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: It should be remembered that Spain’s rise to power came as a direct result of regaining the Iberian peninsula from Moslem rule. In return for having driven out the Moors, the Pope granted the Spanish Crown authority over the Church within its domain, effectively making the it an arm of the State. Thus, for Carlos V, the conquest of the Americas more than just a quest for territory and material riches. His personal mission as an agent of the Vatican was the ardent pursuit of souls for salvation. At that time the Church’s organization was divided into two distinct branches. 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.