FIESTAS AND FERVOR: RELIGIOUS LIFE AND CATHOLIC ENLIGHTENMENT IN THE DIOCESE OF BARCELONA, 1766-1775

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate

School of The Ohio State University

By

Andrea J. Smidt, M.A.

* * * * *

The Ohio State University 2006

Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Dale K. Van Kley, Adviser Professor N. Geoffrey Parker Professor Kenneth J. Andrien

____________________ Adviser History Graduate Program

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ABSTRACT

The Enlightenment, or the "Age of Reason," had a profound impact on

eighteenth-century Europe, especially on its religion, producing both outright atheism and

powerful movements of religious reform within the Church. The former—culminating in

the French Revolution—has attracted many scholars; the latter has been relatively

neglected. By looking at "enlightened" attempts to reform popular religious practices in

Spain, my project examines the religious fervor of people whose story usually escapes

historical attention. "Fiestas and Fervor" reveals the capacity of the Enlightenment to

reform the Catholicism of ordinary Spaniards, examining how enlightened or Reform

Catholicism affected popular piety in the diocese of Barcelona.

This study focuses on the efforts of an exceptional figure of Reform Catholicism

and Enlightenment Spain—Josep Climent i Avinent, Bishop of Barcelona from 1766-

1775. The program of “Enlightenment” as sponsored by the Spanish monarchy was one

that did not question the Catholic faith and that championed economic progress and the

advancement of the sciences, primarily benefiting the elite of Spanish society. In this

context, Climent is noteworthy not only because his idea of “Catholic Enlightenment”

opposed that sponsored by the Spanish monarchy but also because his was one that

implicitly condemned the present hierarchy of the Catholic Church and explicitly

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advocated popular enlightenment and the creation of a more independent “public sphere”

in Spain by means of increased literacy and education of the masses.

Examining the types of popular—albeit exterior—religious practices that were the

object of reform as well as Climent’s efforts to promote a better understanding of the

Catholic faith which focused on interior rather than exterior forms of piety, I argue that

by establishing gratis elementary schools, reforming seminary curricula, and mass-

distributing books and pamphlets Climent was able to bring “Enlightenment” to

eighteenth-century Barcelona. Illustrating the tensions created by the differing

enlightened projects proposed by Climent and the Spanish monarchy, Climent was forced

to abdicate. Although he had to step down, branded a “Catalan separatist” by the Council

of Castile, Climent’s plan for reform and his implementation of that plan had a larger

impact on the form the Enlightenment took in Spain and calls for a re-examination of

what was perceived as the Enlightenment in eighteenth-century Europe.

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Dedicated to my wonderful, inspiring, and ever-supportive parents, Marilyn Kay Smidt, B.S.N., R.N., M.S.N.; and Corwin E. Smidt, Ph.D.

And to my loving husband Richard J. Sittema.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank my advisors, Doctors Dale K. Van Kley and Geoffrey Parker, for

their dedication to me and my project, making this dissertation possible. All of the hours

writing me letters of recommendation as well as reviewing and correcting grant proposals

chapters, and translations will never be forgotten. A special thank-you I extend to Dr.

Van Kley for introducing me to Jansenism, the unique conditions of eighteenth-century

Europe, and the special case of Bishop Climent of Barcelona. His forethought and

consideration provided me with the archival sources from Utrecht and Paris.

I thank Doctor Kenneth J. Andrien for his participation in this project and for his

support and guidance in all of my years at the Ohio State University.

I am grateful to Doctora Montserrat Jiménez Sureda for her invaluable help with

my research in the Spanish archives. I am indebted to Doctor William A. Christian Jr. for

his interest in and advice on my research.

I also wish to thank the friends and faculty in the Department of History at Ohio

State University for helping me hurdle the many quarters of graduate school.

This research was supported by a grant from the Fulbright Commission (of Spain

and the United States), the Elaine and John C. Rule Award, a Tinker travel grant, a

Humanities Summer Research grant, and by the Presidential Fellowship of the Ohio State

University.

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VITA

October 23, 1976………………………….Born - Quincy, Illinois, U.S.A. 1999……………………………………….B.A. History & Political Science, Calvin

College 2001……………………………………….M.A. History, The Ohio State University 1999-present………………………………Graduate Teaching and Research Associate,

The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS

Research Publication 1. Andrea J. Smidt, “Piedad e ilustración en relación armónica. Josep Climent i Avinent, obispo de Barcelona, 1766-1775.” Manuscrits. Revista d'Història Moderna, 2002, núm. 20, pp 91-109. 2. Andrea J. Smidt, “Power, Religiosity, and Sexuality in Medieval Spain.” Book review of Cecilia Lagunas’s Abadesas y Clérigos in The Journal of Women’s History 14, no. 3 (Fall 2002), pp 166-7. 3. Andrea J. Smidt, “La teatralidad en la evangelización franciscana: un estudio del uso de performance en la Relación y conçudio de Hernán Gallegos.” Published on-line on the website of the Institute for Latin American Studies of the University of Texas at Austin: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/llilas/students/studentgroups/ilassa/conferences/ilassa2004/papers/explorations/index.html

FIELDS OF STUDY

Major Field: History (Emphasis on Early Modern European History)

Minor Fields: Latin American History Early Modern and Colonial Hispanic Literatures

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………ii Dedication………………………………………………………………………………...iv Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………v Vita………………………………………………………………………………………..vi List of Figures..………………………………………………………………………….viii List of Plates……………………………………………………………………………...ix List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………..x Chapters: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….1 1. Eighteenth-Century Europe in General and Barcelona in Particular……………11 2. The Life and Times of Bishop Josef Climent i Avinent, Bishop of Barcelona,

1766-1775: A Window into Spanish Piety and Enlightenment…………………64 3. Fiestas and Fervor: Local Religious Life of Barcelonese Parishioners………..131 4. Priests as Part of the Poble in Barcelona……………………………………….224 5. Enlightened Despotism versus Enlightened Catholicism in Barcelona during the

Episcopacy of Climent………………………………………………………….331 6. Catholic Reform and Enlightenment in Barcelona, 1766-1775………………..411 Conclusion…...…………………………………………………………………………454 Appendix: Acts of Councils and Synods……………………………………………….470 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………473

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page 1.1 Map of Spain………………………………….…………………………………42 1.2 Map of Archdioceses of Eighteenth-Century Spain…………………………….49 1.3 Map of Eighteenth-Century Diocese of Barcelona……………………………...50 3.1 The Central Location of the Plaça/Plaza in the Barcelonese Community….….152 3.2 Eighteenth-Century Walled City of Barcelona Divided into Its Seven Parishes………………………………………………………………………....190

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LIST OF PLATES

Plate Page

1.4 Nueva Mapa de Cataluña y los Caminos Reales……………………………….51 1.5 La Ciudad desde el Camino de Montjuich……………………………………..53 1.6 Map of the Parish of LaVit……………………….…………………………….60 1.7 Map of Parish of Villasar del Mar……………….…………………………..…61 2.1 Portrait of Josef Climent i Avinent……………………………………………..64 3.3 Processions of the Congregation of the Pure Blood of Jesus Christ…………...200 3.4 Confraternity Headquarters of the Congregation of the Pure Blood of Jesus

Christ.………………………………………………………………………….201 3.5 The capità manaya i los armats……………………………………………….210 3.6 Photos of the Gegants of King Jaume I of Catalonia and his Queen………….213 4.1 Map of La Rambla in the Eighteenth Century………………………………...324

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACA Archivo de la Corona de Aragón ADB Arxiu Diocesà de Barcelona AGS Archivo General de Simancas AHCB Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona APP Arxiu de la Parròquia del Pi ASSP Archives du Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice AUB Arxiu de la Universitat de Barcelona BC Biblioteca de Catalunya CC Collection Clément CPR Collection de Port-Royal HUA Het Utrechts Archief

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INTRODUCTION

The events of eighteenth-century Europe gave rise to many phenomena that

marked the end of an age (the “Old Regime”) and the beginning of a new one. From

“enlightenment” to absolutism, from colonial empires to democratic revolutions, and

from industrialization to a growing middle class, European dynamics were ushering a

transition towards a definably “modern” society. Yet, the words “fiesta” and “fervor” do

not readily come to mind when considering these eighteenth-century trends. Instead, they

evoke less dynamism and perhaps traditional aspects of society. Vibrant communal

celebrations on holy days (fiestas) and religious fervor were not new to Europe, and over

the centuries different wars and controversies over religious issues had done much to

strengthen European religiosity—albeit in a way that created more dividing lines that

unifying ones. During the eighteenth century, various European events called fervent

religiosity into question, challenging its place in European society.

The Enlightenment, specifically in Catholic Europe, has often been associated as

such a challenge to religion. Led by philosophes such as Voltaire, Diderot, and

Montesquieu, the “Age of Reason” or “Century of Lights” in France is well-chronicled

for its message of “progress” that called on men to rely solely on reason based on sense-

experience and question all that embodied “tradition.” In the process, religious belief and

the establishment of the Catholic Church were concluded by many purveyors of lumières

to be impediments to science and progress. For the advancement of society, most

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philosophes argued that the influence of religion (and the Church) in daily life should

diminish. While other advocates of enlightenment such as “Jansenists” stood firm in

their religious belief and sought an enlightening of the Catholic Church, in the end the

French Enlightenment would not be defined by them, but by the exceptional message and

high intellectual thought of an elite group of philosophes.

The sparks that illuminated Spain’s “Century of Lights” emanated from many

distinct sources. With the transition from the Habsburg to the Bourbon dynasty at the

beginning of the century came not only bureaucratic centralization to advance the ends of

absolutism but also increased communications with both Protestant and Catholic Europe.

The result sent Spain “enlightenment” both in the form of new sciences and in currents of

religious reform like “Jansenism.” Meanwhile, some sources of enlightenment were

indigenous, like the revival of Christian humanism, the translation of Scripture, and the

valorization of patristic tradition and the early Church—elements suppressed during the

counter-Reformation. Although the French Enlightenment turned in an anti-Catholic

direction, the cause of the “luces” in Spain was not perceived as incompatible with the

chief element of Spanish identity, Catholicism. In this context, what can be defined as

the Spanish Enlightenment entailed a purification, or “enlightening,” of the Catholic faith

rather than its abolition. Thus, for Spanish ilustrados, to oppose “superstition” was to

oppose a trait regarded as extrinsic to the faith, not an element essential to it.

In Spain, the men of enlightenment, or ilustrados, almost always worked for or

with the state, as either its allies or agents advancing an “enlightenment” that met the

needs of regalist policy. Regalism, by definition, went hand in hand with absolutism in

eighteenth-century Spain and sought the increased power and bureaucratic control of the

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king through his (enlightened) ministers over all areas of society (e.g., the economy,

Church, press, and academia). According to this line of thought, increased bureaucratic

centralization in Madrid was the most effective method to implement enlightened reform

and bring “progress” that would benefit all of Spain. For regalists in Madrid, “progress”

in the Spanish Church entailed the curbing of excessive religious celebrations and the

promotion of a more internal spirituality, no matter how much it broke with popular

tradition or the local religion.1 To do this, the state advanced its power over the secular

clergy and likewise the power of the secular clergy over that of the regular clergy which

was seen as less useful and service-oriented—the state even expelling the regular order of

the Jesuits from Spain in 1767. Since most secular clergy appointments belonged to the

king by this time, bishops and archbishops were clerics hand-picked by the state because

their vision for religious reform corresponded with the regalist one. Josep Climent i

Avinent was one such cleric, selected as bishop of Barcelona in 1766 because he was a

known opponent of the Jesuits and Barcelona was especially inundated with them. Yet

once appointed, Climent’s idea of enlightenment did not always support the vision for

“progress” that the Spanish state maintained.

In the pages of this dissertation, fiestas and religious fervor become the domain of

enlightened reform in eighteenth-century Europe. My primary claim is that a “Catholic

Enlightenment” occurred in Barcelona, permeating to the lower levels of society, through

Bishop Climent’s attempts at reforming popular religious practices by means of

education, specifically through greater literacy and dissemination of literature. By means

1 “Local religion” is a term used by William A. Christian to describe the specific nature of Catholicism as practiced from locality to locality, whether urban or rural. As each area in Spain had a different pantheon of patron saints to whom people prayed, Catholic observance developed in a unique way in each place. See

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of an analysis that is both “top-down” and “bottom-up”, this study illustrates the

phenomenon of enlightenment as a societal and intellectual one while also providing a

comparative perspective with which to contextualize other contemporary manifestations

of “enlightened” or “reform” Catholicism.

The unique nature of the enlightenment that occurred in Barcelona is validated by

the uniqueness of the sources that this project employs. Climent’s writing lucidly

articulates his involved ideas for reform in society, the Church, and religious practices.

Furthermore, his ecclesiastical correspondence with the French Jansenist Abbé of

Auxerre, Augustin-Charles-Jean Clément de Bizon, between 1768 and 1781, reveals the

pitfalls of Climent’s reform project with exceptional clarity.2 Abbé Clément felt that with

the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain in 1767 the opportune moment had arrived for

Spanish bishops, such as his contemporary Climent, to unite across state borders with the

“Jansenist International” movement3 and push for ecclesiastical reform. Furthermore, the

dates of Climent and Clément’s correspondence roughly coincide with the pontificate of

Clement XIV (1769-1774). And despite Climent's papal pessimism, this pontificate was

pages 3-8 of the introduction in Christian’s Local Religion in Sixteenth-Century Spain (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981). 2 Correspondence of the Abbé Clément, bishop of Versailles, and Josep Climent, bishop of Barcelona, manuscripts 1289-1290 [years 1768-1780], Archives du Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice (henceforth, ASSP): Paris. (In the notes following, the correspondence will be referred to as CC—Collection Clément—and identified by manuscript as well as folio number.) 3 The term “Jansenist International” is borrowed from Dale Van Kley. In the chapter one of Eighteenth-Century Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective, he uses the term to describe how “the campaign against ‘the court of Rome’ and the Jesuits as its chief symbols” was no longer unique to Jansenists in France by the early-1760s (pp 50-80). By reaching out to their fellow Jansenists (or in some cases Augustinians) primarily in the Netherlands and in Italy, the French had established a mutual correspondence that gave Jansenism an international aspect. See Religion and Politics in Enlightenment Europe, eds. James E. Bradley and Dale K. Van Kley (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001).

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widely perceived as a window of opportunity for significant reform because of the

pontiff’s promise to remove one chief obstacle—the Jesuits.4

While Climent’s writing succeeds in providing this study with his perspective on

reform, the perspective of the laity in Barcelona towards their own religious behavior is

absent. In addition, the majority of Barcelona residents in the later eighteenth century

could not read or write, making very unlikely the existence of any written source in

which everyday Spaniards speak directly on their religiosity and enlightened reform.

Yet, one body of documentation firmly connects the unique perspective of Climent with

contemporary attitudes of the laity. Because of his interest in councils as the necessary

means of implementing reform, in 1767 Climent proposed to convene a synod in

Barcelona in which all parish priests would attend and discuss potential solutions to

problems within parishes. Unlike in past synods, the announcement for Climent’s synod

petitioned parish priests ahead of time to write down the problem areas that they wished

to correct most. The resulting letters—the “29 Respostes d’alguns rectors a la carta

enviada a ells, sobre quins abusos al correguir en viste, a un futur sinode a celebrar

Josep Climent 1767 (que no es ha celebrar) and henceforth “The Responses”—form an

invaluable source in which the attitudes and behavior of everyday Spaniards are

described in great detail. Provided that one is always conscious of how the “filter” or

“lens” of the letter-writing priests potentially distorts the picture of lay piety, “The

Responses” allow for comprehensive analysis of the eighteenth century plebiscite, since

over eighty percent of the diocese is reported on in these letters.

4Clement XIV was later prevailed upon to dissolve the Society of Jesus in 1773, an act thought to be a necessary prelude to any reform. In general, the period 1769 to 1774 was thought to be a period very propitious for Catholic reform.

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Furthermore, “The Responses” remain a unique source throughout all of

eighteenth-century Spain as by this time the expanding powers of the monarchy had

ended the Tridentine practice of convening of synods and councils. The announcement to

convene a synod was a bold and unlikely political move. Most reform-minded bishops

would have instead navigated toward the more direct channel of the regalist state—whose

ministers in Madrid had already shown their support by appointing them as bishops—in

order to effect change in their dioceses. Thus, there are no known bodies of

documentation similar to “The Responses” from other regions of Spain.

While “The Responses” are the highlighted source in this project, other original

documents add to and validate the conclusions made. Barcelona, and the larger region of

Tarragona of which it was part, had successfully continued the practice of convening

synods and councils until the mid-eighteenth century, and so the acts of synods and

councils from the sixteenth century on indicate which areas of priestly concern were an

unchanging feature of religious life in the region of Barcelona. Since the acts are

normative rather than descriptive, they do not provide as much information on lay piety

as do “The Responses.” Instead, the acts of synod point out what is particular about areas

of priestly concern by 1767. A final source, revealing both religious life in Barcelona as

well as some details of an enlightened society, is the Baron de Maldà’s Calaix de Sastre

(literally, “The Tailor’s Drawer”). Written by a city-dwelling noble, who begins his

almost daily accounts of city life in 1769, this source is important since it comes from a

lay, rather than a clerical, perspective. While Maldà’s descriptions remain those of a

highly educated man of privilege and thus do not provide the perspective of an

“everyday” Spaniard, the content of Calaix de Sastre covers all sorts of processions and

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religious holidays in a way that is careful to distinguish the nobility from the rest of

society. Also, the semi-daily accounts cover a wide-range of city events, from the

mundane to the spectacular.

Overall, this project focuses on lay piety and enlightenment during the period of

Climent’s episcopacy in Barcelona, 1766-1775. Chapter One lays out the eighteenth-

century religious climate in Europe as well as the characteristics of Barcelona in

particular. Paying special attention to Jansenism, conciliarism, regalism, reform

Catholicism, and Enlightenment, the chapter looks at the larger concepts that framed

religious reform during the “century of lights” as well as the specific nature of the

Diocese of Barcelona—its demographical and geographical layout, aspects of

Barcelonese society, and the history of Barcelona. As this chapter is largely contextual, it

clarifies the place of Barcelona within eighteenth-century Europe and the circumstances

in which reform and enlightenment occurred in Spain. The second chapter examines

Bishop Josef Climent and his plan for and obstacles in implementing reform. Climent’s

plan involved the restored celebration or convening of diocesan synods in Barcelona that

had been extinct since 1755 but that had effectively ceased to serve the intended

Tridentine function since the late seventeenth century. I argue that this plan is one of

Catholic enlightenment in terms of its emulation of the ecclesiology of the early Church

and its Tridentine spirit.

