Children of Mary

The Sodality of Our Lady (also known as the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary (in Latin, Congregationes seu sodalitates B. Mariæ Virginis) is a Roman Catholic Marian Society founded in 1563 by young Belgian Jesuit, Jean Leunis (or Jan), at the Collegio Romano of the Society of Jesus. The Ignatian lay group, Christian Life Community, traces its origins to the first Sodality.

Although first established for young school boys, the Papal bull, Superna Dispositione, Sodalities for adults, under the authority of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, were allowed to be established (as aggregates of the Sodality at the Roman College). Later on, Sodalities would be established for particular groups in society, such as Priests, Noblemen and Women, Merchants, Labourers, Clerks, the Married, the Unmarried, Soldiers, Street Sodalities (ad infinitum). Each of these groups would be affiliated with the 'Prima-Primaria Sodality' of the Roman College, and met at the Oratory of San Francesco Saverio del Caravita.

The Jesuit historian, John W. O'Malley wrote of the foundations of the Sodality in his book The First Jesuits, that, 'It was... made up especially of younger boys (pueri) from the college, who agreed to daily mass, weekly confession, monthly Communion, as well as to a half-hour of meditation each day and to some other pious exercises. They would also "serve the poor."' He goes on to write that, "The choice of Mary as patron reflected the strong Marian element in Leunis's personal piety, but it was also probably considered appropriate for the age of the members".

In 1569 a division of the sodality in the Roman College became necessary on account of the large number of members. The older pupils, those over eighteen years of age, formed a sodality for themselves, while the younger were formed into another. Soon there were three sodalities in the Roman College. In 1584, the Roman Sodality was made an archsodality by the Bull, "Omnipotentis Dei", of Gregory XIII.

Wherever the Society of Jesus went to establish colleges or missions, a sodality of the Blessed Virgin was soon erected in that place. In all the larger cities of Europe where the Jesuits established themselves firmly, they founded not merely one, but as many as seven or even twenty different sodalities. During the period that the sodalities were connected with the houses and churches of the Jesuits the membership rose to many hundred thousands.

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Wikipedia