Published by University of New Mexico Press
This book analyzes Spanish rule and Catholic practice from the consolidation of Spanish control in the Americas in the sixteenth century to the loss of these colonies in the nineteenth century by following the life and afterlife of an accidental martyr, San Felipe de Jésus. Using Mexico City–native San Felipe as the central figure, Conover tracks the global aspirations of imperial Spain in places such as Japan and Rome without losing sight of the local forces affecting Catholicism. He demonstrates the ways Spanish religious attitudes motivated territorial expansion and transformed Catholic worship. Using Mexico City as an example, Conover also shows that the cult of saints continually refreshed the spiritual authority of the Spanish monarch and the message of loyalty of colonial peoples to a devout king. Such a political message in worship, Conover concludes, proved contentious in independent Mexico, thus setting the stage for the momentous conflicts of the nineteenth century in Latin American religious history.
Subjects: HistoryReligionLatin AmericaAHA21LASA21
Preface. The Life of San Felipe de JesúsAcknowledgmentsChapter One. IntroductionChapter Two. Spain’s Discalced Franciscan Mission in Japan, 1593–1597Chapter Three. Beatification and the Politics of Piety, 1597–1627Chapter Four. Imperial Saints in Mexico City, 1625–1680sChapter Five. The Rise and Fall of Creole Holy Figures, 1680s–1740sChapter Six. Bourbons and Breviaries: Devotional Reform in Mexico City, 1740s–1790sChapter Seven. Mexico City’s Saints at the End of Empire, 1790s–1820Chapter Eight. Decolonizing the Church in the Mexican Republic, 1821–1836Chapter Nine. ConclusionAppendix. Reform of the Liturgy: Feasts of Required Rest and Church AttendanceNotesBibliographyIndex