Ruadhán Jones
The move will be felt as a “great loss” by many but is a sign of changes in the way people express their faith, according to a local historian.
The Belfast-based confraternity met for the last time on Sunday, November 22, 123 years after it began in July 1897.
Belfast historian Brian McKee believes that the closure should not be seen as a sign of failure.
“I think that it’s a recognition that the expression of faith is changing, part of that is going to involve a lot of loss for people of practices and traditions which they would have held as being very precious,” he said.
“Rather than being a sign of failure, it’s a sign of the great success that it had that so many people feel so deeply about it.”
Mr McKee said the confraternity provided many people with “a great sense of identity and belonging”.
“My own father would have been a member of the confraternity there for many years,” Mr McKee said. “Even after he stopped going because he moved house, he was still very proudly a confraternity man.
“It was something that the Redemptorists were able to do, to give a source of identity as well as a source of nourishment for men and women down through the years.”