Arciconfraternita del SS. Crocifisso in S. Marcello (Rome, Italy)

This confraternity had its origin in a special devotion that referred to a crucifix in the Church of S. Marcello. The crucifix had been recovered intact after a fire had destroyed the church. Many people began to venerate the image in a distinctive way. In 1522, when Rome was attacked by a contagious disease, some devout people instituted a society of persons who carried the crucifix in procession to the Basilica of St. Peter, begging pardon of the Lord for their faults. This society was eventually called the Arciconfraternit ̉del SS. Crocifisso.

In 1523 Clement VII confirmed the statutes of the oratory of the archconfraternity and Julius III (1550) granted it the privilege of freeing every year a prisoner condemned to death, a privilege no longer enjoyed by the society. Legend has it that among those who benefited from such a concession was the celebrated Bernardo Cenci, a young boy of fifteen who, along with his sister Beatrice, was accused of parricide. After three days Bernardo was set free from prison and death but with the condition that each year he would pay twenty-five scudi to the Arciconfraternit ̉della Santissima Trinita. It was later demonstrated by the celebrated jurist Farinaccio that Bernardo was innocent.

On the day of the Epiphany the archconfraternity gives clothing, dinner, and alms to three poor people in honor of the Most Holy Trinity. It has its station a little distance from the Church of S. Marcello, built by Cardinal Alessandro and Ranuccio Farnese, the faȧde of which was designed by Vignola. The statutes of the archconfraternity were published in Urbino in 1771.

From the description of Archivio della Arciconfraternita del SS. Crocifisso in S. Marcello, 1400-1890. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 145570052