Confraternities and archconfraternities
Confraternity of Penitents
CFP · Franciscan Third Order Penitents · Brothers and Sisters of Penance of St Francis
Private Catholic association of the faithful with commendation, in good standing in the Diocese of Fort Wayne and South Bend, with international headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
A letter or two
Free online form. Free to apply; donations invited. Formation materials and gatherings may carry costs that are not published on the application page.
Enroll nowThere is an online application form, and you may instead paste the text version into an email or post it, but it asks searching personal questions, is followed by an interview, and leads into a four year formation rather than immediate membership.
This is the most demanding group on this list, and it says so plainly. Members live a medieval penitential rule in their own homes: fixed daily prayer, fasting and abstinence beyond what the Church requires of everyone, plain dress, restraint about possessions, and regular confession. Formation takes four years, with an assigned formator, and can be done by email, post or in person. Monthly meetings happen over Zoom, with local gatherings where enough members live close together. People join because they want a structured, accountable life of conversion rather than a devotion they can fit around everything else.
Where it comes from
Refounded on the Queenship of Mary, 22 August 2003, to live the original Rule of 1221 given to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance.
What you promise
Apply as an Inquirer, read the Rule and Constitutions first, then expect a phone interview with your Regional Minister. Formation runs four years through Postulancy and three years of Novitiate before a life pledge to live the Rule. Members must be practising Catholics who accept the teaching of the Church and remain in union with the Pope and the Magisterium; a married applicant needs spousal approval. Dual membership with the Secular Franciscan Order, Dominican Laity, Third Order Carmelites and some others is not allowed, though people in that situation, non-Catholics and those in irregular marriages may be accepted as Associates who live as much of the Rule as possible.
What the Church attaches
Applicants are added to the Confraternity's daily prayer list on receipt of the application. Members share in the common prayer, the formation programme and the fraternal support of the Confraternity, and have a priest, deacon or religious as spiritual advisor where local groups exist. The Confraternity does not publish a list of indulgences.
Enrollment checked 2026-10-22. Details change without notice and parish practice varies. Confirm before relying on this sheet.