Official International Statutes

	International Statutes
	Association of the Holy Medal of the Immaculate Conception (Association of the Miraculous Medal) Download this document in Microsoft Word

Most Holy Father,

Robert Maloney, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission and of the Daughters of Charity humbly sets forth the following:|

The pious Association of the Holy Medal of the Immaculate Conception, popularly known as the Association of the Miraculous Medal, whose purpose and statutes were approved and confirmed by His Holiness St. Pius X on July 8, 1909, has been established in many dioceses. The recently revised purposes and statutes of this Association, which are now set forth for approval, are as follows:

Article 1. Origin of the Devotion

The Association of the Holy Medal of the Immaculate Virgin stands as a living and constant reminder of the apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary in 1830, whose feast is celebrated annually on November 27. In this apparition, the Virgin gave a model of the medal, which quickly spread throughout the world. It was called by the people "miraculous" because of the many remarkable favors which God daily performed through its instrumentality.

Article 2. Purpose of the Association

This Association has the purpose of recalling Mary conceived without sin; and also the sanctification of its members, integral formation in the Christian life, and the apostolate of charity especially to those most abandoned. Mary's Holy Medal, both by the symbolism which it shows and by the power it enjoys, offers both a model and assistance for those purposes.

Article 3. Leadership

§1. The Director General
This Association is under the authority of one Director General, the Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission and of the Daughters of Charity. (AAS, I [1909], 669-671)

§2. The National Director, or President

A National Director, or President, is appointed by the Director General for a territory he designates.

§3. The Diocesan Advisor

A Diocesan Advisor proposed by the National Director is appointed by a diocesan bishop to animate the Association in his particular church and works under the authority of the National Director.

Article 4. Membership

§1. General Members

All the faithful can become general members of this Association and share in its privileges. They are general members who wear the Holy Medal which has been blessed by a priest. It is fitting that they wear the medal around the neck. It is desirable that they receive a medal blessed by a priest, and that it be conferred either by a priest or by a delegated lay person according to the rite which has been approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship. However, this rite, together with the conferral of the medal, is not required for a person to become a member of the Association.

§2. Particular Members

Particular members are those who have been registered in the records of the Association. The criteria for membership are determined by the particular statutes of the Association.

Article 5. Particular Statutes

Particular Statutes of the Association are proposed by the National Director and approved by the Director General.

Article 6. Indulgences

Members of the Association of the Holy Medal of the Immaculate Conception enjoy the indulgences granted in perpetuity according to the rescript of the Sacred Penitentiary given on October 27, 1995.

1. on the day of investiture,
2. on the feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal,
3. on the feast of the Queenship of Mary,
4. on the feast of St. Catherine Labouré,
5. on the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, and
6. on the anniversary of the establishment of the Association.

Article 7. Liturgical Feast Day

The principal feast of the Association is November 27, on which the apparition of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is recalled.

Article 8. Closing Exhortation

The members, remembering that Mary, "taken up to heaven did not lay aside her task in the plan of salvation, but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation" (Lumen Gentium, 62), should very frequently pray the words which appear on the medal, "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you." Let them keep in mind, however, "that true devotion consists neither in sterile or transitory affection, nor in a certain vain credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to recognize the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love towards our mother and to the imitation of her virtues." (Lumen Gentium, 67)

Approved by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
February 19, 1998

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