Confraternities: Faith and Community

Confraternities were social and mutual self-help organizations operating with the approval of the Catholic Church. Membership was usually restricted  by race, occupation, ethnicity, or location. Each member received a printed patent of membership which outlined indulgences and privileges and usually included a form to be completed with the name of the member, the date of his or her reception into the confraternity, and other certifications.  Utilizing a combination of membership  dues and solicited alms, the confraternities paid for various expenditures including funerals, festivals, mutual assistance, and the maintenance of religious altars and chapels.  On display are three different patents of membership for the Cofradía del Señor San Homobono, acquired as part of a collection of nineteen illustrated patents of membership in Mexican confraternities printed between 1764 and 1809.

Sumario de las gracias é indulgencias perpetuas que gozan los Hermanos de la Cofradía de Jesús Nazareno (1806)	Sumario de las gracias, e indulgencias perpetuas que gozan los Hermanos de la Ilustre Cofradía del Señor San Homobono (1794)	Summario de las gracias e indulgencias de la pia, y devota Hermandad, y Cofradía (1769)