Charity and confraternal piety in Malta and Sicily from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century

Abstract

This study is a general review of confraternities in Malta and Sicily through the course of the Ancien Regime. It examines the institutional aspect of the lay brotherhood and focuses on other charitable initiatives undertaken at the time. Confraternities were initially launched by the pious for devotional purposes and soon evolved into formidable parish organizations capable of administering substantial wealth for onward distribution of alms among the destitute. Both civil and ecclesiastical authorities valued the utility of these associations and encouraged their growth to stimulate harmony and benevolence for the common good of society.