The Angelic Warfare Confraternity is an international spiritual association of the faithful entrusted to the care of the Dominican Order and dedicated to the pursuit of chastity under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Rooted in prayer, fraternity and sacramental life, the Confraternity unites men and women throughout the world who seek purity of heart and freedom for the love of God.
The Confraternity takes its name from the spiritual struggle for holiness described by St. Paul: a warfare not against flesh and blood, but against sin and the powers that draw the human heart away from God. Through mutual prayer, daily devotion and confidence in divine grace, members support one another in living chastely according to their state in life.
A confraternity is a supernatural fellowship, organized and officially recognized by the Catholic Church, to which men and women commit themselves in order to pursue some good together. The bond of charity that unites members of a confraternity reflects the communion of the Holy Trinity and makes the pursuit of the common good easier and more delightful for the members. Some confraternities stand under the patronage of certain saints, such that their members enjoy a special relationship to their heavenly patrons and consequently are given privileged graces and spiritual benefits through that patron’s intercession.
The cord of St. Thomas is a thin cord with fifteen knots in it and blessed by a priest. It is worn around the waist underneath one’s clothing. In place of the cord, one may also wear the medal of the confraternity. On one side, the medal has the image of St. Thomas being girded by the angels, and on the other side it has the image of Our Lady of the Rosary. It too is blessed by a Dominican priest, and is worn like any other medal.
Any priest may bless the cord and medal as long as he uses the following prayer of blessing:
Priest: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, lover and guardian of purity, we implore your great mercy, that as you preserved St. Thomas Aquinas from stain of body and soul by girding him with a cord of chastity through the ministry of the Angels, you may deign to † bless and sanctify † these cords (medals) to your honor and glory, so that who ever reverently carries and wears them around his waist (bears and wears them) may be purified from all uncleanness of mind and body and may merit to be presented worthily to you by the hands of the Angels in his passing from this life. You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
Not necessarily. All confraternity members wear the blessed cord or medal as continuously as reasonably possible for the rest of their lives. The cord or medal or both are also worn while bathing and sleeping. Experience reveals the advantages of wearing the blessed cord or medal as continuously as possible.
However, members ought to use their common sense and prudence in this matter. Sometimes, there are circumstances that require one to remove the cord or medal, e.g. during surgery, during athletic events, perhaps during intimate moments in marriage, etc.. When such circumstances pass, the members put the cord or medal back on.
Fifteen Hail Marys
In honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, members say fifteen Hail Mary’s for chastity for themselves and all the members of the Confraternity. It is also sufficient to dedicate fifteen of the Hail Mary’s of the Rosary as being “for the Confraternity.”
The Two Prayers of Saint Thomas
In devotion to Saint Thomas, members also say the following two prayers:
The Confraternity Prayer to St. Thomas for Purity
Chosen lily of innocence, pure St. Thomas, who kept chaste the robe of baptism and became an angel in the flesh after being girded by two angels, I implore you to commend me to Jesus, the Spotless Lamb, and to Mary, the Queen of Virgins. Gentle protector of my purity, ask them that I, who wear the holy sign of your victory over the flesh, may also share your purity, and after imitating you on earth may at last come to be crowned with you among the angels. Amen.
The Prayer of St. Thomas for Purity
Dear Jesus, I know that every perfect gift, and especially that of chastity, depends on the power of Your providence. Without You a mere creature can do nothing. Therefore, I beg You to defend by Your grace the chastity and purity of my body and soul. And if I have ever sensed or imagined anything that could stain my chastity and purity, blot it out, Supreme Lord of my powers, that I may advance with a pure heart in Your love and service, offering myself on the most pure altar of Your divinity all the days of my life. Amen.
Membership in the Confraternity is established through enrollment in its official register following the rite of reception. During this ceremony, a Dominican priest, or another duly appointed priest, receives the candidate’s intention to join. After the ceremony, the priest submits the enrollment to the director of the Confraternity, who records the new member in the official register.
During the enrollment ceremony, members receive a blessed cord and medal of St. Thomas. Members wear either the blessed cord of St. Thomas or blessed medal of St. Thomas (or both) as continuously as one reasonably can.
Members say the daily prayers for purity for oneself and all the members of the Confraternity. The daily prayers consist of two special prayers for chastity and fifteen Hail Mary’s.
The origins of the Confraternity are closely linked to the life of St. Thomas Aquinas. According to the ancient tradition preserved in the records of his canonization, while imprisoned by his family for entering the Dominican Order, Thomas resisted a temptation against chastity and afterward received a vision in which angels girded him with a cord as a sign of a special grace of purity. From this devotion arose the practice of wearing the cord of St. Thomas as a sign of confidence in God’s grace and the saint’s intercession.
Over time, devotion to the cord of St. Thomas spread throughout Europe, especially among students and young people seeking holiness of life. In the 17th century, the Dominican friar Franciscus Deurweerders organized the devotion into a confraternity at the Catholic University of Louvain.
The Confraternity was later formally approved for the universal Church by Pope Benedict XIII in 1727 and remains one of the historic confraternities of the Dominican Order.
