Confraternities and archconfraternities
Archconfraternity of the Holy Face of Jesus (Tours)
Archiconfrerie de la Sainte Face · Oratory of the Holy Face, Tours · Work of Reparation to the Holy Face · Holy Face Association (a separate US body, see note)
Leo Dupont the Holy Man of Tours, whose reparation work it grew fromSt Therese of Lisieux was enrolled in it with all her familyLeo XIII raised it to an archconfraternity
Oratoire de la Sainte Face, Tours, France, in the Archdiocese of Tours. In the United States, Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence, Massachusetts enrolls members into the same archconfraternity, and the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary also distribute the forms.
Sacramentals · At a shrineBelongs to Oratoire de la Sainte Face, Tours, France, in the Archdiocese of Tours.A Holy Face medal, cross or picture.
Open to anyone, today
Free online form. Free (the form shows a total of 0.00 euro). A 20 euro offering for a Mass at the oratory is a separate optional tick box. By contrast the separate Holy Face Association at holyface.com makes its own membership conditional on a donation.
Enroll nowThe Tours oratory has a live web form where you tick inscription personnelle, definitive et gratuite, fill in your name, address, phone and email, and submit at a total of 0.00 euro; the only real hurdle is that the form is in French.
This society exists to make up for public insults against God: blasphemy, mockery of religion, and treating Sunday as just another day. A member wears an image of the Holy Face on a cross, medal or scapular, and each day says one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be and a short line of praise, O Lord, show us Thy Face and we shall be saved. The family of St Therese of Lisieux were all enrolled in this register, and Therese took the Holy Face into her own religious name. People join because they want a small daily act of repair for things they cannot otherwise do anything about.
Where it comes from
Grew out of the reparation work of Leo Dupont, the Holy Man of Tours, and the revelations to Sr Marie de St Pierre in the 1840s. The Oratory of the Holy Face at Tours was established in 1876 and the association was approved as an archconfraternity by Pope Leo XIII in 1885.
What you promise
Be inscribed on the archconfraternity's register. Receive the rule with your certificate of enrollment. Recite daily, for the intentions of the archconfraternity, one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be and the Act of Praise. Undertake to avoid blasphemy and the profanation of Sunday, and to repair these by an exterior or interior act of reparation. Wear an image of the Holy Face on a cross, medal or scapular. Attend the monthly devotional prayer meetings so far as you can. Promote the devotion. The US branch adds a set of Sunday and holy day prayers including the Act of Reparation.
What the Church attaches
Membership is perpetual and free. Indulgences granted to the archconfraternity by Leo XIII and later popes. A share in the prayers and reparation of all the members past and present, including the Martin family. Members enrolled through Lawrence, Massachusetts receive a Holy Face Protection Cross, the Manual of the Archconfraternity and a dated certificate.
Enrollment checked 2026-10-22. Details change without notice and parish practice varies. Confirm before relying on this sheet.