FAQ

A Marian Sodality is a community of lay Catholics directed by a Jesuit, filled with holy restlessness, formed by the Spiritual Exercises, centered on Christ and consecrated to Mary, that commits itself to devout prayer, continual formation, and magnanimous service to neighbor. Marian Sodalities are rooted in the Jesuit tradition dating back to the prima primaria, the first community founded at the Roman College in 1563.

The full name, ‘Sodality of Our Lady’, is also known as a ‘Marian Congregation’, and is a particular kind of ‘association of the faithful’ in the Church.

The unique spirit of the Marian Sodality is that it unites lay people who are filled with a holy restlessness for more, magis, and desire to commit themselves to greater spiritual and apostolic activities than the ordinary Catholic obligations. An early definition of the purpose of the Sodalities captures this spirit perfectly, “The first aim of a Sodality must be the cultivation of a more perfect life like to the life of Christ.” (Sodality Rules, 1601) Sodalists desire to be ardent followers of Jesus Christ carrying his cross and valiant servants of the Church. In this endeavor the Sodality takes as its model Our Lady, who surrendered herself completely to God at the annunciation (cf. Lk. 1:38), who stood beneath the cross suffering with her son (Jn. 19:26-27), and who was at the heart of the Apostolic Church (cf. Acts 1:14). Sodalists express their devotion to Mary by making a formal consecration to Her as part of their final initiation into the Sodality. This consecration to Mary that binds the Sodalist to a lifelong spiritual commitment is at the heart of the spirit of the Sodality.

The activities of the Sodality of Our Lady are centered around specific commitments organized under four pillars: prayer, formation, community, and service.

For prayer, Sodalists commit to a series of prayers every morning and evening, to a Mass during the week, to monthly confession, and to an annual retreat.

For formation, Sodalists meet with their Sodality once a week for formation and commit themselves to persevere in personal spiritual growth.

For community, Sodalists recreate together each month and support each other in their commitments.

For service, a Sodality commits to performing a work of mercy together once a month. For more on the spirit and practices of the Sodality, see the page: The Spirit of the Sodality.

Sodalities share many of the same features of other lay organizations, such as community, prayer, and formation. What makes the Sodality different is that it integrates all of these elements into a coherent way of life. One need not join a Bible Study for formation, a youth Mass for prayer, and a youth group for community. The Sodality is a community that unites all of these features together. Beyond the integrated way of life that the Sodality is, there are five main differences between a Sodality and other parish youth and young adult groups.

1. First, there is a higher standard of expectation and commitment in a Sodality than a parish youth group or young adult group. There is a process of candidacy before someone can become a Sodalist, testing whether a person is committed and able to fulfill the expectations of the Sodality. Then, in order to become a full Sodalist, one must make a consecration to Mary and promise to fulfill the commitments of the Sodality.
2. Second, the Sodality has a specific spirituality drawn from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and characterized by a strong devotion to Mary. Along with this, the director of a Sodality is a Jesuit. Most youth groups have a more general spirituality and are led by lay ministers.
3. Third, the Sodality has a structured formation program that is ongoing. Most youth groups have more piecemeal formation that is not sequential.
4. Fourth, although the Sodality has age specific groups, these are interconnected, forming an inter-generational network of communities. One can be in a high school Sodality and then transition into a college Sodality or the adult Sodality beyond graduation. Whereas one eventually ages out of the youth group and college Bible Study. A Sodalist never ages out of the Sodality.
5. Fifth, the Sodality is part of an international network of Sodalities, with a tradition dating back over four hundred years. This history is a great inspiration and source of strength, and the network allows Sodalists to connect with communities in different parts of the world as part of one common identity. Most youth groups are tied to one parish without a common identity with other groups.

Sodalities of Our Lady are most akin to the ‘Third Orders’ of other religious traditions, such as the Third Order Franciscans. Many of the structures, such as Rules, promises, commitments, and a hierarchical organization, are similar. The differences are that the Sodalities are based on Ignatian spirituality, and not Franciscan, Dominican, etc., they are tied to the Jesuits and not another religious order, they have a strong devotion to Mary, and they originated as student groups before adult groups emerged, thus maintaining a youth-focused orientation.

The lay ecclesial movements of the post-Vatican II era, such as the Neo-Catechumenal Way, Focolare, and Communion and Liberation, are different from the Sodality and Third Orders in that they are not associated with a religious order and do not draw from a specific spiritual tradition. They are mostly lay founded and lay led, except in the case of Communion and Liberation, which was founded by a priest. They are similar to the Sodality and Third Orders in that they are a community of lay Catholic committed to a common way of life.

For more on the history of associations of the faithful, see the Catholic Encyclopedia entry.

For an overview and directory of many ‘associations of the faithful’ formally approved by the Holy See, see the Vatican directory.

“The Sodality enrolls men [and women] who have written the word more on their standards. They should be Sodalists who in the meditation on the kingdom are called ‘prompt’ and ‘diligent’, who want to lay at the feet of their King and Lord ‘offerings of greater value’. This oblation consists in a readiness to become like the king who through His labours alone brought the world back to the Father. Basically this means self-denial, one’s own sanctification through assimilation to the Crucified. Even as early as 1601 we read in the Manuale Sodalitatis: ‘The first aim of a Sodality must be the cultivation of a more perfect life like to the life of Christ.’….It is here, above all, that the élite are distinguished from the masses.”