Chapter Three outlines the “fiestas” and “fervor” of the laity. By analyzing how

parishioners practiced their Catholicism, this chapter reveals what it meant for

eighteenth-century Barcelonese men and women to be Catholic in daily life. As “The

Responses” collected from Climent’s parish priests point out, parishioners throughout the

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diocese of Barcelona practiced their Catholicism in ways displeasing to the institutional

Church. Pre-marital sexual relations, working on the Sabbath, opting for rural chapels

over the parish church—Barcelonese parishioners celebrated religion in their own way,

much to the chagrin of the clergy and oftentimes through processions or dances on

religious holidays. The fourth chapter examines the parish priests as part of the poble or

pueblo in Barcelona, highlighting the role and position of the Church in society from the

perspective of the clergy. Judging from the words of parish priests, the Church as an

institution in Barcelona in 1767 was too fragmented and disorganized—both in its

structure and among its clergy—to reform society at the ground level. Despite the fact

that many priests shared Climent's enlightened desires for increased education of the laity

and for more uniformity in Sunday mass attendance, the parish priests struggled to effect

change in how Catholicism was practiced in front of their own eyes. Many times it

seems that the priests were less important in practice than in theory in their parishes as

they complained of a lack of respect and reverence paid them. Parish priests saw

themselves as in a position of little political power in their proper localities, this view

exemplified particularly in the various eighteenth-century accounts of the lack of co-

operation from town leaders (secular justicia) in enforcing the law (of not working on

Sunday, of no cohabitation of engaged couples). Priests were quite sure that they knew

the reason for this lack of co-operation: many times the town leaders or lay justicia were

guilty of or touched by the same crimes which the priests were trying to uproot.

In the fifth chapter, the details of Climent’s episcopacy in Barcelona are

highlighted. As both the priests and their parishioners have been introduced, this chapter

moves on to discuss Climent’s interactions with them as bishop in a narrative format.

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While the synod he proposed in 1767 was never convened due to monarchical

prohibition, different initiatives which Climent took that engaged the city council,

regional governors, regular and secular clergy (in light of the expulsion of the Jesuits),

and the population at large all show bold efforts at religious reform that challenged the

status quo. In fact, some of Climent’s initiatives were so bold as to create tensions

between him and the monarchy. I argue that Climent’s interests in reform embody

“enlightened Catholicism” while the regalist interests of the king’s ministers in Madrid

embody “enlightened despotism,” and that the events in Barcelona during Climent’s

episcopacy demonstrate the degree of compatibility and incompatibility of the two reform

programs. Most clearly, Climent’s demise as bishop of Barcelona in 1775 illustrates the

tensions that arose between the two reform programs since Climent’s devotion to his

parishioners caused him to be labeled a Catalan separatist by the Council of Castile and

forced him to abdicate his see.

Given the tensions between enlightened Catholicism and enlightened despotism

presented in Chapter Five, Chapter Six moves on to discuss what kind of an

enlightenment occurred in Barcelona given the political constraints Climent encountered

from the rising tensions between himself and the regalist state. Even though Climent

could not re-establish the celebration of councils and synods in the Catholic Church, in

other ways the initiatives that Climent was able to enact became the media or means of

enlightenment to Barcelona. Instead of taking a hard-line stance against popular religious

practices, Climent chose to inculcate a more internal spirituality in his parishioners by

means of reforms in education and religious instruction. These included the proliferation

of pastoral publications, seminary curricula reform, the opening of a public library, and

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the establishment of gratis elementary schools. Yet all of these in the eighteenth century

fall squarely into the category of enlightenment, as they served to promote a “public

sphere” and reveal how the causes of piety and enlightenment can coincide. In

conclusion, the events of this dissertation are examined in a comparative perspective,

drawing on other reform attempts in Catholic Europe. Overall, Climent’s plan for reform

and his implementation of that plan had a larger impact on the form the Enlightenment

took in Spain and calls for a re-examination of what was perceived as the Enlightenment

in eighteenth-century Europe.

So first, let us examine common perceptions of “the Enlightenment” as well as the

context of eighteenth-century Europe in order to understand better the place of “fiestas”,

“fervor”, and the church in Barcelona. From there, the ideas of Climent and greater story

between enlightened Catholicism and enlightened despotism in Spain better unfold.

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CHAPTER 1

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY EUROPE IN GENERAL

& BARCELONA IN PARTICULAR

Certain events and developments in the eighteenth century changed European

society from one that historians label as “early modern” to one definably “modern” by the

nineteenth century. The growth of state power over local and regional affairs, including

the church hierarchy; the expansion and retraction of European colonialism in the

Americas; the growth of a wealthy merchant class, often classified as part of a middling

class or bourgeoisie; the beginnings of industrialization; and the democratic revolutions,

most notably in France—all of these are unique to eighteenth-century Europe. But one

omission in the above list is part and parcel with the rest, shaping the way in which each

developed and thus integral to any discussion of eighteenth-century European history.

The intellectual phenomenon known as the Enlightenment had its impact on European

society and its institutions, from academia to church and government.

At the end of the eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant wrote in a Berlin newspaper

that, rather than living in an enlightened age, he was part of an age of enlightenment.

The concept of “enlightenment” was one of process, of development, rather than an idea

of having achieved the aim of an enlightened society. The “lights” being shed and aiding

the process of enlightenment emanated from many and distinct sources, all of which

emphasized human “reason” in one way or another. Owing in large part to the work of

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historians Peter Gay and Ernest Cassirer5, the popular characterization of these sources of

enlightenment underscores the role of empirical observation, experimentation, and

practical and reformist problem-solving, or what the French Enlightenment called the

esprit systématique. Thus understood, the “Enlightenment” was a unitary phenomenon in

the history of ideas. And in this form of historiographical orthodoxy, the philosophes—

Western European, but mainly French, white male intellectuals of universities and high

society such as Voltaire, Montesquieu, Condorcet, or Kant—argued for the use of

“reason” rather than a reliance on faith, superstition, or revelation in human affairs. In

general, humans could improve society by relying on reason guided by the senses and in

the process would liberate themselves from the constraints that tradition had previously

imposed. Newtonian science increasingly provided a basis for such an enlightened

world-view, replacing the role of tradition and religion. In short, the philosophes touted

Lockean empiricism—based on the idea that each individual begins as a tabula rasa,

using reason guided by sense experience to gain knowledge, and contact with the external

world the means of arriving at truth(s)—leaving behind the contradistinctive seventeenth-

century rationalism and its adherence to the role of intuitive “reason” unaided by the

senses as personified by Descartes.

Characterizations of the Enlightenment

Looking at the making of the Enlightenment, the triumph of Lockian empiricism

over Cartesian rationalism did play a formative role in, particularly French, intellectual

history. Locke’s empiricism worked well with the descriptive nature of Newtonian

5 Peter Gay, The Enlightenment: An Interpretation, 2 vols. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1967-69); Ernest Cassirer, The Philosophy of the Enlightenment (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1951).

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science and led many to turn their backs on Cartesian metaphysics which depended on

reason unaided by the senses to explain the principles that guided natural phenomena.

But the Enlightenment as defined by the likes of Gay and Cassirer6 limits the reaches of

such an important epoch in history to that specific circumstances being present. The

Enlightenment as presented by such scholarship occurs almost exclusively in France

while the rest of Europe passively sustained the “influence” of the Enlightenment. The

French Enlightenment was revolutionary for this use of a philosophy of reasoned

empiricism (observation and experiment) in revolt against the past influence of

rationalism. Particularly in the work of Gay7, such philosophy becomes the ancestor to

modern liberalism while eighteenth- and nineteenth-century reactions condemning the

philosophes’ departure from tradition become the ancestor to modern conservatism. In

terms of religion, this interpretation of Enlightenment limits its members to deists and

atheists, making the eighteenth century a black and white picture that pits the cause of

religion (be it Protestantism or Catholicism) against the cause of lumières and leaving

German Pietists and Austrian, French, and Spanish Jansenists outside of the “reformist

problem-solving” of the Enlightenment.

6 In The Philosophy of the Enlightenment, Cassirer focused on the depth rather than the breadth of the ideas of the Enlightenment, centering his study on the epistemology and ethics of the philosophes (for example, Voltaire, Diderot, Kant, etc) and found that they embraced the Newtonian world machine accompanied by Lockian empiricism, rejecting the science of Descartes. Concerned mostly with intellectual history, Cassirer unfortunately does not address how such ideas connected to the actual historical moment. Because of this approach, looking at the ideas of the more prominent intellects in isolation from the politics of the day, Cassirer’s enlightenment may be presented as a unified phenomenon, a new departure in philosophical thought, but it is strictly embodied by the ideas of the more well-known philosophes, and by studying them in such a “vacuum” his scholarship precludes a more nuanced view of the eighteenth century as a whole. 7 Gay’s Enlightenment: an Interpretation defines the Enlightement as a unity embodied by a ‘family’ of elite intellectuals of a single style of thinking, interpreted as the titles of his two volumes The Rise of Modern Paganism and The Science of Freedom. The program the Enlightenment followed was one of hostility to religion and as the search for “freedom” and “progress” by using reason critically to change man’s relations with himself and society. Thus, Gay’s enlightenment is one of a program of liberal reform.

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Thus, a weakness of this perspective on the Enlightenment is that it makes

modernity the yardstick against which the Enlightenment is to be measured and depicts

the philosophes as developing in a way that does not altogether fit the facts of their

respective environments. In addition, this perspective limits the legacy of religious and

political thought attributable to the Enlightenment. By looking at the respective

environments and social experiences of enlightened thinkers, it is possible to see how

rationalism continued to shape enlightened thinking.8 By postulating reason as dependent

on sensate experience and disciplined observation, many enlightened thinkers were

claiming to have left Descartes and Leibniz; rationalism, however, did manage to sneak

in through the epistemological back door in the making of the “Enlightenment,”

particularly in France. Instead of the one-to-one relationship between the absorption of

John Locke’s empiricism and scientific method and the development of liberalism as a

political ideology, it was rather the relative admixture of empiricism and rationalism in

particular “enlightenments” that led to liberalism, conservatism, and even radicalism,

making them ALL products of Enlightened thinking in varying degrees. (The work of

8 Keith M. Baker in his book on Condorcet presents the thinker in the larger framework of the history of science and of the nature of his society in an effort to produce his mental universe, to show the enlightenment Condorcet knew as opposed to showing the Enlightenment. What Baker has uncovered, in contrast to the work of Cassirer and Gay, is that rationalism had an on-going influence in the Enlightenment, as evidenced by the intellectual pursuits of Condorcet to conduct a “rational social art.” Condorcet’s social science employed rational consideration and moral principles as analytic propositions, crossing empiricist and rationalist methods. Baker presents the way in which rationalism still managed to play a “subterranean” role in the Enlightenment: even though philosophes might claim Cartesian rationalism a swear word in eighteenth-century France, the influence it had had on French university or academic epistemological training led many to fallback, sometimes unknowingly, to its methods in order to “build” the esprit systematique. Keith M. Baker, Condorcet:From Natural Philosophy to Social Mathematics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975).

15

Keith Baker, Alan Kors9, and Robert Palmer10 highlights various developments in the

eighteenth century that shows in different ways how such diverging ideologies could

emanate from the same source of intellectual inquiry.)

Such an approach broadens our understanding of the eighteenth century as

consisting of multiple enlightenments rather than of one particularly French and

empiricist Enlightenment. Since different relative influences led to varieties of

“enlightenment” across Europe, the specific developments of eighteenth-century Europe

show that one definition of enlightenment does not function sufficiently, problematizing

the popular characterization of Enlightenment. The cause of religion did not always go

hand-in-hand with modern conservatism, nor did the cause of lumières always correspond

with that of modern liberalism. It was instead a mixture of rationalism and empiricism

that led to a more radical Enlightenment in France,11 leaving the developments in other

9 Alan Kors traces the development of atheism and radicalism in the Enlightenment, showing the ongoing influence of rationalism in the eighteenth century. By studying the debates between Cartesians and Scholastics within seventeenth-century France, Kors finds that the problem of Providence was created more by Christians than by philosophes such as Voltaire or Hume in the eighteenth century. Kors maintains that the “atheistic” arguments of the Enlightenment—that no argument from a finite world could prove an infinite being and that no demonstrations of God from an idea of him could be more than circular—were not original, but in fact commonplace in the learned culture of the time. Alan Kors, Atheism in France, 1650-1729 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990). 10 R.R. Palmer’s Age of Democratic Revolution makes a general case for both conservatism and liberalism being products of the enlightened thought of aristocratic philosophes. Both words “aristocracy” and “democracy” coined in the eighteenth century, the two tended to oppose each other rather than coincide in the writings of the philosophes. Instead of being solely influenced by French enlightened thought, revolutionary aims developed in each region that he studies (France, Austria, Geneva, Poland, etc) out of specific local conditions, but yet a common set of democratic aims made them “democratic revolutions.” Aristocrats held to their constitutional liberties they enjoyed in their diets, parlements, councils, etc, and when such bodies had to yield to the pressures of an enlightened monarchy or a democratic movement (in the 1770s and 80s) aristocrats responded with a “resurgence”. For Palmer, this aristocratic resurgence is the first emergence of conservative political ideology. The Age of Democratic Revolution: a Political History of Europe and America, 1760-1800 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1959). 11 Besides the particular admixture of empiricism and rationalism in France, other factors contributed to the making of a more radical French Enlightenment: the intensity and duration of religious conflict, the relative political power of the church in alliance AND conflict with the monarchy, the peculiar balance of censorship, and the degree of literacy.

16

countries explained by the relative influences (e.g., rationalism and empiricism) present

there. For instance in England the predominant influence of empiricism, with a

negligible amount of rationalism, led to less radical results. One can maintain that the

conservatism of Edmond Burke is a thorough extension of empiricist thought: if humans

are products of sensations and, by extension, history, then there are good reasons that a

people with a common history would develop particular institutions. Empiricism in this

case would lead to a respect for traditions and customs rather than a political ideology

that seeks their abolition.

Even though the French Enlightenment remains an exceptional case of

enlightenment, it does not have to be the definition of enlightenment. What occurred in

other European countries, or even in other schools of thought within France, does not

have to be classified as watered-down versions of the Enlightenment. Instead, they are

enlightenments in their own right. National histories all have their place in studies of

enlightenment. The Enlightenment’s program of reformist problem-solving can be seen

to take on different flavors in various “enlightenments.” In the co-edited volume of

Religion and Politics in Enlightenment Europe, James Bradley and Dale Van Kley touch

on eighteenth-century developments in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands,

and other European countries, making a sound case that they too fit into the age of

Enlightenment.12

While the popular characterization presents the Enlightenment identified with the

push for secularization of society by deists such as Voltaire, the contributors to this

12 James E. Bradley and Dale K. Van Kley, co-editors, Religion and Politics in Enlightenment Europe (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001).

17

revised view find that eighteenth-century events did not necessarily pit reason, progress,

and secularization together on one side against religion and the “Old Regime” on the

other. What actually materialized in many countries of western Europe was not a black-

and-white picture of the philosophes of the Enlightenment combating the established

order of Church and state, but rather a multi-faceted intellectual and political scene

characterized by disputes even within confessional lines—Catholic or Protestant—that

related to reason, revelation, and spheres of influence and made clerics, bureaucrats, and

philosophes all active players. In France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Russia, the Low

Countries, and the British Isles, what develops are intra-confessional disputes that divide

Catholics or Protestants (depending on the country) into a political “left” and “right,”

rather than developments that pit the cause of Enlightenment against that of a monolithic

religious entity.

In relation to their respective states, the Pietists in the Germanies and the different

varieties of Jansenists in Catholic countries display a complex interaction between

religion and politics, revealing another side of the same eighteenth-century conflicts in

which religious groups within confessional lines actually held different views for how

society and the Church should be ordered. A look at the “intra-denominational” disputes

invites a reconsideration of the association of religion with “conservatism.” For, more

often than not, “dissent” in Enlightenment Europe took a religious form, expressing itself

as “a call for more personally assimilated faith, more intelligible forms of worship, and

less hierarchical ecclesiastical structures.”13 Since the side of dissent coincided with the

13 Bradley and Van Kley, p.27.

18

Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox “left” and the “right” with the defense of church-state

establishments, the lines of convergence in these developments were more inter-

confessional in a comparative perspective. As the religious stances of the clergy in

different countries seem to depict both a conservative and a reforming strand, the overall

picture of European countries can be viewed in terms of different national

enlightenments.

The Age of Enlightenment in Catholic Europe

Neither Christianity nor the cause of “lights” led in only one pre-modern political

direction. Nowhere outside of France was Christianity perceived as incompatible or

necessarily at odds with the cause of “lights.” Even in France, the “encyclopedic”

enlightenment of Voltaire and Diderot was not the only one around. Both the

physiocratic strand of enlightenment sponsored by French government officials and that

of civic humanism or classical republicanism—although at odds with each other about

the proper role of “luxury” in the economy among other issues—were compatible with

strands of Catholicism in and outside of France. While civic humanism tended to be

more compatible with Jansenism, physiocracy found its most natural Catholic allies on

the Molinist and Probablist side of the spectrum. The different enlightenments that

developed in France, as well as those of other countries, lead one to consider the

existence of a “Christian enlightenment,” or perhaps “enlightenments” in Protestant and

Catholic Europe.

In non-French Catholic Europe, specifically Spain and the Italian states, it is

possible to speak of a “Catholic Enlightenment” for much of the eighteenth century. In

other words, Reform Catholicism existed as another form of the Enlightenment—renewal

19

within the Church brought about by the return to moral discipline among laity and clergy,

modified from state to state in its characteristics to suit the needs of the given society, its

history, and/or its reigning prince.14 Bernard Plongeron contends that “the point of

reference for all the national varieties is taken within the common anti-Jesuit reaction, the

battle against baroque Catholicism, against ‘pontifical’ prerogatives, and against

ultramontanist triumphalism.”15 Moreover, some “reformed” Catholics preached a

“retour aux sources” to the ecclesiastical life of the early Church. Such rhetoric of

austerity resembled that of the pristine “republican” virtues of austerity acclaimed by

Enlightenment thinkers such as Rousseau and above all Mably.16

In Catholic countries such as France, Spain, the Italian provinces, and the

Austrias, the religious and political interplay between Jesuits and Jansenists and their

respective lay and ecclesiastical sympathizers formed a “right” and “left” (a conservative,

or Ultramontane, strand and a reforming strand) in eighteenth-century politics. The

Jesuits, or the “Society of Jesus”, were a regular order of the clergy founded in Spain in

the 1540s, who by the mid-1700s were spread out over Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Jesuits defended the importance of good works along with faith in the process of

salvation and had much success in encouraging processions and the veneration of relics

as a means of fostering a faith that was conducive to the practice of the sacraments. Their

14 Samuel Miller provides an overview of the developments of such enlightened Catholicism in eighteenth-century Europe (e.g., Austrian crown lands, German principalities, Naples, Spain, and Portugal) in his introduction of Portugal and Rome, c. 1748-1830: An Aspect of the Catholic Enlightenment (Rome: Università Gregoriana, 1978). 15 Bernard Plongeron, “Recherches sur l’Aufklarung Catholique en Europe Occidentale (1770-1830),” Revue d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine 16 (1969), p. 568. 16 For further discussion of how this “republican” rhetoric related to Reform Catholicism, see Chapter Two.

20

more relaxed interpretation of Catholic theology brought them into conflict with clergy of

more morally rigoristic tendencies, and many times these clergy were “Jansenists.” But a

Jansenist could be a priest, a politician, or an everyday parishioner—anyone who

subscribed to the French strand of Catholic theology known as Jansenism. Jansenists

were proponents of the translation of Scripture in the vernacular and ascribed a larger role

to God’s efficacious grace in salvation than other Catholic groups such as Jesuits.

