Confraternities and archconfraternities
Purgatorian Archconfraternity
Purgatorian Archconfraternity of Papa Stronsay · Archconfraternity for the Relief of the Poor Souls in Purgatory
The Transalpine Redemptorists, Golgotha Monastery Island, Papa Stronsay, Orkney, Scotland. Masses are offered according to the traditional rites.
A letter or two
Postal mail. Annual membership for one person: 10 pounds / 15 US dollars / 15 euros / 15 Australian or NZ dollars. Perpetual membership for one person: 100 pounds / 150 US dollars / 150 euros / 150 dollars. Annual family membership: 25 pounds / 35 US dollars / 35 euros / 35 dollars. Perpetual family membership: 250 pounds / 350 US dollars / 350 euros / 350 dollars. After nine renewals, meaning ten annual contributions, an annual membership becomes perpetual automatically.
Get the formDownload the PDF application from papastronsay.com, fill it in by hand in block capitals, and post it with a cheque payable to 'Transalpine Redemptorists' to Purgatorian Archconfraternity, Golgotha Monastery Island, Papa Stronsay, Orkney KW17 2AR, United Kingdom.
Members have a portal to sign in to.
The whole point of this one is a daily Mass. You enroll a name, your own or someone else's, living or dead, and from that day a Redemptorist priest on the island of Papa Stronsay offers Mass for everyone on the register, every day. An annual membership buys a year of that; a perpetual membership is meant to continue until the end of time. It is deliberately open to absolutely anyone, since the monks take the view that everybody needs grace: non-Catholics, the unbaptised and non-practising Catholics may all be enrolled, and you do not have to flag any of that on the form. Members are asked, though not under obligation, to do something themselves for the holy souls now and then.
Where it comes from
Presented as a continuation of, and intended to be affiliated with, the Archconfraternity for the Relief of the Poor Souls in Purgatory under the title of the Assumption of Mary, founded in 1841 at the Redemptorist church of Santa Maria in Monterone in Rome. The present form is run from Papa Stronsay.
What you promise
Nothing binds under sin. Members should at least occasionally perform some act of devotion for the relief of the suffering souls, such as having a Mass said, making the Stations of the Cross, praying the Rosary, hearing Mass with that intention or offering a Communion. The monastery notes this is not obligatory under pain of sin but is required in order to gain the indulgences. Members are also asked to promote the devotion to others, and to return old certificates when renewing.
What the Church attaches
Daily Mass on Papa Stronsay for all living and deceased members, in the traditional rite. A share in the prayers the Redemptorist Fathers offer for their benefactors. A special Mass for a member's soul when the member dies and the certificate is returned. The Rosary recited every Monday in the chapel of the Holy Face for deceased members. The monastery is candid about the limits: if the community were ever reduced to two priests, members could expect Mass only once a week, and if the community ceased to exist the obligations would cease. Mass is not offered for the Archconfraternity on Holy Thursday, Good Friday or Holy Saturday.
Something physical is involved
A numbered membership certificate is posted to each member, usually within two months, after a postcard acknowledging receipt. Old certificates must be returned when a membership is renewed or upgraded.
Enrollment checked 2026-10-22. Details change without notice and parish practice varies. Confirm before relying on this sheet.