Obtain a Charter

When a parish wishes to establish a Society, the Pastor, Deacon, Spiritual Moderator, or other parish leader requests a “charter” from the Confraternity Director of the Dominican Order in the appropriate Dominican Province. The Charter is an ecclesiastical document and as such is issued in the name of the church. It is recommended the Charter be framed and hung in a prominent location within the church. Since it is issued “in perpetuum” (forever), should the Charter be lost or destroyed, the canonical status of a parish Society is not affected.

If the local Holy Name Society spans several parishes, (example: New York Firefighters, south Miami Beach, southeast Metro Junior HNS, etc) a charter will need to be properly issued for at least one of the parishes that falls within the scope of the Holy Name Society. A charter may be issued under the title of a church or a chapel in which the Blessed Sacrament is usually reserved and access to public worship is usually available.

To obtain a charter, request it from the Dominican Promoter of the Holy Name responsible for your area. Information on who to contact may be found on this link. Dominican Promoters