Jansenists also promoted a conciliar model of the Church in which the unanimity

of its members prevailed. Conciliarism was the conviction that deliberation by

churchmen in council was the canonical mode of Catholic governance. General councils

of ecclesiastical dignitaries should be regularly convened to discuss and regulate matters

of Church doctrine and discipline in accordance with the divine mandate of Church

governance. Behind the quest for unanimity lay the assumption that the consensus

arrived at by conciliar deliberation bore the real seal of infallibility in terms of doctrine

and discipline promised by Christ to his church. For Jansenists, this understanding of

church governance took precedence over the established hierarchy of Rome that had

further concentrated its power in post-Tridentine Europe.

The forces of the Roman hierarchy came to be associated with the idea of

Ultramontanism. Historically, the term denoted the pope, who dwelled “beyond the

mountains” (ultra montes) for much of Europe, as the spiritual head of Catholicism.

After the Protestant Reformation, the label “Ultramontanist” was used in many Catholic

countries outside of Italy, by those who regarded the pope as a foreign power in order to

label proponents of the Roman doctrines of papal infallibility and of the monarchical

character of the pope in matters of Church governance. It must be noted that those, such

21

as Jansenists, who opposed Ultramontanism did not question the primacy of the pope but

rather found scriptural authority to support a more powerful role for bishops.

The Jesuits were the primary proponents of Ultramontanism as well as the

primary opponents of Jansenists. Bound by a special vow of loyalty to the pope, they

held that he retained a monarchical power over matters of Church governance and that

bishops therefore received authority of their jurisdiction directly from him. In matters of

theology, Jesuits granted a smaller role for God’s grace in the process of salvation,

defending the importance of good works that accompany faith. Molinism was a system

adopted by the Jesuits, among other Catholics, that reconciled the mysterious relationship

between God’s efficacious grace and human free will by emphasizing the freedom of the

will and de-emphasizing the role of Divine grace in the work of an individual’s

salvation.17

The majority of Jesuits further differed from Jansenists in that they held a more

relaxed interpretation of Catholic moral theology called moral laxism, or “Probabilism.”

“Laxists” contended that, when there was a question of whether a particular action

adhered to the law of God, the individual could follow any slightly probable opinion

postulated by any given theologian (rather than directly consulting Scripture and

doctrine) in favor of the liberty to perform that action. Thus, in the morally laxist

interpretation, one could act freely and without guilt of conscience. No sin would be

committed even though the opposing view (emanating from Scripture or Church

doctrine) was more probable, meaning it was more likely that the action was truly a sin.

17 Specifically, Jesuits believed that God foresaw the amount of grace that each person would need to surmount a given temptation, and whether or not the person would decide to use this grace. The grace was

22

Moral rigorism, in contrast to laxism, encompassed moral theology that was stricter than

probibilism, and Jansenists were known particularly as moral rigorists. Such “rigorists”

maintained that one must try to ascertain if a slightly probable opinion was lawful in the

eyes of God before acting on it. In other words, if there was any probability that an

action might be a sin, the risk of committing sin should be avoided, abstaining from the

action.

Thus, given these sharp distinctions between Jesuits and Jansenists, the two

parties were at odds for most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The strong

immediate presence of the Jesuits in most of Catholic Europe served as a barrier to

Jansenist goals of conciliarism and greater episcopal autonomy. Yet, the brunt of the

conflicts between Jansenists and Jesuits occurred mainly in France. In Spain and the

Italian states (and perhaps Portugal), pro-Jesuit and non-Jesuit Catholics were able to co-

exist under single Catholic enlightenments in each region for about the first half of the

eighteenth century, since the groups involved all benefited from government sponsorship

at one time or another.18 While the consensus remained very fragile as to what the

“Catholic Enlightenment” was, notable polarization did not occur until the second half of

the eighteenth century with the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal, France, and Spain

from 1759 to 1767, leading up to the official dissolution of the Jesuit order by Pope

Clement XIV in 1773. These very polarizing events caused by growing political and

religious divisions resulted in each group dividing up the legacy of the Catholic

sufficient unto the temptation. If used it became efficacious, and God predestined people unto eternal salvation according to this foresight. 18 The most notable examples of such sponsorship are that of Muratori from the Duke of Modena and of Feijoo from the Spanish Bourbon monarchy.

23

Enlightenment—the Jansenist side taking the emphasis on lay literacy, book knowledge,

and the cause of classical republican austerity and the pro-Jesuit side picking up on other

areas such as the rehabilitation of human nature and the possibility of progress.19

Jansenists continued to battle the interconnected forces of molinist theology,

probabilistic penitential ethics, and Ultramontanist ecclesiology to achieve their goals in

the remainder of the eighteenth century since even after the dissolution of the order, the

influence that the Jesuits had exerted in moral theology and papal centralization remained

within seminaries and dioceses. The Jesuits had left their mark on Catholic Europe.

Nevertheless, in all matters concerning reform, the integral question centers on the

institutional means to be employed in order to carry out the desired reform. In

eighteenth-century Catholic Europe, the answer to that question naturally pitted

enlightened Catholics, such as many Jansenists, against the forces of Ultramontanism in

the form of Jesuits and Roman Curia. With the obstacle of Ultramontanism standing in

the way of ecclesiastical reform, most proponents of reform, such as those in Spain,

sought the aid of secular, yet Catholic magistrates, namely monarchs, whose power and

protection could provide them means to implement reform. Jansenists in several

countries chose such a route.

For Jansenists in France, the tradition of Gallicanism provided a common ground

for French clergy and state on which Jansenists, in particular, would naturally appeal to

the authority of the state as they met with resistance from Rome for aid in their quest to

establish more jurisdictional authority for bishops as well as parish priests. To explain the

French situation further, one must understand its uniqueness. The concept of

19 Van Kley, “Catholic Conciliar Reform,” in Bradley and Van Kley, Religion and Politics, pp.79-80.

24

Gallicanism, a tradition that some would date back to the middle ages, held much sway in

both the ecclesiastical and political realms of France. The idea posited that the Church of

France (or the Gallican Church) and their theological schools had preserved and

continued to enjoy certain liberties as common law of the whole Church. These liberties

dated back to the early Church and tended to restrain direct papal authority over the

French Church in favor of that of French bishops and the temporal ruler, i.e., the king.

By the eighteenth century, while claiming their ideas to be articles of the faith, and yet by

no means contesting the pope’s primacy in the Church, “Gallicans” aimed to clarify that

their way of regarding papal authority was more in conformity with Scripture and

ecclesiastical tradition. Gallicans, however, could be either religious or temporal

(secular) authorities who implemented Gallican liberties for very different ends. French

bishops, for example, used the ideology to argue for or justify increased power in the

government of their dioceses, while magistrates adopted it to extend their jurisdiction to

cover ecclesiastical affairs.20 Although persecuted by their monarchs, French Jansenists

found more success in appealing to the state authority in the form of the Parlement of

Paris. In France, the right of censure over the clergy had been and was still mainly

exercised by the parlements in the name of the king, and in the eighteenth century they

did so largely in defense of Jansenists against Ultramontanist bishops. Moreover, in the

20 There was an episcopal (and somewhat political) Gallicanism and a parliamentary or judicial Gallicanism. The former lessened the doctrinal authority of the pope in favor of bishops to the degree set out in Louis XIV’s Declaration of 1682. The latter, affecting the relations of the temporal and spiritual powers, tended to augment the rights of the State over the Church on the grounds of what was called “the Liberties of the Gallican Church.” For further clarification on how this ultimately played out in eighteenth-century France, Dale Van Kley discusses the implications and results of these different interpretations of Gallicanism at length in The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560-1791 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996).

25

eighteenth century the parlements increasingly spoke in the name of the “nation.”21 In

Bourbon Spain, however, there were no parlements. Although recently exercised against

Jesuits in 1767 and in favor of “Jansenists”, the secular power of the Spanish king

increasingly threatened episcopal prerogatives in order to better usurp all forms of

authority available to the state within its borders.

The Age of Enlightenment in Spain

The cause of luces (lights) in Spain meant a purification, or “enlightening,” of the

Catholic faith rather than its abolition. Thus, the Spanish Enlightenment is more Catholic

than the standard image associated with Enlightenment France. While a number of

Catholic (or at least non anti-Catholic) enlightenments existed, the Spanish monarchy

sponsored the predominant mode. Associated with “progress” and the advancement of the

sciences, it focused on the educated elite of Spanish society. The Spanish monarchy

found it in its interests to promote such progress in the cause of “science” associated in

Spain with the Benedictine monk Benito Jerónimo Feijoo and with the growth of civility

and economic productivity, particularly through the regalist program of increased

political centralization advanced by the court lawyer Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes

among others in Madrid.

Yet, “Jansenism” could almost be (and sometimes is) equated with the cause of

“enlightenment” because the planks that comprised the Spanish platform of

enlightenment, particularly promoted by the state, coincided with many Jansenist

21 Catholic absolute monarchies were often eager to defend and even enlarge episcopal prerogatives where their bishops’ relations with the papacy were concerned such as the right to grant dispensations for marriages within the canonical degrees of relatedness. For France, this phenomenon was seen mainly in the parlements. See Van Kley, Religious Origins of the French Revolution.

26

objectives in eighteenth-century Spain.22 In fact, many of the court lawyers of Madrid

could be defined as Spanish “Jansenists;” however, their duties to the king also made

them “regalists.”23 A larger trend in eighteenth-century Europe, regalism involved the

king’s use of ministers and councilors, dedicated and imaginative reformers, to

strengthen monarchical authority, to bolster modern science and culture, to make Spain

more prosperous, and to enhance her power and standing in Europe and on the seas.

The regalism of Spain’s King Charles III (reigned 1759-1788) intersected with

what many consider to be the pinnacle of enlightenment in Spain. Under Charles III,

Madrid supported the revival of patristic theology over that of Jesuit moral theology,

resulting in an “anti-scholasticism” sentiment; a drive to purify the Catholic faith from all

that was considered “superstition;” and a push for greater independence of national

churches, episcopacies, and secular, parish clergy at the expense of the Roman hierarchy,

specifically the Curia and the regular clergy. William J. Callahan finds that the “Caroline

Church” considered popular religious practices outside those of the church proper as

something to suppress, or at best a necessary evil, as clerics and government officials

alike pushed for a simple interior Christianity through reforms based on pastoral

visitation and the education of priests and parishioners.24 Since Jansenists called for

22 For an example of this type of treatment of the Spanish Enlightenment, see Sarrailh’s exposition in L’Espagne éclairée de la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, Librairie C. Klincksieck, 1954). 23 In Spain under Charles III, Manuel de Roda, minister of Grace and Justice, and Pedro Campomanes, leading lawyer (fiscal) of the Council of Castile, were two such figures who had Jansenist leanings. Roda was definably more Jansenist; however, he was still bound by the parameters of regalism. Campomanes was definably more regalist. Whenever the cause of Jansenism could be used to further the regalist agenda, Campomanes embraced Jansenism only for that end. 24 William J. Callahan, Church, Politics, and Society in Spain, 1750-1874 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984).

27

increased moral rigorism (supported by patristic theology) and the reform of superstitious

and icono-centric practices common among the laity in various towns and villages, the

causes of Jansenism and Regalism in Spain supported each other oftentimes in a mutually

beneficial relationship.25

A particular illustration involved the Jesuits in Spain. Since the “Society of

Jesus” comprised an international organization with headquarters outside of Spain and

were bound by a special vow of loyalty to the pope, the monarchy saw the Jesuit order as

a challenge to royal power. Spain was not unique in this stance; first, in 1759, Portugal

expelled the Jesuits from her lands, and in 1764, the French dissolved the order in its

realm. Before the monarchies of Catholic confession managed to persuade Pope Clement

XIV to dissolve the Jesuits as an order entirely in 1773, Charles III followed suit with his

European neighbors, issuing a royal pragmatic on April 2, 1767 that because of very

serious or “grave causes” the Jesuits residing in Spain and her colonies would have to

leave immediately.26

The monarchy had intentionally not spelled out what the “grave causes” were in

order to avoid their public refutation. Yet, in the twelve months preceding the pragmatic,

it was quite clear to many that the Jesuits were under investigation as the prime suspects

behind the riots that had occurred during Holy Week (Semana Santa)—March 23-26,

25 Charles Noel details this relationship in “Clerics and Crown in Bourbon Spain 1700-1808: Jesuits, Jansenists, and Enlightened Reformers”, in Religion and Politics in Enlightenment Europe, pp.119-153. The relationship is discussed further, below in Chapter Five, in the section on Enlightened Catholicism and Enlightened Despotism. 26 For the political process of the expulsion in Spain, see Teófanes Egido Lopez and Isidoro Pinedo, Las Causas “Gravísimas” y Secretas de la Expulsión de los Jesuitas por Carlos III (Madrid: Fundación Universitaria Española, 1994).

28

1766—in the major cities of Spain, including Madrid, and had forced the king and his

family to flee the capital for personal safety, bring incredible embarrassment to Charles

III and his ministers. In response, the government issued a royal decree on April 21,

1766, which set up mechanisms for investigation of the riots to be led by Campomanes

and modeled after those of the Inquisition—they granted immunity and anonymity for

“witnesses”. In this same royal decree, the government responded to the large amount of

“clandestine literature ‘by another class’ around and capable of manipulating popular

opinion and provoking riots,” prohibiting such literature as “verses and seditious and

injurious papers to the public and particular person” of the king.27 But the literature

continued to be circulated, and largely because of this, by September a “Consejo

Extraordinario” was formed. As Spanish historian Teófanes Egido Lopez finds, at this

moment “anti-jesuitism went par for course with regalism.”28

On January 29, 1767, the Consejo Extraordinario submitted its report to the king,

finding that, based on Campomanes’ consultations with men of the “highest character”

and accredited experience, in all of the riots of March 1766 the Jesuits were all around

the “before” and “after” of the riots so that the riots could no longer be explained as

caused by the spontaneity of the people of Madrid. But what was the Jesuits’ motive

against the king and his government? In a word, “Revenge,” said Campomanes. And

Egido confirms that, while the testimonies do not clarify the supposed participation of the

Jesuits in the riots, they do show, that since the fall of the Jesuit Ravago as the king’s

confessor in the 1750’s “the Society had radically changed its attitude in the short space

27 Egido, Las Causas “Gravísimas”, p.29. 28 Ibid, p.35.

29

of 10 years: from ultra-regalist Ravago, the posture becomes more genuinely and

consistently Ultramontanist. And on the other extreme, the rest of the clergy, because of

the need to find anti-Jesuit testimony during the months of the investigation, appear as

the closest ally to the reforming and ‘Jansenist’ team.”29 In the investigation,

Campomanes collected testimonies from specific men of the laity and clergy who gave

third- or fourth-hand information as evidence that the Jesuits had poisoned the masses

against the person of the king, that they openly preached against Portugal and France in

their sermons to the public, and that they circulated literature with words against the

House of Bourbon and the “sins of Spain”—spreading rumors of an affair between the

king and the Marquesa de Esquilache, whose husband received a nice pension and

position in government as payment for the use of her as a mistress, and such favors

allowing the Marques de Esquilache to govern despotically. (The riots are commonly

referred to in Spain as the Esquilache Riots because the rioters directed their anger

towards Esquilache’s governance.)

Thus, according to January report of the Consejo Extraordinario, the Jesuits were

anti-monarchical, and the relaxed theology of Probabilism they espoused was conducive

to a moral and physical “tyrannicide” (tiranicidio), or regicide. An absolute monarch

could not tolerate such a despotic body such as the Jesuits. And so in April of 1767

Charles III used much of what was in the report, as well as the December 1766 Dictamen

of Campomanes, to expel the Jesuits from Spain.

29 Ibid, p.91.

30

Nonetheless, the Jesuits’ activity in education and pastoral work had left its mark

in Spain. Out of this arose a monarchy, as well as a clergy, seeking the territory which

the Jesuits had occupied and the way that territory was incorporated shaped the course of

enlightenment and reform Catholicism in Spain. The monarchy had sought and achieved

increased centralization over the Spanish church, assuming responsibility over Jesuit

positions and wealth, and later determining how they would be delegated. To a certain

extent, “enlightenment” within the Spanish church therefore depended on the views of

the state officials in Madrid, their desire for reform, and to what extent that reform would

benefit the church and the state, respectively.30

Sometimes, then, the enlightenment of “progress” promoted by regalists in

Madrid was at odds with the kind of enlightenment Jansenists sought among the Catholic

laity and clergy that comprised “Spain”. The regalist aim of national growth in civility

and economic production brought a certain amount of “progress” that had the capacity to

compromise efforts at “purifying” Spanish Catholicism. With the competing strands of

Enlightenment, any inroads made to reduce “superstition” in Spanish Catholicism

encountered, on the other side, increased numbers of Spanish Catholics who heeded the

“Catholic” authority of the state and its government officials before that of their local

Catholic Church representatives (parish priests, bishops, etc). But this was mostly

because the state had given its subjects little choice in the matter. The effects of regalism

had extended the reaches of state authority over all affairs religious, economic, and

social, meanwhile the effects of absolutism placed an official Catholic “stamp” on all

30Antonio Domínguez Ortiz details Charles III’s policy of secularization for the ends of absolutism in Carlos III y la España de la Ilustración (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1988).

31

such affairs. Thus, the state could construe wealth and prosperity in Spain as bringing

glory to the “Catholic nation” that it prided itself in being. Likewise, if local church

officials criticized any immorality that accompanied the growing amounts of wealth and

prosperity among some parishioners, the voices of reformist clerics no longer held

enough authority to combat the advances of regalism on their sphere of influence

effectively.

Catholic identity and “patriotism” were intertwined in eighteenth-century Spain.

The economic revival of the Spanish Empire grew a new merchant and productive class

in Spain “who welcomed the new [enlightened] ideas and supported the reformers in

royal government, for reasons of private social or economic profit as well as of

patriotism.”31 From the perspective of the new class which Richard Herr labels

“bourgeois”, one’s Catholic identity was interwoven with allegiance to the king of Spain,

and thus embracing the enlightened economic ideas of the king’s government and

enjoying the rewards it reaped was considered “Catholic” as much as it was “patriotic.”

Furthermore, given the approval of the economically prosperous on the state’s program

of enlightenment, the competition between Spanish “enlightenments” becomes even more

fierce.32 Jansenists and other advocates for church reform led the cause of Enlightened

Catholicism, and when their interests conflicted with those of “progress” advanced by

economic and political “elite” in the name of Enlightened Despotism, then those

31 Richard Herr, review of L’Espagne éclairée de la seconde moitié du XVIIIe siècle, by Jean Sarrailh, The Journal of Modern History 27, (March 1955): 78-79. 32 Jean Sarrailh has found that the “enlightened” Spaniard (i.e., he who supported the enlightenment of economic progress) supported the monarchy and believed the new “enlightened” culture should emanate from the throne (rather than from the Church), showing little interest in the American Revolution. See L’Espagne éclairée.

