Knights, guilds and lay societies
Catholic Medical Association
CMA · CathMed · Federation of Catholic Physicians' Guilds
Founded 1932Professional membership association of Catholic physicians, dentists, and other health care professionals, organized as a nonprofit with an episcopal advisor and local diocesan guilds. Not a canonically erected association of the faithful.
A few minutes' work
Online form, paid. The alms are not made clear.
Enroll nowGo to the Join CMA page, click your category (physician, student, seminarian, or associate and affiliate) and pay online, or download and mail the PDF form if you prefer; seminarians must use the mailed or emailed form.
Members have a portal to sign in to.
A professional home for Catholics in medicine who want to practice without checking their conscience at the door. Members get a peer-reviewed bioethics journal (The Linacre Quarterly), advocacy on conscience rights, and the thing most members talk about first, which is finding other practicing Catholic doctors in their own city. Local groups are called guilds and typically meet monthly, often with a Mass and a talk. The national organization runs an annual educational conference, a residents and students Boot Camp, and a leadership training program. For physicians and medical students who have felt like the only one in the room, this is the fix.
What you promise
Annual dues by category (physician, student, seminarian, or associate and affiliate), on a rolling renewal one year from the date your payment processed. Group memberships require five or more people employed by the same organization. Members accept a code of ethics covering professional excellence, accountability, conflict-of-interest disclosure, and confidentiality, and membership can be denied or removed for violations. Membership lapses if dues are unpaid by 31 March of the year they are due. Local guild participation is optional and many guilds charge nothing or a nominal amount.
What the Church attaches
A monthly virtual prayer group, spiritual formation programming, a faith-focused newsletter called Embers, and an episcopal advisor who attends and speaks at the annual conference. Guild meetings commonly include Mass. No indulgences are attached.
Enrollment checked 2026-10-22. Details change without notice and parish practice varies. Confirm before relying on this sheet.