Confraternities and archconfraternities
Confraternity of Our Lady of Good Counsel
Pia Unione Primaria Madre del Buon Consiglio · Primary Pious Union of the Mother of Good Counsel · Our Mother of Good Counsel Confraternity
Benedict XIV enrolled himself in it
Augustinians (Order of Saint Augustine), Basilica Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel, Genazzano, near Rome, Italy. Local Pious Unions across Italy and elsewhere are affiliated to the Genazzano primary union.
Sacramentals · At a shrineBelongs to Augustinians (Order of Saint Augustine), Basilica Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel, Genazzano, near Rome, Italy.An image, medal or scapular of the Mother of Good Counsel, kept with you.
Worth some persistence
Email request. An offering according to your means; no fixed amount is published. Payment is by Italian postal account CCP 1045699186 or IBAN IT72P0760103200001045699186, payable to Convento S. Maria del Buon Consiglio.
Write to enrollGenazzano works in Italian, so put iscrizione alla Pia Unione Primaria in your message. The offering follows afterwards by Italian postal account or IBAN.
You email or write to the shrine at santuariombc@gmail.com, or phone the convent, to ask to be enrolled, then send the offering by Italian postal account or IBAN quoting iscrizione alla Pia Unione Primaria, all of it in Italian with no online form.
This is the Augustinian society built around the fifteenth century image of Our Mother of Good Counsel at Genazzano. The daily practice is short and memorable: at least three Hail Marys with the invocation Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us. You keep an image, medal or scapular of Our Mother of Good Counsel with you. Once a year you have a Mass celebrated for all the members, or if that is not possible you attend Mass and receive Communion for them. Members describe their role as being operatori di salvezza, workers of salvation, who spread her message. The reason people join is unusually concrete: a Mass is offered every single day, perpetually, for each enrolled member whether living or dead.
Where it comes from
Confraternities honouring the Genazzano image existed from the fifteenth century. The Pious Union was instituted by Pope Benedict XIV on 2 February 1753 and ratified by apostolic brief on 2 June 1753. Pius XI raised it to Primary rank on 29 March 1924, giving it the power to affiliate other pious unions, confraternities and prayer groups.
What you promise
Ask the Rector of the Basilica, who is Director of the Primary Pious Union at Genazzano, to enroll you. Make an offering according to your means. Say at least three Hail Marys every day with the invocation Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us. Keep with you an image, medal or scapular of the Mother of Good Counsel. Each year celebrate, or have celebrated, a Mass for all members of the Primary Pious Union, and if that is impossible, make up for it by attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist.
What the Church attaches
A perpetual daily Mass is celebrated for every enrolled member, living or dead. The Eucharistic celebration on 25 April and the novena preceding the feast at the Basilica of Genazzano are offered for the spiritual benefit of all members of the Primary Pious Union. Various partial and plenary indulgences, granted by successive popes over the centuries and listed in the enrollment booklet sent to members. Members also receive the Madre del Buon Consiglio magazine, published for nearly a century and a half.
Enrollment checked 2026-10-22. Details change without notice and parish practice varies. Confirm before relying on this sheet.