32

advocating Enlightened Catholicism became “un-patriotic” and, from that perspective,

advocates of “anti-enlightenment.”33

This dissertation shows how the multiple enlightenments in Spain existed and

conflicted with one another. Most studies of the Enlightenment in Spain identify the

most prominent “enlightenment” as that of progress and science promoted by the state,

and some also place high importance on the enlightenment of Catholic reform associated

with “Jansenism” which many times worked closely alongside the state. Seldom,

however, are dynamics of these enlightenments illustrated in a practical way. Prominent

Spanish historian Antonio Domínguez Ortiz has characterized the Spanish Enlightenment

by the ability of the Spanish state and Spanish society to absorb the ideas of the

philosophes of the French Enlightenment. While the ministers of state were aware of and

influenced by “the Enlightenment,” the roughly eighty percent of Spaniards who were

campesinos (rural dwellers, peasants, or farmers) remained in intellectual and spiritual

darkness.34 With such a characterization, the Spanish state is the embodiment of the

Spanish Enlightenment, reaching a zenith under Charles III who, according to

Domínguez Ortiz, advanced the absolutist state and successfully eliminated the Church as

a rival, contributing to the already emerging environment of de-Christianization in

33 It is easy to see how nineteenth- and twentieth-century Spanish historiography has largely defined Enlightenment in Spain in a monochromatic way: the government officials bore “the” Enlightenment to Spain through their absorption of the ideas of French physiocrats and philosophes (encyclopedic ideas) and then applying those ideas in governance. Historical research has typically thus related the tensions caused by the application of “progress” as simply owing to the only other side of Spain—that known as “Conservative-Catholic”. If the sources employed for historical research largely reflect the point of view of the government and economic progress, then the history produced will reflect the sources’ bias. 34 Domínguez Ortiz, Sociedad y estado en el siglo XVIII español (Barcelona and Madrid: Ariel Historia, 1976).

33

Europe and furthering the declining position of the Catholic Church in Spain.35 Charles

III’s absolutism eradicated any conflict between civil and ecclesiastical powers, and his

ministers of state had a field free of obstacles to carry out enlightened reforms in Spain.

Richard Herr has also written extensively on Enlightenment Spain. The

Eighteenth-Century Revolution in Spain, he contends in his book so titled, is the growth

in power of the state over the church embodied as “enlightened despotism.” The

enlightened despots of the state apparatus promoted and defended the ideas of

experimentation and observation in science (epitomized in Spain by Feijóo) and of the

French physiocrats in the science of economics. For Herr, in matters of religion

“Jansenism” is tightly tied to the growing regalism of the Bourbons. Rather than being a

believer of Jansenism, a “Jansenist” was just an accusatory label of the Spanish Jesuits

before 1767, and so the only enlightenment in Spain associated with Catholicism and

Jansenism was that of the state. By the second-half of the eighteenth century, Herr finds

increasing tensions between “progressives” and “conservatives” in politics that erupt into

disunity in Spanish government during the French Revolution (and political revolution

later on in the early nineteenth century at the Cortes de Cádiz). Herr defines progressives

as proponents of “Enlightenment” by the state: mostly royal officials, those prospering

from commerce or industry, and them some “liberal” aristocrats and clerics.

Conservatives, on the contrary, pervade religious orders and secular clergy and fear the

loss of control over land and education. During the era of the French Revolution, these

two groups represent the “two Spains” of the progressive-anticlericals and the Catholic-

conservatives, the division for Herr being the real revolution of the late-eighteenth

35 Domínguez Ortiz, Carlos III y la España de la Ilustración, p.141.

34

century. Rather than a unique Catholic enlightenment existing in Spain, “the”

Enlightenment could not erode the fervent religious faith of the Spanish people, and

thanks to that strong faith Spain experienced the benefits of Enlightenment.36

Historian Jean Sarrailh maintains in L’Espagne éclairée de la seconde moitié du

XVIIIe siècle that “the” Enlightenment in Spain was concerned mostly with economics

and its leading figures were economic reformers such as Campomanes and Gaspar

Melchor de Jovellanos.37 Providing consensus with previous studies, he finds the

Spanish Enlightenment to be the work of a small minority, politically pro-monarchical

and anti-revolutionary. Sarrailh, however, gives a more dynamic account of the Catholic

church’s relation to Enlightenment as religious orders and many of the secular clergy are

revealed as conscientious champions of reform.38 They, both the progressive and the

truly religious Spaniards of the time, wanted religious and moral reform that returned to

the example of the Early Church, believing that such reform promised Spaniards restored

reason and virtue, more so than political and economic reforms could promise. Overall,

however, Sarrailh’s Spanish Enlightenment is an uncomplicated struggle between the

elite group of “enlightened” against the “inert mass” of the Spanish population, about 8-9

million at the time, who were agricultural and urban laborers swamped in poverty and

ignorance. In the end, it is a unified “crusade” for enlightenment that the elite,

36 Richard Herr, The Eighteenth-Century Revolution in Spain (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958): p.436. 37 Sarrailh, L’Espagne éclairée. 38 Sarrailh takes issue with the militantly Catholic historian Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo who helped form the classical picture of Enlightenment Spain as “encyclopedists” and their cohort weakening the religious foundations of the Spanish nation, which were the first cause of all Spain’s later troubles. Menéndez y Pelayo, Historia de los heterodoxos españoles, 2 vols (Madrid: Editorial Católica, 1956): v.2.

35

numbering 1000-2000, carried out to build a new culture based on reason rather than

authority, representing efficiency and progress, creating and promoting universal

happiness. For Sarrailh, no obstacle exists for Spain in the form of competing spheres of

enlightenment.

What these studies do show is that Spain under the Bourbons became again an

active participant in the general life of Western Europe, economic and political as well as

intellectual. What they do not relate is that at the same time Spain also became an active

participant in the religious scene of Catholic Europe. Emile Appolis, Joël Saugnieux, and

Charles Noel all have produced scholarship that links Spain with the larger religious

scene of Catholic Europe, promoting the idea that the cause of Enlightened Catholicism

competed with that of Enlightened Despotism in Spain as it did in other Catholic

countries. Appolis coined the phrase “tiers parti”, or “third party”, to describe those in

Spain associated with Jansenism who did not wholly subscribe to the political program of

Enlightened Despotism or affiliate themselves with the Catholic “zealots” connected with

the Society of Jesus.39 The many works of Saugnieux have done much to bring to light

the contours and complexities of Jansenism in Spain and its relationship to

Enlightenment.40 Only loosely associated with the better-known phenomenon of French

Jansenism, Spanish Jansenism did not share the same theological heritage as the French

and was based instead on the humanist and Erasmian traditions of sixteenth-century

39 Emile Appolis, Le “tiers parti” catholique au XVIII siecle (Paris: Editions A.et J.Picard & Co, 1960). 40 Joël Saugnieux, Le Jansénisme Espagnol du XVIIIe Siècle: ses composantes et ses sources (Oviedo: Universidad de Oviedo, Cátedra de Feijoo, 1975). For more analysis on how the Enlightenment took form in Spain and its relationship to Catholicism, see particularly the first chapter of Foi et Lumières dans l’Espagne du XVIIIe siècle, Joël Saugnieux ed., (Lyon: Presses Universitaires de Lyon, 1985).

36

Spain. The Jansenist movement in Spain grew as a critical reaction to baroque

Catholicism which, springing forth in the post-Tridentine Catholic Church, had focused

on emotion and the senses in religiosity and, for Jansenists, the extravagance in art and

“sacralized” objects had externalized religion to the point of excess.41 In his work,

Saugnieux has indicated that by mid-century Spanish Jansenists were diverse “spiritual

families” that, despite sometimes conflicting goals, were all united by an attachment to a

“national tradition,” or appeal to history—be it of the early Church or Spanish humanism

of the sixteenth century.42 As a result, “Jansenists” in Spain advocated different kinds of

reforms depending on the type of authority they associated with Jansenism: political,

theological, moral, or ecclesiastical.

Charles C. Noel has studied the interplay of Jansenism and regalism in late

eighteenth-century Spanish politics, particularly looking at the Council of Castile and its

relations with Spanish clerics. By looking at the philosophical differences between

individual politicians and individual clerics (sometimes politicians themselves), Noel

successfully illustrates the multifaceted character of Enlightenment Spain and

41 French Jansenist Abbé Clément of Auxerre most vividly illustrates this Jansenist reaction to baroque Catholicism in his observations as a visitor to Madrid in 1768—even using the word “baroque” himself to describe a song sung in a procession! He writes, the women of Madrid “marchent dans les rues avec un air grave et serieux, marmottant continuellement les priers du Chapelet, garni de belles Croix et medailles d’or ou d’argent qu’elles ont toujours à la main. Dans les eglises leur devotion paroit aussi singuliere que peu eclairée…. Le people est de la dernière ignorance touchant la Religion, il n’y a aucune traduction en langue vulgaire, l’Écriture sainte, de la tradition et des SS.PP. il n’est pas permis aux Laïcs de lire la Bible ni aucun autre livre pour s’instruire des verités saints de la Religion. …Le chant si baroque don’t ils se servent est si ridicule qu’on ne peut s’empecher d’en rire, et dans le fonds de gemir d’une pareille ignorance.” Clément concludes that this is a shame since the Spanish indeed demonstrate a natural desire to be pious. See Abbé Clément, “Voyage de Paris à Madrid, et Retour; au mois de Juillet mil sept sent soixant huit,” Fols.74-76. 42 Saugnieux, Le Jansénisme Espagnol, p.93.

37

demonstrates the political dynamic of competing, but sometimes coinciding,

“enlightenments”. In a summary statement, Noel relates his findings:

Rather than a two-way fight—the church versus the state—eighteenth-century Spain endured a protracted series of conflicts which were partly religious, partly political, partly cultural, even partly economic and financial. A varying balance of interests made one episode different from the next, but there was never a straightforward, simple lineup of clerics against laymen.43 Gleaning from the scholarship of all of these historians, this dissertation

distinguishes multiple enlightenments in Spain and the tensions between them—namely

the tensions between Enlightened Despotism and Enlightened Catholicism. Few, if any,

studies have regarded competing “enlightenments” as creating unique tensions that gave

rise to a complex political environment or have located an enlightenment of “classical

republicanism” in Spain. The chapters that follow introduce how different

enlightenments competed in Spain, how classical republicanism existed as an important

discourse of enlightenment, and how that discourse furthered an enlightenment from the

elite of society to the public in Spain.

Enlightenments in Barcelona

One of the most evident cases of Spain’s competing strands of Enlightenment

occurred in Barcelona during the episcopacy of Josep Climent i Avinent from 1766 to

1775. As religious leaders in Spain could also be figures of Enlightenment, my

dissertation studies how Climent brought enlightenment to Barcelona through his

program of Catholic reform. While receiving his doctorate in theology at the University

43 Noel, “Clerics and Crown in Bourbon Spain, 1700-1808: Jesuits, Jansenists, and Enlightened Reformers,” p.120. Also, “Missionary Preachers in Spain: Teaching Social Virtue in the Eighteenth Century,” American Historical Review 90 (1985): 866-892; and C.C. Noel, “Opposition to Enlightened Reform in Spain: Campomanes and the Clergy, 1765-1775,” Societas. A Review of Social History 3 (1973): pp.21-43.

38

of Valencia in the early-eighteenth century, Climent had become influenced by French

ideas taught there that related not only to enlightenment but also to the theology of

Jansenism. Crusading for greater austerity and open deliberative procedures in the form

of councils to bring about a more spiritual church, the case of Josep Climent reveals a

unique side of the Spanish Enlightenment. While many enlightened thinkers in Spain

rallied for progress, Climent by contrast employed a language of classical republicanism

in the Christian guise of admiration and emulation of the early Church. Rousseau and

Montesquieu used such a language to praise the austerity and virtue of Ancient Sparta or

Republican Rome,44 but Climent used it in a self-consciously Catholic way, idealizing

Christian as opposed to classical antiquity.

While most associate the “republican” virtues of austerity with Enlightenment

thinkers, such as Rousseau and Mably, and never with Spanish Catholicism, Climent held

such virtues essential to his program of Catholic reform. Unlike many reformers of his

day, Climent was as suspicious of royal sponsorship of religious reform just as he was of

the expected opposition from the papacy. Since the image of Christian antiquity featured

an “enlightened”—that is, knowledgeable—Christian laity, Climent’s brand of

enlightenment took more interest in popular enlightenment and therefore education than

did the Spanish monarchy. Climent’s writings called for a deeper understanding of

Scripture that would invoke a more austere and internal popular piety among the laity of

Barcelona. Since the local forms of Spanish Catholic devotion normally involved

processions, festivals, and other highly visible, even spectacular, manifestations,

44 Keith M. Baker, “Transformations of Classical Republicanism in Eighteenth-Century France.” Journal of Modern History 17 (1) March 2001: 32-53.

39

Climent’s reform project directly concerned popular or local religion.45 Thus, Climent’s

reform initiatives concerning local religious practices resulted in a “Catholic

Enlightenment” in Barcelona that permeated even the lower levels of society by means of

education and specifically through greater literacy and dissemination of literature.

Furthermore, other studies of eighteenth-century Spain have analyzed and found

enlightenment(s) only at top-level of Spanish society; a few have designated that about

2000 Spaniards became “enlightened” in one way or another (much less than one percent

of the total population). This dissertation, however, goes further. It is unique from other

studies because it examines the “grass roots” of eighteenth-century Spanish society as

well. Rather than left in the “darkness” of poverty and ignorance, agricultural and urban

laborers, including children and women, are brought into the “light” of eighteenth-

century reform, illustrating how the enlightenment at the top level connected with

enlightenment on the bottom level of society.

The idea of enlightenment as a social phenomenon is one that has gained

prominence in recent eighteenth-century historiography because of the path-breaking

work of Jurgen Habermas on the framework of the “public sphere.”46 In The Structural

Transformation of the Public Sphere, Habermas postulated that in the eighteenth century

the rise of bourgeois capitalism transformed the “public sphere”47 from one that was

45 See also Christian’s treatment of Spanish Catholicism in Local Religion in Sixteenth Century Spain. 46 Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: an Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Thomas Burger trans, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1989. The German original Strukturwandel der Öffentlicheit was published in 1962 by Hermann Luchterhand Verlag (Darmstadt and Neuwied, FRG). 47 Briefly defined, the public sphere was the intellectual space where private individuals, making use of reason, made personal decisions on public affairs. In other words, the emergent public sphere marked the beginning of participatory politics.

40

centered in courtly life to one that was mediated by journals and gazettes provoking the

critical judgement (the use of reason) of a public that consisted of private people come

together. Thus, he presented the eighteenth-century Enlightenment as a social as well as

an intellectual movement. While Habermas’s public sphere was essentially a Marxist

one, ensuing scholarship on the public sphere has minimized Habermas’s bourgeois

aspect of the public sphere, instead characterizing this public sphere as “enlightened”

since social cohesion and class consciousness of the bourgeoisie in Old Regime Europe is

widely contested.48 Examining how the public sphere materialized in the areas of print

culture, theater, salons, taverns, and coffeehouses in the eighteenth century, scholars have

paid close attention to how each of these areas related to the gendered, religious,

economic, social and regional attributes of the public sphere(s).49 Such scholarship has

advanced idea that multiple public spheres co-existed in Enlightenment Europe: it took

on different forms and levels of engagement according to the particular conditions in

each country. In eighteenth-century Spain, any kind of public sphere that developed had

the pre-condition of having to be a religious one.

The expansion of print culture and readership under Climent that promoted a

“public sphere” in Barcelona places it within the greater phenomenon of Enlightenment.

Climent strove to increase the literacy of those who did not have the means to pay for

education. In 1767, he opened ten gratis elementary schools for the poor of Barcelona.

48 For a great synthesis of recent scholarship on the eighteenth-century public sphere, see James Van Horn Melton, The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe (Cambridge, Eng: Cambridge University Press, 2001). 49 One outstanding piece on print culture and the expansion of a “public sphere” is Robert Darnton’s The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France (New York and London: W.W. Norton & Co., 1995).

41

In 1772, he established a lending library of over 12,000 books at the seminary open to the

public. Throughout his episcopacy, he published and widely disseminated his sermons,

pastoral instructions, and other works that promoted a critical Catholic mind within the

city and diocese (in both Catalan and Castilian). The overlapping of Catholic reform and

the promotion of a public sphere led to an idea of “Catholic enlightenment,” and thus

furthers the discussion of multiple enlightenments in eighteenth-century Europe in which

the causes of faith and reason are not necessarily opposed.

Yet, the people of the diocese and the city of Barcelona came first in Climent’s

mind: enlightened reform must first focus on this immediate group. Because of this

concern, during his episcopacy a “public sphere” was fomented in the diocese (or at least

the city) of Barcelona. Thus, the Barcelonese parishioners must first be studied to

decipher whether a “public sphere” could be uniquely established in Barcelona as

opposed to other areas of Spain or Europe. To distinguish the people of Barcelona from

other Spaniards or Europeans, one must first look at the characteristics and elements of

Barcelona as a diocese and then as a city to have some idea with whom and what Climent

was dealing and the circumstances in which enlightenment spread amongst the people of

Barcelona.

Barcelona: Its Contours and Configuration in Eighteenth-Century Spain

42

Figure 1.1: Map of Spain

The recent past of Barcelona as part of the historic nation of Catalonia greatly

impacted the contours and configuration of the diocese during the episcopacy of Climent.

Seventeenth-century and early eighteenth-century events had demonstrated to the ruling

monarch in Madrid that Catalan subservience could not be taken for granted. While the

king of “Spain” had had supremacy in Catalonia since 1479 owing to the marriage of “the

Catholic monarchs” Ferdinand and Isabel in 1474, Catalonia continued to enjoy

traditional rights or fueros as part of the Crown of Aragón. Besides having a distinct

language, currency, and certain trade restrictions (no trade with the Americas) in

Catalonia, bodies such as the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Corts Catalanes had the

43

right to most matters of governance in the Catalan principality and, most importantly,

decided how much tax revenue to give to the Spanish king. If these rights were violated,

the Catalans protested: the most obvious example was the Catalan Revolt in 1640. When

Philip IV and the Count-Duke of Olivares were desperate for troops and resources to fund

Spain’s war effort against the Dutch and in the Thirty Year’s War against the French,

they executed the “Union of Arms” which demanded money and soldiers from all

“kingdoms” and “principalities” in Spain, violating their traditional rights and sending the

Catalans as well as the Portuguese into open revolt.50

But Catalan privileges and rights were again challenged when Charles II died in

1700 leaving the succession of the Spanish throne in question. The Habsburg candidate,

Archduke Charles of Austria, was likely to continue the decentralized style of regional

governments that the Spanish Habsburgs had employed to placate regions such as the

Crown of Aragón. The British, Dutch, and Portuguese did not approve of the Bourbon

candidate Philip of Anjou (the grandson of King Louis XIV of France) as the next king of

Spain, all of them fearing the strength such a move would bring to France and the greater

insecurity it would mean for their respective maritime commerce and travel. But with

Philip of Anjou a further risk was present for Catalans who feared that a Bourbon king of

Spain would establish a centralized government similar to the French model, replacing

regional governmental bodies such as the Generalitat with a complex bureaucracy

headquartered in Madrid. The War of Spanish Succession carried on between the French

and Crown of Castile on one side and the Crown of Aragón and the Austrian Empire

(with the support of the British, Dutch, and Portuguese for some years) on the other.

50 John H. Elliott, The Revolt of the Catalans (Cambridge, Eng: Cambridge University Press, 1963).

44

Finally in September of 1714, the Castilian and French troops defeated the last and most

defiant cell of Habsburg-supporters in Barcelona, leaving the city devastated and the

entire Northeast side of the city razed. While the war was over and Philip V the king of

Spain, the new Bourbon government in Madrid did not forget the position of the Catalans

during the war. Over the course of the eighteenth century, the Bourbon kings and

ministers established new decrees designed to limit the freedoms of Catalonia and bring

its people under direct subordination to the Spanish crown.

