The oldest of the confraternities still active in Vasto is the Confraternity of the Gonfalone, based at the Collegiata di Santa Maria Maggiore. Originally dedicated to Santa Maria della Purità, it was founded at the end of the 15th century and became a part of the Archconfraternity of the Disciplinati of Rome.
In the first half of the 16th century, contemporary to the confraternity at San Pietro, the Confraternity of the Santissimo Sacramento was also established at Santa Maria. Reformed in 1730 with the title Santissimo Sacramento e della Santa Spina, it is now known as the Confraternity of the Sacra Spina.
The two confraternities of Santa Maria, reformed and merged into a single congregation at the end of the 19th century, have operated continuously up until today. They have been responsible for assisting in liturgies and supporting the financial upkeep of Santa Maria and the other churches under its jurisdiction, notably the Church of San Michele, dedicated to the city’s patron saint.
The role of the confraternities of Santa Maria was crucial in the economic preservation of the church, particularly between the suppression of the chapter in 1809 and the establishment of the parish in 1921. For over a century, due to conflicts between the clergy of the two collegiate churches, both San Pietro and Santa Maria lost the privileges of the chapter and the sources of income that had supported them up until then. It was thanks to these devout parish confraternities that the great church was able to remain active. In fact, it was during this period that the neoclassical decorations were completed, giving the interior of the church its imposing appearance today.
Even today, the Confraternity of the Sacra Spina and Gonfalone counts more than one hundred brothers and is involved in various activities of devotion as well as social and cultural promotion.
The two most significant liturgical events organized by the confraternity are the procession of the Sacra Spina, held on the Friday before Holy Week, and the procession of San Michele, which takes place the day after the patronal feast on September 29.
