Confreres and Consorelles
People need more than just technical help. They need humanity, care and attention. We need to stand out by not limiting ourselves to do what is convenient in that moment, but rather by dedicating ourselves to our neighbour with heartfelt attention, so that others can experience our human richness.
Alongside professional preparedness, what is also and especially necessary is the “education of the heart”.
(Benedictus XVI, Deus caritas est, n° 31)
The Confreres
Misericordia is a volunteer organization devoted to the constant promotion of charity and Christian fraternity through spiritual and corporal acts of mercy, helping individuals and communities and contributing to the formation of conscience in accordance with the teachings of the Gospel and the Roman Apostolic Church.
These words best describe the spirit that guides the daily actions of the Confraternities throughout Italy.
The volunteer is the most important figure, playing an essential role in pursuing the aims and purposes on which every Misericordia is based. Volunteers can have different qualifications:
Volunteers aspiring to become Confreres
Those who collaborate in volunteer services for a fixed period of time as defined by the Statute or Regulations (usually over one year). During this period they experience the life of the Confraternity and prepare to become full participants, often accompanied by senior Confreres. They can then be admitted in most cases to the role of Full Confreres. According to the Statute, Confreres Buonavoglia may also be required to complete an aspirant period, during which they will also follow an adequate training programme.
Aspiring volunteers are not included in the members’ register, but only in the volunteers’ register, as provided for by the Third Sector Code. For this reason, they do not enjoy social rights, but may participate in the meetings as observers, without the right to vote or stand for election.
After an adequate period of service and training, the volunteer becomes a fully-fledged Confrere or a Consorelle. This transition is formally marked by the Vesting Ritual.
Full Confreres
They constitute the functional body of the Confraternity. They are the active Confreres and Consorelles who carry out charitable works of the Misericordia and contribute to its various services in the spirit that guides the association. They enjoy all the social rights established by the Statute and Regulations and fully participate in the Assembly with the right to vote. They acquire the right to stand for election after a period of time defined by the statute, usually no longer than two years, during which they acquire the knowledge necessary to lead a Misericordia.
Confreres Buonavoglia
They spiritually adhere to the charitable and Christian ideals of the Confraternity. Since they don’t participate in the exercise of charitable works, they commit to supporting the works and services, both morally and financially, through their contribution fee. They enjoy all social rights established by the Statute and Regulations, as well as the right to vote and to stand for election as the Full Confreres.
The symbol of the Confrere of the Misericordia is the image depicted by Master Pietro Annigoni in a fresco over two meters high which adorns the facade of the Misericordia of Florence in Piazza Duomo, next to Giotto’s bell tower. The image portrays a Confrere of the Misericordia carrying a sick person with the typical wooden basket (“zana”).
The image is portrayed from behind, so that the face of the Confrere remains covered, nearly blending with that of the sick person. In the background, the gothic letters FM, the symbol of the Fraternity of the Misericordie, are clearly visible. This is because, today as in the past, at the end of every service, the only recognition that a Confrere can receive from God through the words of an unknown brother is: “may God reward you”.