In January 1716, Philip V’s decree of the Nova Planta (literally, the Nueva Planta

de la Real Audiencia del Principado de Cataluña) effectively abolished all former

governmental bodies and systems in Catalonia. Now a “Captain General” became at

once the royal representative for Catalonia, commander of the military, and a general

governor of the region. In effect, the captain general became the local presence, eyes,

and ears of the king of Spain, replacing former bodies of regional governance in

importance. To finance the efforts of the captain general was the superintendent who

taxed the region directly. While the Generalitat had formerly decided which and how

much tax money to collect and send in to Madrid, now the centralized Bourbon state did

so through the superintendency. Regional political and judicial matters were the

jurisdiction of the revamped Real Audiencia whose head was ultimately the captain

general, thus making it a predominantly cooperative government organization. On the

whole, however, the experience of Catalonia was not unique. In general, Bourbon

regalism arrived to all Spanish provinces “ya fuera por vía directa de los cargos militares

45

y judiciales, ya por medio de órdenes y orientacioines gubernamentales o por la difusión

natural de las ideas sociales y políticas.”51

Still in Catalonia, Bourbon regalism many times equated to more severe

measures. For instance, the native and most common language was Catalan, Castilian

only understood and spoken by the educated. In the Nova Planta, Castilian was imposed

as the obligatory language for all business in the Real Audiencia and for all books and

parlance in Catalan academies. The University of Barcelona, among other Catalan

universities, was closed after 1714, its faculty and student body having been staunch

advocates for the Habsburg Archduke Charles. Instead, Bourbon government created the

University of Cervera in 1717, some distance from Barcelona, leaving the city devoid of

institutions of higher education. From this point until 1767, the adjoined Jesuit Col.legis

de Cordelles and de Belén, or Bethlehem, “became the leading education institution in

the city [Barcelona], and the only one empowered to teach advanced courses in grammar

and philosophy.”52 In lower levels of education, Catalan remained the basic language

employed. But even that could not be tolerated as Charles III in 1768 made Castilian the

obligatory language for primary and secondary education in Catalonia.

From the early eighteenth century on, even Catalan clergy were ordered to

employ and teach the catechism and Christian doctrine only in Castilian. But the use of

Catalan was so indispensable for the ministry of the church among its rural and

uneducated population in Catalonia that clerics continued to use it in pastoral

51 Francesc Tort i Mitjans, El Obispo de Barcelona Josep Climent I Avinent, 1706-1781: Contribución a la Historia de la Teología Pastoral Tarraconense en el Siglo XVIII (Barcelona: Editorial Balmes, 1978): p.160. 52 James S. Amelang, Honored Citizens of Barcelona: Patrician Culture and Class Relations, 1490-1714 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986): p.162.

46

communications well until the end of the eighteenth century.53 Bishop Climent defended

the use of bilingual instructional materials in 1770:

I observe that in almost all of the churches of my bishopric and of this principality preaching is done in Catalan or lemosina (the typical or common language?). …As all of the people of the region speak this language and there are not many of the people that understand any other language better. And my judgement should not be attributed to any concern or passion for a language which happens to be the same as that of my homeland.54

But the mere fact that Climent spoke Catalan was remarkable for eighteenth-century

Barcelona where the Bourbon kings managed to appoint only one other Catalan-speaking

bishop in the whole of the century. (Ascensi Sales was bishop of Barcelona from 1755 to

1766. After Climent, the next Catalan-speaking bishop of Barcelona was Pau de Sitjar,

1808-1831.)

Demonstrating its disdain for all organizations outside of its direct and absolute

control, the Bourbon state even diminished the role of the Inquisition in Spain,

“bourbonizing” it and making it more submissive to the crown. While in Catalonia, the

Inquisition was seen as a centralizing institution of Madrid that did not respect Catalan

fueros or laws. Now hated by the Catalans for this reason, the Inquisition went forward

53 “A les cúries diocesanes i als seminaris episcopals s’imposà el castellà, però el clericat mantigué el català en el seu exercici pastoral, sobretot en la predicació i en la catequesi. Per això es continuaren editant catecismes en llengua catalana, com el de Francesc Orriols, rector de Castellterçol, titulat Diálogos de la Doctrina Christiana. Si bé la primera edició era de l’any 1710, se’n feren en aquesta època diverses edicions, sense data, per tal d’evadir la normativa reial. Tanmateix continuà el floriment de goigs, cants, i tota mena d’opuscles destinats a la pietat popular….” Generalitat de Catalunya, Catalunya a l’epoca de Carles III (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 1991): p.255. 54 “Veo que en casi todas las Iglesias de mi Obispado y de este Principado se predica en lengua catalana o lemosina. …Como todos sus Naturales hablan esta lengua, y no son muchos los del pueblo que perfectamente entienden otra… Y no debe atribuirse mi dictamen a preocupación o passión a una lengua, que es la vulgar de mi Patria.” Josep Climent i Avinent, Los seis libros de la Rethórica Eclesiástica, escritos en Latín por el V.P.M. Fr. Luis de Granada, vertidos en español y dados a luz de orden y a costa del Ilmo. Sr. Obispo de Barcelona (Barcelona: imprenta de Bernardo Pla, 1770): p.xxvii.

47

with much leniency in the eighteenth century, killing only two people between 1705-

1808.55 (This followed the overall trend of less active Inquisition tribunals in eighteenth-

century Spain. Bourbon monarchs chose to appoint inquisitors that would make the

Inquisition subservient to regalist interests rather than an independent council actively

seeking to root out heretics.)

Despite these Bourbon reprisals towards Catalonia and Barcelona in particular,

demographic and economic trends in eighteenth-century Catalonia suggest successful

recovery after the defeat in war. Overall, the Catalan population increased because the

average life expectancy increased: in any given year, the number of those born

outnumbered those that died. While in 1718 the post-war Catalan population numbered

approximately 407,000, in the 1787 census Catalonia’s population had doubled to

814,000. Furthermore, migration patterns show people moving from mountain areas to

plains and valleys at the feet of mountain areas to engage in agriculture there, and above

all population increased along the Catalan coast where people flocked to fishing villages

and port cities. As Pierre Vilar has noted in his analysis of eighteenth-century Catalonia,

the increase in population, along with migration patterns, was an indispensable condition

for the economic growth that occurred.56

The diocese of Barcelona experienced the same Catalan trends of population and

economic growth. In 1768-1769,57 the population in the Barcelona diocese had nearly

55 One (Cistercian) was killed for sodomy and a surgeon was executed for crypto-Judaism. See Joan Bada i Elias, Inquisició a Catalunya (Segles XIII-XIX) (Barcelona: Editorial Barcanova, S.A., 1992): p.101. 56 Pierre Vilar, La Catalogne dans l’Espagne Moderne: Recherches sur les fondements économiques des structures nationales, 3 vols (Paris: S.E.V.P.E.N., 1962). 57 The 1768-1769 statistics are taken from el Censo Español, executado de Orden del Rey por Conde Floridablanca, primer secretario de Estado y del Despacho (Madrid: Imprenta Real de Madrid, 1787).

48

doubled from 1718, totaling 205,753 and comprising 2.2% of the total Spanish

population of 9,307,804, as one of 48 bishoprics and 8 archbishoprics in Spain.58 (See

Figure 1.2) Comprised of 207 individual parishes, the diocese of Barcelona in the later

eighteenth century encompassed urban areas that were centers of trade, as well as rural

areas whose valleys and plains were devoted to agriculture. Bordered on one side by the

Mediterranean Sea, the diocese was also characterized by coastal regions of fishing

villages and ports for sea commerce. To the north and west, mountainous, wooded areas

were scattered with towns and villages whose heritage dated back to the first Christian

Catalan settlements of the Reconquest (circa 1000-1200).

58 Numbers include both secular and regular clergy. In 1718, the Relación counted 106,782 inhabitants (including secular and regular clergy) in the vegueries and sotsvegueries of Barcelona, Vallès, Rives, and Penedès. Similar to the overall Catalan population growth, the diocese of Barcelona nearly doubled in population size. Josep Iglésias, Estadístiques de Població de Catalunya: El Primer Vicenni del S.XVIII, 3 vols (Barcelona: Fundació Salvador Vives Casajuana, 1974) vol I: pp.561-562.

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Figure 1.2: The Eight Archdioceses of Spain in the Eighteenth Century

Overall, the parish boundaries in the diocese of Barcelona varied little from the

fourteenth through the end of the eighteenth century. (See Figures 1.2-1.3)

In the eighteenth-century diocese, the land surface dedicated to agricultural production

increased (with some deforestation) along with the implementation of new techniques,

allowing for agricultural specialization and intensification. Whereas the traditional crops

of the region had been cereals (wheat) and the produce of vineyards (wine, vinegar) and

olive trees (olive oil, olives), new crops appeared in the eighteenth century such as

various vegetables, maize, rice, hemp, and animal fodder. Along with these

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developments in agriculture came a surge in regional Catalan markets. The conditions of

transportation allowed for more mobility of products. So in the Catalan countryside,

people labored harder to produce more, realizing the benefits that expanding markets, in

geographical terms, created. (The markets for Catalan goods and produce expanded

exponentially with the establishment of imperial free trade via Cádiz by 1778.) For the

contemporary land trade routes, see Plate 1.4.

Figure 1.3: The Eighteenth-Century Diocese of Barcelona Divided into its Four Deaneries or Regions

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Plate 1.4: Nueva Mapa de Cathaluña, con los caminos reales—1758 (Courtesy of the Biblioteca de Catalunya)

While the diocese of Barcelona encompassed various towns, villages, and smaller

cities, the relationship between the communities of the diocese was more than just a

religious one. The city of Barcelona, as the headquarters of the captain general and the

Real Audiencia, and the principal port and largest Catalan city, held important political,

economic, and cultural ties with the rest of the diocese, not to mention the entire region.

The city of Barcelona alone accounted for almost half of the diocesan population with

approximately 92,385 inhabitants in the 1787 census.59 With seven parishes out of the

207 total parishes of the diocese, the city of Barcelona as diocesan capital housed the

bishop, residing in his episcopal palace next to the diocesan cathedral.

59 Iglésias, El cens del compte de Floridablanca 1787, 2 vols (Barcelona: Fundació Salvadó Vives Casajuana,1969-1970): vol.2, pp.495.

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With the unprecedented expansion of the eighteenth century, the city had trebled

in population size since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Beyond this population

growth, the civic peace enduring into the later eighteenth century, along with the business

and entrepreneurial sense of the Catalans, had allowed the city’s economy to improve and

its industry to surge. The situation was not lost on Joseph Marshall, a British visitor in

1771:

I reached Barcelona, which is really a very fine place, admirably situated, carrying on a brisk and extensive commerce, and having all the appearance of wealth and industry. Nothing can be a stronger refutation of those who assert, that there is nothing but idleness in Spain, than the instance of this city, which in these respects has as great an appearance of activity as any in France.60

The image Marshall describes is complemented by the picture of Barcelona circa 1760

below in Plate 1.5.61

Developments in industry and manufacture contributed to an important

distribution of warehouses and factories in the city. While remaining a distant second

place to the production of artisanal work, the manufacture of textiles became an

important part of Barcelona’s economy in the second half of the century. The demand for

the product popularly referred to as “indianas”—bleached cotton woven and then printed

with various patterns—indicated an increase in luxury in middle class lifestyles which

had formerly relied on woolens for basic clothing.

60 Joseph Marshall, Travels through France and Spain, in the years 1770 and 1771. In which is particularly minuted, the present state of those countries (London: printed for G. Corrall, 1776): pp.364-365. 61 Montserrat Galera, Francesc Roca, and Salvador Tarragó, Altas de Barcelona. 2nded. (Barcelona: Col.legi Oficial d’Arquitectes de Catalunya, 1995).

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Plate 1.5: “The City of Barcelona from the Road of Montjuich”

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The production of indianas, however, required a process of many steps which all together

was not cost-effective for individual artisans to engage. Factories (fábricas) of indianas

were established, defined as a workshop of at least 12 people. Eight such factories

existed in 1750 Catalonia, increasing to 25 in 1768 according to the research of Ramon

Grau and Marina Lopez.62 Exemplifying the increased importance of this textile

industry, not only for Catalonia but also the whole of the Spanish empire, the Gazeta de

Barcelona announced a royal concession to the indianas industry of Catalonia in 1769:

[Madrid, 14 Feb 1769] It is the Royal desire of the king that in all ways the factories of indianas, cotton clothes, blabets, and cloths of dyed and printed cotton are promoted in the principality of Catalonia. Thus, they are conceded the municipal right to import the cotton of America and of the kingdom of Spain (in addition to the king’s prior concession of duty-free trade suggested by the Royal General Committee on Commerce) in the ports of the city of Barcelona for 10 years.63

At the same time that the city of Barcelona enjoyed industrial growth and

economic prosperity, more beggars filled the city streets and country roads. Miquel

Borrell i Sabater reports that in eighteenth-century Catalonia, lesser artisans and civil

servants “could easily pass from their level of subsistence to poverty if they incurred

personal problems; so that in any given moment of crisis, between 50% to 70% of the

urban population encroached upon the threshold of poverty.”64 Impoverished women

62 Ramon Grau and Marina Lopez, “Empresari i capitalista a la manufactura catalana del segle XVIII. Introducció a l’estudi de les fàbricas indianes,” Recerques IV, 1974: pp.19-57. 63 “Siendo el Real ánimo de S.M. que se fomenten por todos medios las Fabricas de Indianas, Cotonadas, Blabets y Lienzos pintados de algodon del Principado de Cataluña: ha venido en conceder al algodon de America y de estos Reynos (a mas de la esencion de los derechos de Aduanas que a Consulta de la Real Junta general de Comercio le tenia concedida) libertad del derecho municipal de Puertas de la Ciudad de Barcelona por 10 años.”Gazeta de Barcelona 1769, No. 8 (21 Feb): p.68. The gazette is catalogued in the Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona (Hereafter AHCB). 64 “podien passar del seu nivell de subsistència al de pobresa o misèria per problemes personals, de manera que, en un moment donat de crisi, entre el 50% i el 70% de la població urbana es movia en el llindar de la

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were common enough that religious confraternities, religious orders, and even the

Spanish king frequently—and publicly in the case of the king65—presented poor or

orphaned women with dowries so that through marriage they might have a chance at an

honorable life, if not a financially stable one. Although less of a problem than in the

previous century, highway banditry remained a threat in the diocese of Barcelona, men

and women attacking, kidnapping, or killing travellers for their possessions.66 Within the

city walls, desperation led to robberies and sometimes murder by organized groups of

people or even illegitimate children who sought some sort of financial compensation

from parents who did not recognize them. (In Calaix de Sastre, the 28 June 1777 entry

reports that a “bastard” killed 4 including Sr. Carlos Marí.67) Overall, crime in the city of

Barcelona oftentimes went hand in hand with poverty.

Contrasting with the large numbers of poor in the city, established groups of

nobles, artisans, merchants, and professionals (lawyers and surgeons, for example)

dominated Barcelona society. The group of nobles or ennobled, better known in

Barcelona as “honored citizens” or prohoms, had traditionally been the ruling oligarchy

under the former Habsburg arrangement, and by the eighteenth century remained the

social and educated elite of the city. Their pomp in balls and religious ceremonies such

as weddings continued to provoke reactions of amazement. One noble even went as far

pobresa.” Miquel Borrell i Sabater, Pobresa i marginació a la Catalunya il.lustrada: Dides, expòsits i hospicians [Cabrera de Mar (Maresme), Spain: Galerada, 2002]: p.35. 65 When the princess of Asturias gave birth to a healthy baby in 1772, the king responded by giving dowries to poor women in Barcelona. See Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791 (Barcelona: Curial Edicions Catalanes, 1988): p.37 (26 Jan 1772). 66 The Gazeta de Barcelona, the Calaix de Sastre, and even Bishop Climent (in his letter proposing an expansive hospice in Barcelona) make some mention of banditry. 67 Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.60.

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as to use the word “despotism” to describe the excess of a wedding of nobility.68

Typically the prohoms, unlike the rest of society who earned money through some

particular craft or labor, made a living solely off of the rents they charged for the use of

their property (land, farm, apartment). James S. Amelang has studied this group, its

formation, and consolidation in the early modern city of Barcelona. He found that one of

the key events in the group formation of prohoms was the 1510-initiative of Ferdinand

the Catholic (the “Sentencia de Guadalupe”) which granted the urban patriciate noble

status, and this category of “honored citizens” now included not only rentiers

(proprietors), whose dominance had been challenged during the devastating civil war of

the fifteenth century, but also members of the learned professions and those appointed by

royal privileges. In addition to the newly ennobled, rural noble rentiers opted for the city

of Barcelona by the mid-seventeenth century. Amelang explains that at this point in the

region of Barcelona, the nobles’ center of gravity transitioned from country to city,

mostly because they encountered difficulties making ends meet in rural setting. (They

could no longer live solely off of rents.)69

Dedicating many pages to the relationship between the nobility and the Jesuits in

pre-expulsion Barcelona, Amelang observed that Jesuit influence over the Barcelona elite

was high: an important link existed between education at the Jesuit Col.legi de Cordelles

and the prestige and virtue of the nobility as a class. Since its establishment in 1572,

68 The Calaix de Sastre uses the word “despotism” to describe the excess of Barcelona wedding celebrations of the nobility. “18 abril de 1773: En Diumenge de Pasquetas se casa Maria Escolastica ab lo Baró de Rocafort y fou la boda de la mes campanudas de las que se han fet en BCN, per lo gran dispotisme en son gasto, com y tambe per la molta concurrencia de la noblesa, Illuminació, y adornos de la Casa ab 2 o 3 Saraus, etc.” (emphasis mine) AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A. 69 Amelang, Honored Citizens of Barcelona: Patrician Culture and Class Relations, 1490-1714.

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nearly all matriculants on the enrolment lists at the Col.legi de Cordelles boasted the

honorific title of “don”, and “by the mid-seventeenth century, noble education had

become nearly synonymous with this institution.”70 Because association with the Jesuit

school (and its lay Marian Congregation) “constituted one of the more important

institutions of sociability within the local ruling class,” it is not surprising that “study at

the Col.legi served as a means of social promotion for upwardly mobile professionals.

Even more significant, however, was its function as an institutional venue for the

symbiosis of civic oligarchy and established aristocracy”71 in seventeenth- and

eighteenth-century Barcelona. With the Jesuits expelled from Spain in 1767, the

important role that Jesuits had previously filled in the lives of the Barcelona elite implies

that the expulsion created a large vacuum of influence while the evidence suggests that

Jesuit theological and epistemological thought remained firmly entrenched in the nobility

in 1767.

Although rents were a major source of income in the eighteenth-century city,

making the nobles importantly economically as well as socially, the primary and most

integral income source in Barcelona emanated from direct productive activity that

originated predominantly from the various guilds in the city. In fact, economic activity in

Barcelona was virtually regulated by guilds in the eighteenth century, giving the nobles a

run for their money. Shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, bakers—“menestrals”, or those

employed in “mechanical arts” or hand crafts, formed guilds along occupational lines to

set work standards, regulate pricing, and determine the qualifications for members’

70 Ibid, p.161.

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advancement in their craft. While the status of “master” in a guild usually promised an

amount of economic prosperity, guilds also provided a certain social safety net for all of

its members in the form of pensions for widows and orphans, workmen’s compensation,

and unemployment pay. The strength of guilds and the Barcelona economy led to

growing numbers of middling classes (sometimes called “burguesía) in the eighteenth

century.

