Cornelius Brotherhood
Cornelius brotherhoods are called religious brotherhoods that are specifically dedicated to the veneration of Pope Cornelius , as is the case with a number of other saints . A total of 32 Cornelius brotherhoods are known, 19 of them in the Netherlands , seven in Germany and six in Belgium . Most of them are in parishes whose church is consecrated to St. Cornelius. Some no longer exist, others are likely to have lost their importance in view of the declining religiosity and may only have a few members. Another part is only a rifle brotherhood or has been from the beginning, but Cornelius chose to be the patron saint .
Emergence
Most were or are primarily "prayer brotherhoods". In Roosendaal , the Netherlands, the statutes of the brotherhood state the following goals: To promote the veneration of the saint, to implore the blessings for the children through his intercession and to get recovery from cramps , gout , epilepsy and nervous disorders. Complete indulgences were granted to fraternity members who confessed , communicated, and prayed in church on certain days .
Despite the term brotherhood, women and children could also become members of a number of them. The parish priest was often the preacher of the brotherhood.
The oldest known Cornelius brotherhood is the “St. Cornelius Schützenbruderschaft Lamersdorf ”in the Düren district, which was founded in 1421. Not much younger is the “St. Cornelius-Schützenbruderschaft Dülken-Nette ”from 1460 in Viersen- Dülken , which still today (2007) celebrates its big four-day shooting festival every four years. According to local tradition, the Cornelius Brotherhood of Straelen -Broekhuysen was founded around 1500; she even had her own Cornelius chapel in the past. In the Netherlands, a Cornelius brotherhood was founded in Landerd- Zeeland around 1540, and it still exists today as a rifle guild. In Belgium, Cornelius brotherhoods were founded in 1681 in Snaaskerke in the Diocese of Tournai , in 1763 in Sint Pieters-Voeren in the Diocese of Liège and in 1768 in Zandvoorde near Ypres . In the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, other foundings were added, especially in the Netherlands, where the worship of Cornelius took off again during this period. The most recent establishments include the brotherhoods in Sint Amands in the Belgian province of Antwerp (1933), in Hooge Mierde in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant (1936 to 1998) and in Germany in Monschau- Rohren in the Aachen district. The “St. Cornelius Schützenbruderschaft Rohren eV "belonged to 80 men in 1994 (with a total of almost 700 inhabitants).
In 1970, on the initiative of committed residents, the "Cornelius Society" was founded in Neuss- Selikum , whose task it is to maintain the tradition of the local worship of Cornelius.
Membership numbers
The number of members in the various Cornelius brotherhoods varied greatly and in some cases fluctuated greatly over time. Often the members did not just come from the places concerned. Since these were often places of pilgrimage at the same time , many pilgrims also registered as members. The largest known number of members of a Cornelius brotherhood is that of 's-Hertogenbosch -Bokhoven in the Netherlands. Around 1900 it comprised more than 22,000 members; In 1939 almost 20,000. Many have already had their newborns accepted as members there. High membership figures are also known from other parts of the Netherlands: In Roosendaal, the brotherhood, which was founded in 1916, had an estimated 6,000 members at its peak around 1930. In Etten-Leur in Noord-Brabant , where a Cornelius brotherhood ("Broederschap van den H. Cornelius") had been founded in 1913, the membership list for the years 1917–1936 comprised around 5,000 people; in 1960 there were around 1,000 members. The Cornelius Brotherhood in Hulst- Lamswaarde, founded in 1897, had 4,607 members in 1925; in the period 1963–1981 there were 1,533. On the other hand, the brotherhood, founded in Cranendonck- Gastel in 1927 , only had 350 members, but only men.
literature
- Peter Jan Margry / Charles Caspers: Bedevaartsplaatsen in Nederland . Amsterdam 1987.
- Matthias Zender: Spaces and layers of medieval veneration of saints in their significance for folklore. The saints of the central Maasland and the Rhineland in cult history and distribution . 2nd edition 1973, Bonn.