Church of the Disciplini

Next to the Cathedral, there is the small church which takes its name from another religious association made up of lay people from the middle class, which was established in Castiglione at the beginning of the 16th century: the Confraternita dei Disciplini. The “discipline” practiced by the adherents included flagellation every Friday, in memory of the passion of Christ. The brotherhood possessed its own assets, intended for charitable works, which included the oratory, land, the fees paid by each brother and fines for moral or religious infractions. The church-oratorio was built by order of Luigi Gonzaga, the grandfather of San Luigi. On the Renaissance facade an inscription recalls an important episode in the life of the Saint. In his last stay in Castiglione Luigi was convinced by his mother to speak to his fellow citizens; on March 3, 1590, in this church crowded with faithful, he held the famous sermon on the Eucharist, the effect of which was such that – says his biographer – “priests and friars heard confessions all night” and the next morning “as many as 700 people they approached the Eucharist”.