Besides these groups, the numbers of merchants and surgeons in Barcelona also

increased in the eighteenth century. Advances in naval construction and the completion

of the Barceloneta filled Barcelona’s now protected harbor with vessels delivering and

shipping various goods. With the establishment of a naval academy and a maritime

insurance company in eighteenth-century Barcelona72, merchants became a prosperous

and wealthy group. Yet because of their lack of noble title they remained part of the

middling classes. The profession of surgeon also proliferated in eighteenth-century

Barcelona. With their latest advancements in science regularly publicized in the Gazeta

de Barcelona, the Real Colegio de Cirugia produced highly qualified surgeons who

71 Ibid, p.164. 72 “En la Ciudad de Barcelona se ha establecido una Compañia de Seguros Maritimos bajo el patrocinio de la Purisima Inamaculada Concepcion de Maria Santisima, Sra Nra, y Santa Eulalia, compuesta de varios sugetos de los mas acreditados del Principado de Catalunya, obligados a ella insolidum y de mancomun. Asegurará siempre por 500,000 pesos y por 40,000 y mas cantidad de cada una Nave Espanyola o Estrangera, girando por todos los Mares, Reynos y Colonias, a todo riesgo de elementos, enemigos de la Bandera y baratia de Patron. Quien quiera asegurar algun cargamento acuda a Barcelona en casa de D.Francisco de Milans y de Benages, Director de dicha Compañia en donde se librarán las Polizas circunstanciadas por las que consta el pronto pago que hace esta Companyia, verificada la perdida de qualquier partida asegurada.” Gazeta de Barcelona 1772, no.7 (18 Feb): p.62.

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permeated the city and were available to its inhabitants. Some established surgeons even

immigrated from France to work in Barcelona.73

Another ever-visible presence in the city, the Spanish military occupied boats in

the Barcelona harbor, all major entrances to the city, and stood guard about the city.

They even took part in religious processions on certain holy days. Owing to the events in

Barcelona during the War of Spanish Succession, the Bourbon government felt a need to

establish absolute control in Barcelona, watching over the city with its armed forces, yet

by the second half of the century, the city had been demilitarized significantly.74

But one more part of Barcelona society remained—the church and its clergy. In

1768-1769, a census reported 3,421 secular and regular clergy in the entire diocese,

comprising 1.7% of its population. (Barcelona clergy equalled 2.3% of the 147,805 total

clergy in Spain.) In the city parishes of Santa Maria del Mar, Santa Maria del Pi, Sants

Just i Pastor, Sant Jaume, Sant Cugat del Rech, Sant Miquel, and Sant Pere de Puel.les,

more than 500 secular and 600 regular (male) clergy resided. In addition to those

numbers, hundreds of nuns and lay brothers and sisters known as beatos and beatas

inhabited the city. Within the city walls of Barcelona, 18 abbeys of men and 17 convents

of women existed. Outside the city, the 200 remaining parishes contained 23 monasteries

of men and four of women.

73 “El Sr. Benito Descrois Maestro en Artes y Cirujano Dentista del Real Colegio de esta Ciudad de BCN recien llegado [from France in No.27, 6 June 1773] trabaja perfectamente en todas las Operaciones de Boca, cura radicalmente la retencion de las Urinas, sin ninguna operacion ni dolor; compone una agua admirable para qualquier mal de ojos, hace Vendages de nueva invencion que se lavan como un lienso, y que no danyan nada, hace disipar las Lupias sin operacion, y tiene muchos otros variso secretos para ciertas enfermedades, sobre cuyas se podra conferir con él: en particular ofrece sus servicios a todos los que querran honrarle con su confianza: vive en la calle de los Escudillers, Quartel numero 4, Ilsa numero12, casa numero 5, primer Piso en cuya puerta se describe su nombre.” Gazeta de Barcelona 1773, No.9 (2 March): p.76. 74 Especially the Calaix de Sastre makes evident the military presence in Barcelona (from 1769 onwards).

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Eighteenth-century economic development and population growth contributed to

the building of new churches. Furthermore, by the latter half of the century, groups of

parishioners came forth to petition the creation of new parishes in the diocese. Plates 1.6

and 1.7 are examples of eighteenth-century petitions to divide one current parish into

two.

Plate 1.6: Map of LaVit

(Courtesy of Arxiu Diocesà de Barcelona)

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Plate 1.7: Map of Villasar de Mar

(Courtesy of Arxiu Diocesà de Barcelona)

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The Church in Barcelona as part of the larger Church in Catalonia was affected by

six major developments in the eighteenth century.

The War of Succession with the imprisonment and exile of Catalan priests (1702-1714); Philip V reduced all Catalan universities to only one—the University of Cervera; the expulsion of the Jesuits (1767); the Enlightenment included figures [people] of great importance in Catalonia; Jansenism also influenced some Catalan clergy; Charles III—so benefitial for Catalonia in some aspects—suppressed provincial and diocesan councils.75

The church endured tough consequences as a result of the war. Some 300 Catalan clerics

were expelled, including the bishop of Barcelona, Benet Sala who, having fought for the

Archduke Charles, never returned to Barcelona. As mentioned above, in the Nova Planta

the church of Barcelona, along with all others in Catalonia, was officially prohibited from

using Catalan in pastoral work. But maybe the most drastic consequence of Bourbon

absolutism in the area of ecclesiatical and parishioner relations was the suppression of all

councils and ecclesiastical forums.

Based on the decrees of the Council of Trent in the late sixteenth century and the

precedent of provincial councils in the archdiocese of Tarragona, the bishops of

Barcelona convened diocesan synods and participated in provincial councils, particularly

over the post-Tridentine years, which maintained a certain amount of “constitutionality”

or “canonicity” because they took pains to state, uphold, and execute the canon of

councils and popes as its constitution.76 Some of the main areas of parish life dealt with

75 “La guerra de Successió amb l’empresonament i l’exili dels prelats catalans (1702-1714); Felip V concentrà totes les universitats catalanes a la Universitat de Cervera; expulsió dels jesuites (1767); la il.lustració tingué figures de gran relleu a Catalunya; el jansenisme també influí en alguns eclesiàstics catalans; Carles III—tan beneficiós en diversos aspectes per a Catalunya—suprimí els concilis provincials i diocesans. Generalitat de Catalunya, Millenvum: Història i Art de l’Església Catalana (Barcelona: I.G. Galileo, 1989): p.481. 76 In all synods and decrees to celebrate synods, reference is made to reading and accepting sessions 24 and 25 “de reformatione” of Trent, various Tarraconense provincial constitutions, the papel bull Cheribus, and

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in the synods and councils concerned working on holy days, public demonstrations of

parishioner piety, preaching in Castilian versus Catalan, and discipline of clergy.77 But in

1759, the Bourbon government eliminated the official purpose of these deliberative

church proceedings by ordering the Catalan churches to pay their taxes directly to the

king instead of collecting them first in council or synod. While the main reason the

councils and synods had been allowed to exist in Spain had been to collect taxes, the

additional functions of the meetings provided some sort of institutional mechanism for

church governance in Catalonia and its individual dioceses. The suppression of conciliar

bodies further subjected the church and its clerics to the will of the Bourbon state.

While the economic success of the diocese of Barcelona as part the larger Catalan

environment was exceptional for eighteenth-century Spain, the social stratification of

different groups, the prevalence of baroque Catholicism, and the subjugation of the

diocesan church were common characteristics in Spain and Catholic Europe in general.

Instead, what was uncommon and extraordinary was the bishop of Barcelona from 1766

to 1775 and his ideas for enlightened Catholic reform which fomented the unique source

of “The Responses.” The next chapter now turns to the unique ideas of Climent, and the

following chapters to the unique elements of “The Responses.”

later the 1669 synodal constitutions of Sotomayor. This says something about importance of Conciliarism and about Climent´s tendency towards it. 77 In the late seventeenth century, under a few bishops, the synods approved constitutions that would prohibit religious processions because certain ones were getting out of hand. By 1716, the priests are petitioning to have this constitution dissolved because it was not to the benefit of parish priests, who “bore the brunt of the public reaction and suffered in their pastoral relations with flock.” In some cases, priests had given “indulgences” to hold some main processions; so in an early eighteenth-century synod, it is requested and approved that a few processions be restored that never had had the tendency of getting out of hand before the initial prohibition.

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CHAPTER 2

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOSEP CLIMENT I AVINENT, BISHOP OF BARCELONA, 1766-1775: A WINDOW INTO SPANISH PIETY AND

ENLIGHTENMENT

Plate 2.1: Portrait of Josep Climent i Avinent, Bishop of Barcelona 1766-7578

Josep Climent was an exceptional man of the Spanish Enlightenment, not for his

status as a churchman but for his insistence on finding a genuinely Spanish and

78 Portrait appears in Catalunya a l’epoca de Carles III (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 1991): p.259.

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independently ecclesiastical way to try to enlighten the faith of his parishioners. Unlike

other contemporary ideas of religious reform and enlightenment, Climent’s vision of

reform took a unique interest in independent or free provincial and synodal councils as

the ideal and mandatory agency of Catholic “enlightenment”—he saw councils as the

sole means to purify the faith. Illustrated in his correspondence letters with the Jansenist

Abbé Clément of Auxerre and the Jansenist International and his various pastoral

instructions, Climent was extraordinarily lucid about his vision for reform, the obstacles

to reform that he faced, and the means by which he would hurdle them.79

While Climent never labeled himself as a “Jansenist,” he had many Jansenist

leanings and sympathized with the cause of Jansenists in France and the Netherlands.

These sympathies as well as his similarities and departures from Jansenism are most

clearly illustrated in his contacts with the French Jansenist Clément (who corresponded

by letter with Jansenists and their friends all over Europe). Climent was fully aware of

how Gallicanism had influenced French Jansenists in their efforts at reform, providing

clergy and state a common ground for protecting certain liberties as they met with

resistance from Rome. French Jansenist clerics naturally appealed, then, to the state to

establish more jurisdictional authority, and, although their monarchs were not

sympathetic to their cause, they were encouraged by the success they had had in

appealing to the state authority in the form of the Parlement of Paris. Distinguishing his

uniqueness as a reformer, Climent remained at odds with their position towards the

secular authority. And elsewhere in non-French Catholic Europe his “enlightened”

79 Andrea J. Smidt, “Piedad e ilustración en relación armónica. Josep Climent i Avinent, Obispo de Barcelona, 1766-1775,” trans by Montserrat Jiménez Sureda, Manuscrits Revista d’Història Moderna, no. 20 (2002): 91-109.

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counterparts who wished to reform the Catholic Church and purify the faith, specifically

of superstitious practices, tended to appeal to their regalist monarchies for help. Unlike

these other eighteenth-century proponents of Catholic reform, Climent was just as

suspicious of royal sponsorship of ecclesiastical and religious reform as he was of the

expected opposition from the papacy.

In his letters of correspondence with Abbé Clément, Climent was clear in his

letters that the institutional means to carry out ecclesiastical reform did not lie within the

bounds of the regalist state. Citing particular actions having been taken by Charles III

and his Council of Castile that revealed Madrid’s tendencies, Climent insisted that their

assistance in ecclesiastical reform would only further enserf the Spanish church to the

absolutist monarchy. Thus, the power of the regalist state and that of Rome were equally

threatening to their cause, and as he repeatedly told Clément, “[The Spanish bishops] are

between two fires that beat us down and humiliate us.”80

Climent saw that the power vacuum left by the Jesuits was being filled by the

secular, regalist power of the state in the name of the patronato real: “Many bishops fear

that the secular powers will usurp the faculties of Rome that the Jesuits have left.”81

Dating back to the Reconquista of Spain and the founding of the Inquisition by the Reyes

Católicos, and more currently with the Concordat of 1753, Spanish monarchs had a

tradition of establishing themselves as an authority on Catholicism independent from the

pope or the Spanish clergy. It was at this particular juncture that Climent saw precisely

80 “Estamos entre dos fuegos que nos baten y nos abaten.” ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letters of Climent, 23 November 1768, 83v & [ms.1290] 21 October 1769, 27v. 81 ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, 5 April 1768, 12v.

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how the manner in which the regalist state proceeded in the name of Spanish Catholicism

would lead directly to a national church led by a king rather than by the clergy.

Climent maintained that if the objective were a church similar in structure and

moral discipline to that of the early Church, then the secular authority of the king must

not be instrumental in attaining this goal. The ecclesiastical structure of the early church

had developed independently of the state and, furthermore, without the sponsorship of

any secular emperor to assist early Christians.82 According to Climent’s reasoning, using

the protection of the regalist states to realize ecclesiastical reform in the eighteenth

century would not succeed in fully achieving the ecclesiastical structure of the early

Church. Instead, it would only further subject the bishops to the authority of the absolute

monarch, in a sense replacing one master with another.

Thus, the obstacle course for Climent forced him to navigate between the papacy

and the clergy and seek leverage without sacrificing autonomy. As all eighteenth-century

proponents of reform faced the problem of an institutional means for effecting it, Climent

stood out by pursuing independent means for reform in the Spanish Catholic church that

would lie between the unreforming defenders of an infallible pope and the secular, yet

Catholic, Spanish monarchy which in his opinion tended to expand its own secular power

at the expense of the national church. The Spanish clergy, already divided on various

political and theological issues,83 possessed no institutional means by which to convene,

discuss, and potentially form a unified stance on issues that would serve to counter the

82 Taken from Climent’s letter, excepts of which were published in the “Suite des nouvelles ecclésiastiques du 4 octobre 1769,” Nouvelles Ecclesiastiques, Paris: [s.n.], no. 1768-1771, p. 157. 83 After the king expelled the Jesuits in 1767, Spanish clergy were divided on their acceptance of the measure in terms of church-state relations. Also, many were proponents of their moral laxist theology.

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direction of the regalist state. Hence, Climent took interest in and advanced the idea of

independent or free provincial and synodal councils as the ideal agency of enlightened

Catholic reform.

Most of all, Climent was concerned with an enlightenment of religious behavior

among parishioners, but this enlightenment depended on the success of ecclesiastical

reform. The key to ecclesiastical reform lay solely in the hands of the bishops; by relying

on the authority of Scripture, decrees of Church councils, and the works of the holy

fathers, not only were bishops capable of making a rational case for reform of the church

hierarchy but also were obligated on an individual level to reform their discipline (over

self, clergy, and laity) in the spirit of austerity. In this way, the reforms of popular piety

and of ecclesiastical structure were intertwined; one could not occur without the other.

Climent employed pastoral instructions to communicate this connection to laity and

clergy alike. By definition, pastoral instructions were letters written by priests to explain

to their parishioners how the collective laws of the Church should bear fruit in their

everyday lives.84 In Climent’s instructions, the heart of the message always went back to

the connection between large-scale ecclesiastical reform and moral reform in the lives of

both clergy and laity, maintaining that the starting point and the primary concern of each

bishop was the spiritual well-being of his flock.85 Yet as things stood currently in

84 Pastoral instructions are one source of pastoral theology, which teaches the practical bearing of Canon law upon the daily life of the priest, alone and in touch with his people. Canon law collects, correlates, and co-ordinates the laws of the Church; pastoral theology applies those laws to the care of souls. In brief, pastoral theology takes the results of them all and makes these results effective for the salvation of souls through the ministry of the priesthood established by Christ. Tradition and the Bible, in so far as they portray the ideal Priest, Teacher, and Pastor, and hand down Christ’s ideas for the care of souls, are the first sources of pastoral theology. 85 In his letters, Climent addresses the material well-being of the congregation as another primary concern of each bishop. His letters of 3 April and 5 July 1773 focus on aiding the poor through the proper dispensing of alms as a key obligation of secular clergy.

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Catholic Europe, moral reform had to be effected within each diocese in order for

spiritual well being to be achieved. Climent also felt that the bishops could be even more

successful in establishing such moral reform if they sought the advice of their fellow

bishops. He observed that bishops in Spain currently “live isolated within our dioceses

and communicate little with our neighbors.”86 As such, they were deprived of the light

that such communication could shed on the concerns and joys of each diocese. Calling

on the bishops of Spain, and by extension all bishops, to increase communication

between and among themselves, Climent indicated that such communication would serve

as the first step towards the assembly of councils in Spain. For Climent, councils, in

which bishops bring to light the misfortunes of their churches, were the most effective

means to find proper solutions for those misfortunes.

Besides uncovering ways to enlighten the faith of their parishioners, councils

would also serve as the best institutional means to for achieving reform of the individual

cleric. With regular assemblies, bishops would hold each other accountable for the

proper distribution of alms and oblige themselves to live more modestly, with temperance

and charity. For those who did not use their revenues according to Church law, “their

provincial brothers, assembled in Council, will have the duty to reprimand and punish

them.”87 Thus, Climent’s letters also focused on the reform of the individual cleric as the

key means to large-scale ecclesiastical reform: from the bottom up, bishops must come

together for the success of reform. Of primary importance, then, was reform in the

training of candidates for the holy cloth, estabishing a solid base for widespread

86 “Suite des Nouvelles Ecclésiastiques du 4 octobre 1769,” pp. 157-9.

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ecclesiastical reform. Climent envisioned how seminaries could combat the Jesuit ethical

theory of Probabilism by producing a new school of priests who emphasized ethics of

moral rigorism in their relations with their parishioners as well as with their fellow

clerics. Of course, the curricula employed had to guide this type of thinking, and Climent

wrote to Abbé Clément for suggestions on new curricula. (Climent’s reform of the

episcopal seminary in Barcelona is discussed in detail in Chapter Six below.)

In his letters to Abbé Clément and in his pastoral instructions, Climent promoted

the use of open, deliberative procedures for Church governance that would emphasize

austerity and prevent luxury from creeping in the back door of the Church. His proposed

forum for Spanish clergy encouraged a greater role for bishops within their dioceses, to

the extent that in spiritual affairs they should be left unhindered by outside forces (Rome

or Madrid) excepting provincial councils. While Climent did not have seditious

intentions, Madrid saw the vision that he preached for the Church as an implicit threat to

the regalist authority. Fully aware of the existing barriers to reform in the papacy and

monarchy to reform, Climent proceeded to minister as bishop of Barcelona without

diluting his vision for provincial councils and greater austerity in the Church. In practice,

however, the obstacle course proved to be a difficult one to maneuver.

The Obstacles Strike Back

“The ills …are exposed; it is apparent that the undermining of the Discipline, mentioned in the letter of the 6th, comes as much from Regalism as it does from Ultramontanism, the secular authority claiming and acquiring the powers that the Pontiff is losing, leaving the bishops as badly off, or worse off, as they were before.” –Observation of Climent, late October, 1768.88

87 Ibid. 88 “Los males expuestos …son conocidos; solamente parece, que la subversion de la Diciplina, de que se habla en el 6. no menos proviene del Regalismo, que del Ultramontanismo, pretendiendo la Potestad

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The negative responses to Climent’s reform project are revealed with exceptional

clarity in his ecclesiastical correspondence with French Jansenist Abbé Clément of

Auxerre between 1768 and 1781. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain in 1767,

Clément had seized what he considered the opportune moment, calling on Spanish

bishops, such as Climent, to join together across state borders with the “Jansenist

International.” The French abbé targeted Climent as a cleric whose words could be

exploited specifically to improve the political situation of Jansenists in France and

corresponded with him in letters. Despite Climent’s pessimism about the papacy and the

forces of Ultramontanism, the dates of their letters correspond with those of the

pontificate of Clement XIV (1769-1774), a pontificate widely perceived as a window of

opportunity for significant reform. Ever more apparent as the story unfolds, that window

would not be large enough to accommodate the goals of Climent….

