The historical narratives concerning the missionary initiatives of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide in territories claimed by or under the jurisdiction of the royal patronages of the Iberian Crowns were teemed with conflicts, controversies and disputes. The competitive nature that undeniably characterised the relationship between the three authorities has shaped the historiography on this phenomenon, highlighting their contrasting stances. Although the antagonism can be considered structural in the dynamics between these actors (Padroado, Patronato and Propaganda Fide), it does not encompass the diversity of responses towards the foundation of the new dicastery in 1622, which was canonically created by Gregory XV’s bull Inscrutabili Divinae Providentiae Arcano (22 June).
The formation of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, although viewed with suspicion by the Iberian crowns, aroused expectation and interest by various ecclesiastical and non-ecclesiastical agents of the Portuguese Padroado and the Spanish Patronato, including bishops, members of religious orders, secular priests, apostolic nuncios, inquisitors, nobles, and even members of royal families who celebrated its creation and initiated direct communications with the dicastery.
In the nineteenth century, the impact of liberal reforms on religious life in Portugal and Spain (especially with the abolishment of religious orders in 1834 and 1836, respectively) and the increasing direct intervention of the Holy See in missionary ad gentes activities aggravated the hostile relations between Lisbon, Madrid and Rome on the one hand, and affected the religious experience of the converted populations on the other. This conflict contributed to the simplistic image of the attitude of Propaganda Fide towards the Padroado and vice versa both in Portuguese and Spanish historiographies and in terms of the consciousness of the population in the Indian subcontinent. In the case of liberal reforms in American territories, new transformations and their impacts were underlined by historians, yet in recent decades, more nuances have been added to the scholarly discussions.
This congress aims to explore different forms of interaction and communication between representatives of the Padroados and the Congregation of Propaganda Fide in terms of antagonism, convergence and cooperation, starting from the creation of the dicastery in the seventeenth century to the end of the patronage system in the twentieth century, in territories under the control of the Iberian Padroados (America, Africa and Asia) and the Holy See.
Topics of interest include:
- The creation of Propaganda Fide before the Iberian Patronages
- Global missionary strategies on behalf of the Holy See
- Definitions and juridical concepts of the patronage system and Propaganda Fide
- Convergences and divergences in missionary action and thought between the Padroado, the Patronato and Propaganda Fide.
- Theoretical arguments (jurisdictional, military, religious, etc.) evoked in the disputes between the patronages and Propaganda Fide
- Propaganda Fide in the face of the rivalry of the Iberian patronages
- Impacts of the competition between the Iberian patronages and Propaganda Fide on Spanish and Portuguese missionary strategies
- Political responses to missionary tensions in American, Asian, and African territories
- The role of converted colonial populations in the relationship between the patronages and Propaganda Fide
- The question of the indigenisation of the clergy
- Conversion processes and religious experiences within the relationships between the Patronages and Propaganda Fide
- Linguistic and cultural aspects of the missions under the patronages and Propaganda Fide
Proposal submission: Paper proposals should include an abstract of up to 250 words, including title, author’s name, affiliation, and a short biographical note (up to 200 words). Proposals may be submitted in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
The proposals should be sent to padroados.propaganda.2025@gmail.com by 31 October 2024.
Scientific Committee:
Ana de Zaballa Beascoechea (Universidad del País Vasco)
Ângela Barreto Xavier ( Universidade de Lisboa)
Claude Prudhomme (Université Louis Lumière – Lyon 2)
Emi Kishimoto (Osaka University)
Gaetano Sabatini (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche/Università degli Studi Roma Tre)
Jesús Joel Peña (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Centro Inah Puebla)
João Paulo Oliveira e Costa (Universidade Nova de Lisboa)
Jorge René González Marmolejo (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico)
José Martínez Millán (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
José Pedro Paiva (Universidade de Coimbra)
Marcia Mello (Universidade Federal do Amazonas)
Mariagrazia Russo (Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma)
Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo (Universidade de Coimbra)
Pedro Cardim (Universidade Nova de Lisboa)
Tara Alberts (University of York)
Organizing Committee:
Carlo Pelliccia (ISEM-CNR/UNINT)
Hugo Gonçalves Dores (Centro de História da Sociedade e da Cultura, Universidade de Coimbra)
Marina Torres Trimállez (Universidad de Cantabria/KU Leuven)
Miguel Rodrigues Lourenço (CHAM-Universidade Nova de Lisboa/CEHR – Universidade Católica Portuguesa)