerics or laity or both together, who, according to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, jointly foster a more perfect life or promote public worship or Christian teaching, or who devote themselves to other works of the apostolate.
[3] A 20th-century resurgence of interest in lay societies culminated in the Second Vatican Council, but lay ecclesial societies have long existed in forms such as sodalities (defined in the 1917 Code of Canon Law as associations of the faithful constituted as an organic body),[4] confraternities (similarly defined as sodalities established for the promotion of public worship),[5] medieval communes, and guilds.
[12] The Franciscan Brothers of Peace, a canonically recognized Public Association of the Faithful was founded in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1982.
[15] As their particular and primary charism is upholding the dignity of the human person, their ministry has included public anti-abortion prayer vigils, counseling the mentally ill, caring for the elderly and coordinating outdoor adventure programs for youth.
[16] The Saint Francis Third Order Confraternity of Penitents is a private association of the faithful recognized pursuant to CIC/83 canon 299 §3 by the Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend on March 25, 2019.