Again, it is widely believed that all of the Sodalities in the world were required to change their name and their practices in order to become the same as the new Christian Life Communities. This is also not the case. Fr. Arrupe, in the same letter quoted above, states, “With regard to names, the public title of World Federation of Sodalities of Our Lady has been changed to World Federation of Communities of Christian Life (CVX); however, national federations are allowed to retain the name used thus far or to adopt some other title.” (#3) As for the practices of the Sodalites, Fr. Arrupe briefly affirms each of the major elements of the Sodality, in particular the Marian consecration, as he explains, “No one should think that the new manner in which the Sodality is described in the General Principles is intended to detract in any way from the role of the Virgin Mary in the personal and collective life of the Sodalities, as the Church desires. The correct interpretation of the General Principles, therefore, does not eliminate the proper concept of what is known as a consecration or oblation to Our Lady or of its longstanding practice as approved and praised by the Church.” (Letter to the Whole Society on the Sodalities of Our Lady, August 5th, 1968, 4.c) Thus, the creation of the new Christian Life Communities did not require all of the Sodalities to change their practices as well. They were encouraged to remain with the same fundamental elements. In a sense, Fr. Arrupe envisioned that the Sodalities would continue to exist, even as the new General Principles gave an impulse towards what became a new expression of the Sodality spirit in the CLC communities.

“Since its founding in 1968, the World Federation of Communities of Christian Life has grown and spread throughout the world. It is an official lay association of the faithful that, although juridically independent from the Society of Jesus, with its own leaders and governance, still enjoys a close relationship with the Society. The Superior General of the Society of Jesus is the official ecclesiastical assistant to CLC, with many national and local CLC organizations having Jesuit ecclesiastical assistants as well. As a lay led organization, CLCs have developed their own distinguished history and identity, boasting over 25,000 members in sixty countries. CLC groups are governed by their General Principles and are organized into National Associations, which meet in General Assembly every five years.

The Sodalities have had a different trajectory. The 1968 letter of Fr. Arrupe dissolved their aggregation to the Prima Primaria. For a time some of them were associated under the World Federation of Communities of Christian Life, while others came to exist as independent associations of the lay faithful. As the CLCs continued to develop their new way of life, the student Sodalities at Jesuit institutions received less and less attention, most of which slowly died away or became dormant. The Sodalities that continued to thrive in an unbroken line through all of the changes, such as the Agrupación Catolica Universitaria in Miami and the Sodality in Dublin, eventually became fully independent from the CLCs and maintained a different relationship to the Society of Jesus. The Sodalities that exist today are separate from the CLCs and maintain their own traditions and practices.

Therefore, one can say that today the Sodalities and the CLCs exist as two distinct movements in the Church, with different visions and practice, yet sharing in a common spiritual heritage that goes back to the Prima Primaria of 1563, as two branches from a common trunk.”

Both the Marian Sodalities and the Christian Life Communities have their roots and development from the Sodality founded by Jan Leunis, SJ at the Roman College in 1563. Both have their history related to the Society of Jesus. Both base their spirituality on the Spiritual Exercises. Both are communities of lay people united in pray and service. From this common source, Sodalities and CLCs differ in their emphases and foci.

1. Different Origin: The Sodalities are the direct, unbroken continuation of the Sodalities begun in 1563, the same organization grown and developed over the years. CLC sees its roots in the Marian Sodalities but itself proclaims that the changes that took place from 1967-71 represent “almost a new beginning” and “new identity”, with new rules, a new juridical structure, and a new name.
2. Youth vs Adult: The Sodalities were created in Jesuit colleges to form lay students in devotion and service and they have continued to have young people at Jesuit institutions as their primary focus. The Christian Life Communities were created for adults living in the world who desired deeper community and spiritual formation. Adult small groups continue to be the primary focus.
3. Jesuit led vs Lay led: The Sodalities have always been led by Jesuits. The overall movement of CLC has been toward lay leadership from the beginning. Now Jesuits do not lead or govern CLCs, and instead provide support as Ecclesiastical assistants.
4. Common spirituality accented differently: The Sodalities have had a spirituality based on the Spiritual Exercises, thus centered on Jesus Christ, emphasizing the magis which leads to serving in the Church, coupled with a strong devotion to Mary. The CLCs also base their spirituality on the Spiritual Exercises, emphasizing austere living, solidarity with marginalized people, integrating contemplation and action, and discernment. Principle 9 of the General Principles of CLC highlights Mary as a model and intercessor, yet without the same consecration and devotion exhibited in the Sodalities. Thus, the two organizations draw from the same source, but emphasize different aspects of that tradition.

Different Ministries: Sodalities have a narrower focus of ministry than the CLCs. Sodalities have focused their service in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, with feeding the poor and teaching catechism to children being historically the most prominent. CLC has a much more expansive vision of its apostolic work, delineating five areas of activity: ecology, spirituality, family, globalization and poverty, and youth.