Church and State in Bourbon Mexico

In the eighteenth century the Mexican Church experienced spiritual renewal and intellectual reform. The establishment of Franciscan missionary colleges, of the Oratory and of convents and sisterhoods greatly enlivened devotion in the diocese of Michoacan. Thriving confraternities demonstrated the vigour of parochial life.

But the secular clergy remained divided between a wealthy elite and an impecunious mass of curates and country vicars, with the cathedral chapter dominated by a group of enlightened peninsular canons. Charles III and his successor expelled the Jesuits, secularised mendicant parishes, closely invigilated popular religion, stripped the clergy of their immunity from royal courts and then seized their wealth.

In 1810 priests from the Michoacan diocese led the popular Insurgency which challenged Spanish rule. Here is a rounded portrait of the Mexican Church at its meridian, which touches upon virtually all aspects of religious life and highlights the clash between post-Tridentine baroque Catholicism and enlightened despotism.