After being put in contact with Climent through a Paris book publisher-seller with

Spanish connections, the Abbé Clément wrote his initial letter to Climent in December of

1767, introducing himself and addressing their common interests in moral theology and

ecclesiology.89 Climent responded enthusiastically but also cautiously in January of

1768. Praising Clément’s proposal that the two correspond to share news of each others’

churches, Climent also noted that in Spain there was “less freedom to write” than in

secular adquiren las facultades que va perdiendo la Pontificia, quedando sin ellas los Obispos, como antes estavan, o peor que estavan.” ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, October 1768, 54v. 89 The Abbé Clément relates the story of his acquaintance with Climent in the preface of his published travel journal, Journal de correspondances et de voyages pour la paix de l’Eglise en 1758, 1768 et 1769 (Paris: L.F. Longuet, 1802): pp. 21-ff.

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France.90 Yet, Abbé Clément countered, “From the moment of the expulsion of the

Society… you have reached the time in which you have a lot more liberty to defend the

Holy Doctrine, and the great efforts that you have to make for bringing about the Reform

of Studies and of morals that should be the result of the expulsion.”91 Climent agreed

with him on the necessity for reform and continued writing about his efforts at

implementing such changes.

From this point on, the two wrote a series of letters covering topics such as

regalism, Ultramontanism, and the parameters surrounding popular piety. Abbé Clément

was apparently hoping that the Spanish bishop would have the same opinions and also

seek the same direction as the French. In August of 1768, in an effort to form Jansenist

“audiences” in Spain, Clément traveled from France to Madrid, entering Spain by way of

Barcelona, and actually visited Climent for about ten days in order to make his

acquaintance in person. As Clément noted in his travel journal, during his visit with

Climent, the two had a strong desire to communicate and better understand each other,

but the language barrier hindered them from effectively conversing on in-depth matters

such as church reform.92

While Climent never went as far as to throw in his lot completely with the French

Jansenists, he regarded them as allies. In their correspondence, the Frenchman would

attempt to use Climent’s Jansenist sympathies to build support for the French cause while

Climent would try to avoid abuse of Clément’s desire to do so. At the same time,

90 ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, 28 January 1768, 3v. 91 Ibid, Letter of the Abbé Clément, 18 March 1768, 5v. 92 Clément, p. 43.

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Climent made clear in his letters his ideas regarding the Church universal as well as the

Church particular.

In his first contacts with Clément of Auxerre, Climent kept the topic limited to

advice on books. He focused his questions and comments to the clergy of France on

which books best convey “the enlightened teachings” of the Church. The advice he

sought, however, was not for his own education, but rather for the education of the

children of Barcelona. Since moral reform for the sake of the spiritual welfare of the

diocese should be the primary concern for all bishops, according to Climent, education

was one area in which the bishop should fulfill that duty. Climent’s rigorist vision for

moral reform was revealed as he wrote to France for help in fulfilling that duty.

Providing free parochial schools for the children of Barcelona as an established charity in

his diocese,93 Climent needed an “enlightened” curriculum that would inculcate a deeper

knowledge of Catholic dogma and remove the morally laxist mark the Jesuits had left on

Spanish lay education.

Climent fought with the secular authority, however, in educating the laity of his

diocese, and he recounted these conflicts in his letters. First of all, Climent noted to

Abbé Clément exactly why he felt the need to establish his own schools: “They say that

a plan of studies is coming out of Madrid; but I fear that it will be directed towards the

teaching of Mathematics and experimental Physics rather than Theology: because what

comes out of Madrid (given their prerogatives) is greatly inclined toward the profane

93 Climent in fact established 10 gratis elementary schools in Barcelona in 1767. Jean Sarrailh briefly relates this event, its connection to the expulsion of the Jesuits, and the resulting conflicts between Climent and municipal authorities in the fourth chapter of L’Espagne éclairée, pp. 65-66. Chapter Six below details the establishment of the schools.

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rather than the sacred sciences.”94 The trend in Madrid was towards secularization, and

this in some ways opposed the moral reform that Climent sought to implement in his

jurisdiction of Barcelona. A second area of conflict that Climent described concerned

relations with the populace at large. Rather than spending a great deal of time outside of

his diocese as many of his contemporaries tended to do, Climent was convinced of the

importance of staying within the confines of his diocese and interacting directly with his

people, describing himself as a bishop of, and for, the people.95 Given his mission to the

general public of Barcelona, Climent reacted negatively toward the Spanish secular

power: the bureaucrats of Madrid were all nobility “of the highest strand” and the concept

of the “pueblo” (the general masses) was beyond their comprehension.96

Later that year, Climent continued to write negatively about Madrid. In his letter

of 25 June 1768, he noted a disturbing sign of the regalists’ pursuit of power when he

complained how the king had ordered publication of anti-Jesuit brochures without

consulting or even seeking the permission of Spanish ecclesiastical prelates. “…I wish

that these truly extraordinary steps had been taken with the agreement of the Prelates of

the Church.”97 Although Climent agreed with the contents of the publication, the fact

that the king felt no obligation to consult his Spanish clergy on the matter demonstrated

that the state, embodied by the king, claimed religious authority independent of the pope

and of the Spanish clergy.

94 ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, 14 June 1768, 20v. 95 Climent specifically used the term el pueblo which typically connotes commoners, peasants, or the masses, but can also refer to “the people” in the sense of “the nation.” 96 ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, 14 June 1768, 20v. 97 Ibid, 25 June, 1768, 24v.

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While such actions left anxieties in the mind of Climent, the Nouvelles

Ecclésiastiques displayed no such qualms, positively reporting this and similar actions

regarding publications and prohibitions of books found in the king’s ordinance of 16 June

1768 as evidence of an enlightened monarch.98 The anti-Jesuit pamphlets praised not

only Pascal but also the school of Port-Royal, both strongly associated with the Jansenist

cause. In this case, it is important to note that the Jansenists affiliated with the Nouvelles

Ecclésiastiques differed from Climent by conceding to the French state the right to

supervise their activity in order to protect the secular authority of the monarch especially

as represented, in their constitutional view, by the Parlement of Paris.

Not an advocate of that kind of Gallicanism, Climent responded to Clément and

the Gallicans of the Nouvelles publication later that year. Distinguishing his reformist

ideas, he articulated why he objected to the French course in his letter of 23 November

1768. The lucidity of Climent’s thoughts is exceptional in the following excerpt:

I am criticizing that all, or almost all, of those that follow Saint Augustine or Jansenius are on the side of the secular power against the ecclesiastical; I attribute it to the disgraceful fact that many of the popes and bishops have been Molinists, and thus such disciples have implored and found protection in the Parliaments…. I see that the disaccord will only endure between these same clerics over the issue of jurisdiction while the clash regarding doctrine will also endure…. The worst of it is that such jurisdictional disputes that began in France have transcended to all the provinces of the Christian realm, while the secular magistrates there adopt maxims that only subject and impoverish the cleric without bringing any reform in his office. What utility follows from this for the Church as a whole?99

Since Augustinians and Jansenists placed more emphasis in the redeeming role of

efficacious grace over that of free will and had doctrinal disagreements with Molinists,

98 “Suite des nouvelles ecclésiastiques du 4 octobre 1768,” Nouvelles Ecclesiastiques, pp. 157-158. 99 ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, 23 November 1768, 83v.

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who reversed the order of importance in salvation, such Catholics were forced to seek

support for their reforms outside of the Molinist-haven of Rome. While Climent clearly

understood why such reformist clerics followed a course of action involving secular

powers against those of the papal hierarchy, he warned in this passage that such a course

would not bring true reform. Even if the state were able to offer protection to clerics

within their jurisdiction, the ideological differences between the reformist clerics and

Rome would always remain. Rather, as he later points out in the same letter, the key to

progress in reform lay within the unification of bishops, implemented through the

convening of councils.

While Climent and Clément might not have viewed the secular power in the same

light, Climent’s ideas regarding the convening of councils captivated the Abbé Clément,

and he soon petitioned Climent to send him a copy of one of his pastoral instructions on

this topic as well as others. Upon receiving and reading the requested instruction,

Clément would later have plans to publish a French translation of it. But before that

moment, the two continued to correspond on issues touching the instruction’s treatment

of Church-state relations.

In his letter of 2 May 1769, Climent spoke candidly about the regalist bureaucrats

of Madrid in the Council of Castile. “Believing that they are the only ones capable of

reforming the world,”100 the bureaucrats took on more projects of reform every day and

refused to delegate or authorize clerics, such as Climent, to aid in reforming various

“intolerable” developments in Spanish Catholicism that had contaminated areas such as

elementary education and popular piety. Climent saw such atrocities from Madrid as an

100 Ibid, 2 May 1769, 202v.

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intrusion on his spiritual authority as bishop; he should be acknowledged as the sole

official for moral reform in his diocese. Climent, with episcopal jurisdiction in

Barcelona, should be left unimpeded in his endeavors to establish moral reform.

It is clear that Climent not only deemed the secular authority as an obstacle to

reform of Catholicism, but also from this moment on (1769), did not even trust Madrid to

be sympathetic to his cause, regardless of how much favor Madrid’s ministers had shown

him when appointed bishop in 1766. Climent wrote that a royal decree had just made the

king the owner and dispenser of all former Jesuit property, and he noted that, even with

the absence of the ultramontanist Jesuits, the Spanish church had not gained the

opportunity to freely proceed with reform: “…Regalism is taking what Ultramontanism

is leaving behind, leaving the bishops as badly off, or worse off, than they were

before.”101 In his next letter of 4 July 1769, Climent further addressed the implications of

the state’s redistribution of Jesuit wealth. While he acknowledged that the church could

benefit from this great wealth, Climent would not accept any state endowments for his

seminary: “under that condition the king, or better said his ministers, would name the

directors [of my seminary] who would remain independent of the bishops.”102 Since the

training of candidates for holy orders was important to Climent for widespread moral and

ecclesiastical reform, it was imperative for the good of the Church that the directors of

such seminaries share the common vision for a morally rigorist and conciliar Church.

Thus, Climent feared that having men appointed by Madrid would fail to contribute to the

101 Ibid and October 1768, 54v. 102 Ibid, 4 July 1769, 237v.

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appointment of directors who would share and work toward this common reformist

vision.

The disagreement between the two clerics over the means of reform came to the

surface on the occasion of Abbé Clément’s discussion of Climent’s pastoral instruction of

26 March 1769, which he had recently received that summer.103 Given Climent’s

opinions on ecclesiastical studies and the necessity of councils, Clément desired to

publish a French translation of Climent’s instruction. He dared not, however, publish it

in France as it was. Such a publication would jeopardize the Jansenist relationship with

the French state.

Climent’s view on ecclesiastical discipline is communicated in the words of this

controversial pastoral instruction, later mentioned that year in the Nouvelles

Ecclésiastiques. Written in response to Claude Fleury’s 1682 publication Mœurs des

Israëlites et des Chrétiens, Climent’s words develop some of the points presented in

Fleury’s books in order to suggest ideas for the welfare of his diocese as well as the

Church universal.104 At the time, Fleury’s book was regarded as a work of the “Christian

Enlightenment” since it essentially used modern epistemological methods to conclude

that the ancient customs of the Early Church were superior to those of early modern

Catholicism and that they established a model for heavenly life on earth. Since the work

was practically unknown in Spain, Climent’s recommendation of it is particularly

noteworthy.105

103 The ideas presented in Climent’s pastoral instruction of 26 March 1769 are developed in further detail in the next section of this chapter. 104 Abbé Claude Fleury, Mœurs des Israëlites et des Chrétiens (Paris: Pierre-Jean Mariette, 1735[1682]). 105 “Suite des nouvelles ecclésiastiques du 4 octobre 1769,” pp. 157-159.

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Climent advised the people of Barcelona to read Mœurs des Chrétiens and to

learn it by heart as a catechism in this pastoral instruction dated 26 March 1769. (By

June of that year, Mœurs in a Spanish translation was available in pamphlet form for the

mere price of two and a half pesetas.106) Since it described the practices of the early

Church, Climent thought the book would not only communicate to his congregation what

the true practices of Christianity were, but also cause them to turn inward in self-

reflection and hopefully see the need for reform in their own religious practices. Climent

also taught in the instruction that Fleury’s works would assist bishops in establishing

such moral reform since it discussed inter-diocesan communication and the benefits of

convening councils.

While inter-diocesan communication would benefit individual dioceses of Spain

in effecting the moral reform of both priests and parishioners, Climent maintained that

the mutual correspondence and assistance of bishops was also imperative for the good of

the Church Universal. In his pastoral instruction, his case-in-point was the Catholic

Church of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Church of Utrecht remained one of only two

strongholds of Catholicism within a Protestant country, even after the pope had officially

broken ties with Utrecht around the 1720s. Given their relatively isolated situation, the

Church of Utrecht in 1763 had held a provincial synod in order to better organize

themselves as independent from the Protestant state. Furthermore, the Church of Utrecht

had written letters to various bishops across Europe to relate their situation and request

whatever assistance possible. Such conciliar action taken by the Dutch clergy, along with

106 Gazeta de Barcelona 1769, no.24 (13 June): p.208.

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their undying commitment to the Catholic Church while remaining in a Protestant

country, moved Climent to single out Utrecht as the model for ecclesiastical reform for

particular churches within Catholicism.

Supported by Fleury’s accounts in his Mœurs des Chrétiens, Climent wrote that,

in the past, when a church had incurred the indignation of the pope, bishops wrote to the

pope to inquire about his reasons for indignation in order to hold the pope accountable

and to insure that he treat his flock with justice. The episcopal obligation, according to

Climent, was to stand united as one Church and one episcopacy to help each other as one

body. Here was a call for a lateral system of ecclesiastical communication as well as a

vertical one: for the benefit of the Church Universal, bishops should correspond with

each other and the pope to guarantee that the pope deals justly with the Church of

Utrecht. Not only should bishops unite as one body, but they were obligated in this duty,

as expressed by Church fathers such as Cyril and Basil.107 Climent indicated that this

was not merely an appeal to history, but rather a fulfillment of the orthodox definition of

the Catholic bishop.

In his letter of 12 August 1769, however, Abbé Clément warned Climent that

some elements of his instruction were too critical of the authority of the king. Indeed,

Clϑment warned that he was unable to publish the instruction without the addition of

notes that would mute the inevitable criticism by the French state. Specifically,

Climent’s instruction had used Bishop Ambrose of Milan’s refusal of the sacraments to

Emperor Theodosius in the fourth century as an example, to explain how re-establishing

the authority of bishops to the degree common in the early Church was the model for

107 Ibid, p.157.

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reform. The matter at hand was the threat the Church posed to temporal power because of

its power of excommunication through which the episcopacy could exercise indirect

authority over the temporal affairs of the kingdom. Given the example of Ambrose and

Theodosius of Rome, the emperor of an officially Christian empire could be legitimately

excommunicated. If this action could be permitted, then it would seem to follow that a

monarch would no longer be effective since his Catholic subjects could justify their

disobedience because of his isolation from the Church. Given other historical examples

such as the medieval investiture conflict beginning with Pope Gregory VII’s

excommunication of Henry IV, Climent’s words implicitly threatened monarchs.

Keeping in mind the common Gallican bond that bishops like Clément relied on

and the concessions they made in order to advance their cause in France, Clément was

quick to insist upon revisions in Climent’s instructions so as to prevent Jansenists from

incurring the parlements’ disfavor. While Climent wrote using an example from the

fourth century, the French would have been all too familiar with a more recent example,

namely the French Wars of Religion, in which adherence to Catholicism determined the

temporal authority of the French monarch.108 For French Jansenists such as Clément,

asserting the bishop’s right to excommunicate the political authority transgressed the

realm of authority that the Gallican Church had conceded to the king. It was understood

by both the French church and state that the king needed to maintain his political

authority over the nation; acts of the Church that would lead his Catholic subjects to

question his authority could not be tolerated. The French state would consider Climent’s

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words praising the actions of Ambrose as threatening. Abbé Clément, therefore,

explained to Climent that notes toning down such seditious language were necessary:

“Without the note, the work would spur such critique that the words regarding the

question of whether kings can be excommunicated will not be met with approval [by the

state of France]. And it is the same regarding these seditious declamations that they

could be crimes of state.”109

In his letters to Clément regarding the publication of his pastoral instruction,

Climent realized the possibility that his instruction might fall into the wrong hands in

Spain. Known in Madrid by this time as a bishop who did not entirely trust their regalist

objectives within his diocese, Climent would be an easy target for sedition if his goals did

not coincide with those of state authories. Thus, he begged Clément not to publish these

strong words on the actions of Ambrose, since Climent was aware that there were

Spaniards who would seize the opportunity to attack him. He wrote, “I judge that not all

will be happy, and that while there lies a hidden fire under the ashes, if my letter is

published with the words regarding those actions, I fear that I would discover that fire.

And so I again implore you compassionately, that you do not permit the publication of

my letter.”110 After he learned of the publication of his pastoral instructions he wrote

again, demonstrating the gravity of his predicament:

I beg you to buy all of the copies, paying twice the price for them, advising me of their cost, so that I will be satisfied. No money that I will ever spend will be

108 For an example of this Catholic political theory, see this hypothetical discussion between two French Catholics of the late-sixteenth century: [François Cromé], Dialogue d’entre le maheustre et le manant, (Geneva: Librairie Droz, 1977 [1593]). 109 ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Abbé Clement of Auxerre, 12 August 1769, 250v. 110 Ibid, Letter of Climent, 13 August 1769, 252v.

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better employed than this. Please assure me that no copy will ever reach Spain…as I am convinced that if even one comes here from France it will light a fire that I will have to endure.111

But, as the Abbé Clément regretfully acknowledged in response, it was impossible to

prevent the publication, and so he could not make such promises to Climent.

Soon the flames of Climent’s dreaded fire were lit. In the 26 September issue of

the Gazette of Utrecht, one writer claimed that Climent’s instruction revealed his

communion with the Archbishop of Utrecht who had been denounced by Rome and,

furthermore, that it had established principles contrary to those of the Roman Catholic

Church. Climent wrote adamantly to Abbé Clément about this, calling the writer a

“deceitful liar.” Yet what afflicted Climent even more was that Rome was intending to

censor his instruction because of the questionable remarks he had made regarding the

pope’s treatment of the Church of Utrecht. He indicated in his letter of 21 October 1769

that “…if such a thing were to occur, they would take me for a heretic in Spain, in which

the majority think that the Congregation of the Holy Office is an infallible council.”112

Although he petitioned the philo-jansenist Manuel de Roda of the court of Madrid for his

aid in the matter, he reiterated his sentiments that “we stand in between two fires that beat

us down and humiliate us.”113 While Climent was uncertain of his fate, he felt certain

that neither Rome nor Madrid would be friendly towards his cause.

