Confraternities and archconfraternities
Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarian)
Third Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives · Secular Order of the Most Holy Trinity · Trinitarian Laity · White Scapular of the Most Holy Trinity
St John de Matha founded the TrinitariansInnocent III approved them in 1198Bl. Anna Maria Taigi wore its white scapular
Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (Trinitarians, O.SS.T.). Lay branch presented today as the Third Order / Secular Order at thirdordertrinitarians.org.
Scapulars · SacramentalsThe white Trinitarian scapular with the red and blue cross.
Worth some persistence
Email request. Not published on any page reached.
Open their pageUse the contact form on the Third Order site to ask about joining, because the 'Become a member' button on the homepage does not lead to a public application form.
Members have a portal to sign in to.
The Trinitarians were founded to ransom Christians held as slaves, and their habit carries the red and blue cross on white that gave rise to the white Trinitarian scapular. The lay branch, the Third Order, consecrates itself in a special way to the Most Holy Trinity and carries on the order's work of freeing people from the captivities of our own day. Its roll of lay saints is unusually domestic and encouraging: Bl. Anna Maria Taigi and Bl. Elisabetta Canori Mora were both married mothers in Rome, St Louis of France was a king, and St Benedict Joseph Labre was a homeless pilgrim. What the order calls the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity and what it calls the Secular Order are treated as distinct in its own liturgical calendar, but only the Third Order has a live public presence.
Where it comes from
The Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives was founded by St John de Matha at Cerfroid in 1194, and its Rule was approved by Pope Innocent III on 17 December 1198. The lay branch has existed in various forms since, and the order's own calendar distinguishes saints 'of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity' from those 'of the Secular Order'.
What you promise
Consecration to the Most Holy Trinity, living by the Rule of St John de Matha and what the order calls the Trinitarian Way, and a commitment to charity and to the order's redemptive mission. The published pages do not set out a specific daily prayer rule or a formation timetable.
What the Church attaches
A share in the spiritual goods of the Trinitarian family and its proper feasts, above all Our Lady of Good Remedy on 8 October and St John de Matha on 17 December. No indulgence list is published on the pages retrieved, so none should be claimed.
Something physical is involved
The white Trinitarian scapular with the red and blue cross. A third-party devotional site states that you write to the Trinitarians and receive a certificate and scapular, but that was not confirmed on an order page.
The Fivefold Scapular
Five scapulars sewn into one set and worn together. Each of the five is still its own enrollment, and the records below show that each needs its own faculty or delegation, so one ceremony covers the set only when the priest holds all of them. That is worth asking about plainly when you write: many priests hold one or two.
- Brown of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Confraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Brown Scapular)Who can impose it: A Carmelite priest, or one with the Carmelite faculty.
- Black of the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows (Servite Black Scapular)Who can impose it: A priest holding the Servite faculty, which parish priests do not have automatically.
- Blue of the Immaculate Conception. Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception (Marian Fathers, Blue Scapular)Who can impose it: A priest or deacon delegated by the Marian Fathers.
- White of the Most Holy Trinity. you are reading this oneWho can impose it: A Trinitarian priest, or one using the rite in the Roman Ritual.
- Red of the Passion. The Lesser Scapular Confraternities (no confraternity of its own in this directory: it is reached through that composite record)Who can impose it: A priest with the Vincentian faculty, also called Lazarist.
Enrollment checked 2026-10-22. Details change without notice and parish practice varies. Confirm before relying on this sheet.