In the early decades of the 18th century, the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows was the centre of the operations carried out by the Compagnia dei Devoti del Cuore trafitto di Maria (Company of the Devotees of the Broken Heart of the Virgin Mary), who offered hospitality and assistance to the pilgrims and the sick (in both historical and devotional terms, the sisters of the Compagnia dei Devoti del Cuore trafitto di Maria carried on the work of a female confraternity that in the 15th century was also responsible for taking care of the Chapel of Stignano). Following the 1741 concordat, it became necessary to give a more organised structure to the Compagnia dei Devoti del Cuore trafitto di Maria, and in 1749, a group of men, moved by the desire to come under the sacred mantle and protection of the Virgin of the Seven Sorrows, agreed to form a Congrega dei Sette Dolori di Maria Vergine (Congregation of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary), with the authorisation of the head of the Order of the Servites of Mary and of the abbey, as well as the consent of the sovereign. In 1753 came the realis assensus of King Charles III of Bourbon for the statutes of the newly formed Venerabile Congregazione dei Sette Dolori di Maria Vergine (Venerable Congregation of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary), with definitive approval arriving in 1780. It should be taken into account that often, due to circumstances of various kinds (such as cholera outbreaks or drought), the population prayed for help to Our Lady of Sorrows, and that the confraternity, together with the local community, later gave thanks to Her, by “displaying a statue of the Virgin for two months, for having spared us from cholera”. The confraternity enjoyed, and indeed still enjoys, all the privileges and indulgences granted to all the confraternities of the Seven Sorrows established by the Order of the Servants of Mary. In the mid-19th century came the granting of the title of Archconfraternity. The brothers and sisters have always kept alive the Marian cult of the Virgin of the Seven Sorrows, not only during Lent, but also throughout the rest of the year, organising a range of religious and catechism events and encounters. The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows is considered a diocesan Marian sanctuary for the granting of indulgences during Jubilee and Marian years.
In the 15th century, the sodales Mariae, or friends of Mary, came into possession of the Church of Saint Anthony Abbot, previously of Saint Mark, and began to worship the Virgin Mary there. This church has always offered both religious and charitable services, with a small hospital and lodgings for travelling pilgrims. In the ancient statutes there is already mention of processions taking place during “great week”, but in the 19th century, as well as the cult of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the cult of Our Lady of Sorrows also developed, with a number of holy functions.
