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The Arch-Confraternity for the relief of the souls in Purgatory, being favored in a most extraordinary manner both by the Holy See and the Heads of several Religious Orders, a quarter of a century had not elapsed after its establishment, when four hundred confraternities were already incorporated with the mother association at Home, the number of its members exceeding one million. Thus it became an absolute necessity for the Very Rev. Father Brixious Queloz, C. S. S. R., Chief Director of the Arch-Confraternity, to compile, for the use of its members the manual of devotion: "La Pieta del Christiano verso i Morti." This manual has been translated into several languages, and as the Arch-Confraternity has already been established in six dioceses of this country, and continues to spread rapidly, the many and pressing demands of its members have made the translation of this manual an absolute necessity.

The translation is substantially the same as the original, with the exception of some additional prayers, devotions, and instructions, mostly taken from the writings of St. Alphonsus, and more especially adapted to this country.

In the selection of prayers, the translator was guided both by the advice of St. Alphonsus, viz: that our prayers should be petitions rather than affections, especially for the grace of divine love