Title: Religion and society in New Spain: Mexico's Colonial era - MexConnect
Headings: Religion and society in New Spain: Mexico’s Colonial era
Religion and society in New Spain: Mexico’s Colonial era
Dale Hoyt Palfrey
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Content: Under the Papal grant of power to the Spanish Crown, the secular clergy was comprised of priests who served under their bishops. The missionary orders, on the other hand, were designated as self-governing bodies under the separate authority of their respective superiors, as decreed by Pope Leon X in 1521. Secular priests were prohibited from interfering with the regular clergy, on penalty of ex-communication. Thus, during Mexico’s colonial era, the secular clergy worked hand in hand with civil authorities, while the missionary friars, laboring independently, tended to have greater influence over the common people. The first Franciscan missionaries, sent by Carlos V at Cortés request, arrived in Mexico in 1523 and 1524. By 1559 there were 300 Franciscan friars at 80 missions throughout Nueva España. They were followed by the Dominicans (1525), the Augustinians (1533), and finally, the Jesuits (1571). Altogether some 12,000 churches were built during the three centuries of Spanish rule over Mexico. Although their chief goal was to perform the sacraments and introduce the Indians to the fundamentals of Christian doctrine, in many respects the missionary friars laid the groundwork for the fusion of the Spanish and Mexican cultures. They won the trust of the native population by protecting them from the excesses to which many of the Spanish civilians were inclined.