Pope Clement XIV wrote to Charles III on 7 September 1769, indicating his

desire that the king put the pastoral instruction of the Bishop of Barcelona before a

111 Ibid, 21 August 1769, 258v. 112 ASSP, CC, ms. 1290, Letter of Climent, 21 October 1769, 26v. 113 Ibid, 27v.

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council of ecclesiastical judges. In the pope’s words, he felt that Climent’s sentiments in

the instruction did not correspond to those of a bishop of Spain, a kingdom of purity and

piety.114 In the name of the king, Roda, as secretary of Grace and Justice, commissioned

an analysis of the pastoral instruction from both the Council of Castile and a council

formed of appointed religious and political authorities to inform the king on the

document’s tone towards regalism as well as its religious orthodoxy. While the Council

of Castile found nothing but a few phrases that could be interpreted incorrectly to

question the authority of the king (or regalist state), the mixed lay and ecclesiastical

council focused its concern on Climent’s attitude toward the Church of Utrecht,

supposedly the most controversial topic of his pastoral instruction. As written in their

letter to the king, the members of the council judged that Climent did not praise the

present state of the Church of Utrecht, but rather he paid tribute to “the virtues of the

Early Church” and above all insisted that it was the mission of the bishop to intercede

before the authorities, in this case Rome, in order to resolve problems justly and with the

utmost respect for authority.115 Thus, his words were not interpreted as schismatic for the

Catholic Church, and Climent’s dreaded fire was extinguished for the time being.

In response to this outcome, Climent wrote with joy to Abbé Clément that nothing

had been found worthy of censure. With regard to his controversial instruction, Madrid

suggested that he write an apology, yet later decided that it is not important enough to

publish it. While the state had treated him favorably in this matter, Climent remained, at

114 Mestre, 623. 115 Het Utrechts Archief (henceforth HUA), Inventaires des pièces d’archives françaises se rapportant à l’abbaye de Port-Royal des Champs et à la résistance contre la bulle Unigenitus et l’appel [henceforth Collection de Port-Royal Collection (CPR)], 215, house 4, Letter to the King of Spain, 22 November 1769.

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most, a “moderate regalist.”116 The way the charge against Climent was resolved had

precisely demonstrated the validity of Climent’s concern, illustrating the twin dangers of

ultramontanism and regalism, even though in this case they had acted in complimentary

fashion rather than as mutually exclusive forces. In other words, the crown had taken up

the charge against Climent at papal request and then handed it over for judgement to a

mixed lay-ecclesiastical commission that it had appointed and subordinated to the

Council of Castile. Following Climent’s view of ecclesiastical and state relations, the

most orthodox course would have been for the king to appoint a council of Spanish

Catholic bishops for their independent judgement as bishops over the pastoral

instruction.117 Regardless, Climent avoided censorship in the end and his honor was

henceforth restored as Bishop of Barcelona.

Climent’s instruction, while avoiding censorship, clearly put forth the notion that

increased mutual correspondence and assistance between bishops throughout the Catholic

realm was the appropriate, even orthodox, course of action—in essence, a much more

lateral, collegial vision of ecclesiastical relations. Continuing to respect the authority of

the state, Climent stood firm that ecclesiastical reform must not be implemented “from

the top down” by using the Catholic Spanish state to convene and protect councils. From

this point on, however, rather than blatantly addressing the state as an obstacle to

116 Although a bit strong because Climent would not consider himself a regalist, the term is used by Emile Appolis to describe Climent in his book, Le “Tiers Parti” Catholique, p. 468. 117 One precedent for this was Phillip II’s covening of a national ecclesiastical council in order to discuss and decide the manner in which the Council of Trent would be implemented in Spain. While Phillip II desired regular meetings of ecclesiastical councils afterwards, it would not be possible because of a conflict of interests between Rome and Madrid. See Pedro Rodríguez, El Catecismo Romano ante Felipe II y la Inquisición española (Madrid: Ediciones RIALP, 1998).

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reform,118 Climent directly addressed the issues involved in reform, specifically lay piety

and reform of clerics and topics more theological in nature—the sacrament of penitence,

attrition, contrition, indulgences, holy communion—such as he discussed in his pastoral

instruction on the pope’s bull of Jubilee in 1770.

Upon reading Climent’s other pastoral instructions and receiving additional letters

on reform, the Abbé Clément requested that Climent send more pastoral instructions for

publication. Yet, Climent sadly related that he potentially was not allowed to publish any

more instructions. While he did not reveal whether his actions alone had provoked the

proposal, Climent indicated in his letter of 22 September 1770 that the Council of Castile

proposed to suspend the right of bishops to publish edicts and pastoral instructions freely.

In the future, bishops would have to receive permission from a representative of the

tribunal of the Inquisition to publish such pastoral instructions.119 He clearly states, “You

must know that according to the present signs, I will not be able to publish other

instructions.”120 Nevertheless, rather than directly addressing the state as the clear

roadblock of reform that it was in this case, Climent was careful in his letter not to indict

the king as such an enemy. Regarding the proposal of the Council of Castile, he believed

that “If all or some of the bishops unite with me on this issue, I believe that our most

118 It is interesting to note that after the examination of his pastoral instruction Climent ceases to use phrases that he had often repeated earlier such as “we are in between two fires that beat us down and humiliate us” and “The oppositions are exposed.” 119 It is not until 1773 that Charles III and his ministers make the order official. “Donde esta Gazeta se hallara la Real Cedula de SM y Senyores del Consejo por la que se previene lo que se ha de observar por los Prelados Eclesiasticos, en quanto a dar licencias para la Impression de Papeles o Libros de los que expresa la Ley 24 con la limitacion y en la forma que se contiene.” (emphasis mine) Gazeta de Barcelona 1773, no.23 (June 8): p.204. 120 ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, 22 September 1770, 124v.

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pious [religiosísimo] king will protect the free exercise of our spiritual jurisdiction….”121

Clément later would respond in the manner of a Gallican—namely that Climent should

solve the solidarity problem of the Spanish clergy by having the king call a meeting of

bishops.122 Yet Climent did not budge on the basic issue that regalism via the monarch’s

assistance in solving the solidarity problem posed as much of a danger as

Ultramontanism, continuing to rely for the success of his cause solely on the coming

together of bishops “from one side to the other.” While they never agreed on this issue,

Climent and Abbé Clément continued to exchange letters that addressed the areas of

needed ecclesiastical reform in the Catholic Church until the death of Climent in 1781.

The key to ecclesiastical reform lay solely in the hands of the bishops for Climent

of Barcelona. By relying on the authority of scripture, decrees of Church councils, and

the works of the holy fathers of the Church, bishops were in his view not only obligated

to introduce moral reform within their jurisdiction and to increase communications with

neighboring bishops, but also capable of making a rational case for reform of the church

hierarchy along the lines of the more collegial model of the early Church. Yet, as John

Lynch affirms, the cause for reform in Spain was only as successful as the state allowed it

to be: “the Church could not present a firm front to the encroachments of the state.”123

The state appointed both the bishops and archbishops of Spain, only selecting those

candidates who were considered “regalists.” While many were also reformers, their

121 Ibid. 122 ASSP, CC, ms. 1290, Letter of Abbé Clément of Auxerre, 10 November 1770, 147v. 123 In a book that provides an overview of various elements of eighteenth-century Spain, John Lynch also describes that nature of “The Royal Church” and “The Popular Church” under the absolutism of Charles III in chapter seven of Bourbon Spain: 1700-1808 (Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd, 1989): pp. 272-273.

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reformism had to conform and follow only those projects that would also be useful for

the government. While for many years his projects seemed satisfactorily to conform to

the interests of the state, Climent managed to fall out of favor with Madrid and was

forced to abdicate his episcopacy in 1775.

Yet before his falling out with Madrid caused his resignation, Climent expressed

ideas of reform in his correspondence with the Abbé Clément, including his edicts and

pastoral instructions, that were unique combinations of ideas pertaining to Catholic

reform and Spanish Enlightenment. Ideas regarding the “liberty of bishops” and its

relation to counciliarism would put Climent on the map of the reform Catholicism, while

those regarding the use of indulgences and the moral rigorism it entailed would establish

him as a proponent of austerity, civic humanism, and moral reform in baroque, post-

Tridentine Europe. In this sense, Climent was a figure without parallel in the eighteenth

century, transcending ecclesiastical and secular boundaries. Alas, despite his efforts to

protect the church from the expanding powers of the absolutist state, Climent himself

became a “victim of regalism.”124

Climent’s Pastoral Instruction of 26 March 1769: A Document of Enlightenment within the Catholic Church

Various scholars have convincingly argued that enlightened, or reform,

Catholicism in the eighteenth century existed as another form of the Enlightenment.125 In

Religion and Politics in Enlightenment Europe, the scholars writing chapters on

124 Appolis, 473. 125 Miller, 3. Tracing its roots back to the librarian and historian of Milan, Lodovico Antonio Muratori (1672-1750), Miller finds that Muratori’s words on charity “sound the note of practical Christianity.” Charity is not just an abstract bond that holds society together but an ideal that requires practical implementation.

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individual countries and their religious groups active in reform movements all together

call for a redefinition of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment.126 Historian Bernard

Plongeron has delved into the concept of a Catholic Enlightenment (‘Aufklarung’

catholique), describing its three themes as ecclesiastical reform, social justice (return to

early Church ideals: charity in the form of hospitals), and education of the public in what

the Church is and for what it stands (thus free elementary schools and the introduction of

the vernacular in liturgy and sacraments).127 Plongeron highlighted the desire of many

Catholics at the time to reaffirm the humanist tradition within Christianity. Accordingly,

as creatures made in the image of God, humans must seek their full potential through the

use and development of the intellect. This thinking led many Catholics to call for a

retour aux sources of the ecclesiastical life of the early Church. Thus, Plongeron

maintained that these reformist Catholics put a pseudo-primitivist spin on the rhetoric of

progress of philosophes such as Diderot or Voltaire (quite to the contrary of their

intentions).128

In many ways, this phenomenon is illustrated in the case of Climent who used a

language or “discourse” of classical republicanism in the Christian guise of admiration

and emulation of the early Church. This discourse is prevalent in his controversial

pastoral instruction of 26 March 1769, in which the ideas presented serve as Catholic

“lights” of enlightenment. Critiquing luxury and the relaxation of moral discipline in the

126 Bradley and Van Kley, Religion and Politics. 127 Plongeron, 592-3. 128Ibid, p. 593.

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Church, specifically addressing the city of Barcelona, Climent employed an oppositional

language that mirrored that of “classical republicanism.”

Heralded by such contemporaries as Rousseau and Mably, classical republicanism

was a discourse of political will that saw “disorder and vicissitude as the natural state of

human existence deriving from the unstable play of the passions, which could be

contained only by a political order in which individual interests were identified with the

common good through the inculcation of civic virtue.”129 Climent employed a similar

discourse to diagnose the disorder in the Church of his day, pointing to the corruptive

influence of luxury that had accompanied “progress.” Only the virtues of austerity and

Christian charity that were found in the model of the early Church could combat such

corrupting forces. The means of establishing and sustaining such virtues could only be

implemented by ecclesiastical councils and the uninfringed spiritual jurisdiction of

bishops within their dioceses. Thus, while the publication of the instruction led him to

run afoul of both papacy and monarchy, the work also documented Catholic reform that

had certain strands of Enlightenment thinking that were counter to the that which was

promoted by the Spanish state (namely, that of progress) and posed an implicit threat to

the state.

Climent illustrated a different side of the Spanish Enlightenment, one which

distinctively overlapped with reform Catholicism. The practical implementation of

reform Catholicism in Spain, however, did not always have the same austere tone as that

of Climent. Typically, it coincided with the efforts of regalists, “Jansenists,” and other

129 Keith Baker documents the influence of classical republicanism and it variations in eighteenth-century France in the world of politics and philosophy. See Baker’s “Classical Republicanism in Eighteenth-Century France,” Journal of Modern History 73 (1) March 2001: 36.

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moral rigorists to overpower and eliminate the Jesuit influence, weaken the Inquisition,

bolster interior spirituality at the expense of baroque extravagance, and reform education

at the university and elementary levels. Thus, as Samuel Miller states, “There were no

Voltaires in either Spain or Portugal, but there was a minority in both countries, an

extraordinarily influential minority it must be said, that eagerly read and adopted, in all

fields, ideas of reform which did not threaten the essence of the Catholic religion and did

not contradict too sharply [with] native traditions of how to make society better.”130 Jean

Sarrailh adds that “Spain threw out the ultramontane Jesuits, and its reformers did not

hesistate to utter their contempt for prelates unworthy of their exalted calling, but that did

not make [the Spaniards] atheists.”131 Indeed, Climent can be identified with this Spanish

movement of Catholic reform, but for Climent, it did not entirely suffice. He would not

stop with these goals and continued to campaign for greater austerity and open

deliberative procedures within the Spanish Catholic Church, in a spirit of Christian

“civic” humanism.

In some ways, the effect of regalism over the Spanish Church can be defined in

terms of Catholic reform or enlightenment. Regalists and Jansenists were not always two

separate things. Sometimes they were more than natural allies—they were one and the

same. Where one stopped and the other started was hard to tell in Spain. The overall

push was for greater autonomy from Rome for the Spanish Church—autonomy that led

Charles III to expel the Jesuits from Spain in 1767 and that promoted a simplification of

the faith among the laity. Thus, many reform Catholics, as was the trend elsewhere in

130 Miller, p. 22.

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Europe, saw their prince (or state) as the agent to free them from Roman tyranny, the

highly centralized authority of the pope and Roman Curia. As later historians would

observe, this reliance on the state was the greatest weakness of the reform Catholic trend

since it consequently jeopardized the independence of the Church.132 Bishop Climent of

Barcelona, however, clearly envisioned why depending on the monarchy to “liberate” the

Spanish Church was a weakness that hindered the success of true religious reform.

Instead, Climent sought independence from the temporal power for the Church to effect a

more austere Spanish Church by means of councils.

The Spanish clergy had no forum for debate, no means of convening to discuss

the Spanish Church’s stance to particular decrees from Madrid, and as a result they were

quite often divided on issues, lacking solidarity. In light of this, one can further

understand Climent’s insistence on the correspondence and mutual assistance between

Spanish bishops and on the convening of regional councils. Yet, such an ecclesiastical

structure did not conform with the regalist vision for the Catholic Church of Spain.

Particularly the “enlightened despotism” of Charles III and his top ministers held out for

a Spanish church that remained within orthodox Catholicism, but received its orders

directly from the state. Any decree from Rome would have to be approved by the

Spanish state before being applied to the Spanish clergy. In effect, the Church of Spain

would remain indirectly subjugated by the pope and directly subjugated by the Spanish

crown.

131 Jean Sarrailh, L’Espagne éclairée, p. 711. 132 Miller notes this weakness in his treatment of reform Catholicism. Miller, p.2.

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In contrast, Climent thought that this regalist vision contradicted the ecclesiastical

structure of the early Church. He envisioned a more lateral, collegial ecclesiastical

structure of bishops within Spain and of the bishops of the Catholic realm, including the

bishop of Rome. While remaining loyal to their monarchs, the clergy, according to

Climent, retained spiritual authority within their jurisdiction. Impositions on

jurisdictional authority should come from other bishops through conciliary action, not

from the monarch. In the Spanish context of a Catholic confessional state, such

insistence on the independence of the Church could be seen as an implicit political threat

to that state. Thus, while his attitude toward Rome was pleasing to the regalist Spanish

state, one can see that his overarching vision for the Church limited his welcome among

regalists in Madrid—contributing to Climent’s falling out of favor with the monarchy and

his forced resignation as bishop of Barcelona.

Climent’s call for reform within the Catholic Church, particularly in Spain, dealt

with Church and state relations, the moral discipline of his flock, and the ecclesiastical

structure of his diocese. In general, this reform entailed the return to the model of the

early Church and the early Christians. No where is Climent’s plan for reform better

unfolded than in his controversial pastoral instruction of 26 March 1769. It is in this

instruction that Climent not only required Claude Fleury’s Mœurs des Israelïtes et des

Chrétiens [1682] as reading for his pastors-in-training but also recommended it to all

laity and clergy of his diocese.133

133 Josep Climent i Avinent, “Carta a todos sus feligreses de Barcelona,” Colección de las obras del Ilustrísimo nuestro señor don Josef Climent, Obispo de Barcelona, 3 vols. (Madrid: Imprenta Real, 1788), vol I: pp. 187-268.

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Climent’s praise of Fleury was seemingly endless. Fleury’s treatment of and

implicit argument for a return to the model of the early Church struck a chord with

Climent who was an advocate of greater episcopal authority, the reestablishment of

provincial councils, and an all-encompassing focus on Christian charity. Climent saw in

Fleury’s analysis a rational case for a reconceptualization of what the Christian life is.

Moreover, Fleury’s work was valuable not only for its use of reason but also for its

natural and concise style that made it accessible for all classes of readers.134

Written by a Gallican in pre-Enlightenment times, the works of Fleury were

translated into other languages and widely reprinted throughout the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries. Thus, it was quite available for the literate in Catholic lands. As

Climent notes in his instruction of 26 March 1769, the Mœurs had been translated into

Spanish and published by the thousands since 1737.135 (However, the books did not sell

well in Spain, and thousands of copies were still available for purchase, at a low price, as

late as the time of Climent’s writing in 1769.) As the Mœurs retold the history of the

God’s people without overtly criticizing the Catholic Church nor questioning Church

doctrine, a variety of parties (including Rome, many Catholics, Gallicans, Jansenists, and

to a certain extent philosophes such as Voltaire and Diderot) appreciated the style and

content of Fleury’s argument that lauded the virtues of the Israelites and of the early

Christians as integral models for shaping a reasonable lifestyle. Telling the stories of the

humble beginnings of both the Old Testament Israelites and the early Church of the

Roman Empire, Fleury’s picture of these two communities was one of initial purity, later

134 Ibid, pp. 199-204. 135 Ibid, p. 188.

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corruption, and then renewal within the two groups. In Mœurs, such an historical pattern

helped to form a link between “the renewal of the world by Jesus Christ and the later

proselytizing of European society in the project of enlightened regeneration.”136 Thus,

Fleury’s work was both Catholic and enlightened for his use of reason to argue that the

Israelites were the early model of virtue in classical times, exceeding that of the Greeks

and Romans, and that the early Church preserved that virtue and therefore was an

untarnished Christian republic of reasonable souls.

As the Old Testament describes much of the society and culture of the chosen

people, in Mœurs des Israelïtes Fleury exegetes how the lifestyle of the Israelites, as it

was guided by institutions in accordance with God’s creation and law, was based on key

virtues as reason, simplicity, and orderliness. Patriarchy, dietary laws, even polygamy—

these traditions might appear shocking to contemporaries. But, if one attempted to

understand these customs within the context of Israelite society, they were quite

reasonable (and even preferable), given human nature and the climate in which they

lived. The disdain of luxury in clothing, diet, titles, and household accessories was a

virtue that the Israelites held in common with the other classical peoples of Greece and

Rome, placing them on an equal level with other idealized civilizations. And, the

Israelite reliance on agriculture as an economic system kept their society flourishing, as it

was the most productive and virtuous way of life, according to Fleury’s argument.

136 This is the main argument Jason Kuznicki makes in his master’s thesis entitled “Reasonable Souls: Jews, Christians, and the Catholic Origins of the Enlightenment in Claude Fleury’s Mœurs,” Department of History: The Ohio State University, June, 2000. p.97. For an analysis of the content and implications of Fleury’s Mœurs des Israëlites et des Chrétiens, see the pages of this master’s thesis.

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As agriculture waned within Israelite society, luxury waxed. Under David and

Solomon, the Israelites grew in power and influence and skilled trades multiplied.

Moving away from agriculture, the proliferation of craftsmen within society led to the

appearance of luxury, debt, and money lending, and usury first emerged among the

Israelites.137 The people became corrupt, declined, and fell in the Babylonian conquest in

586 B.C.

Thus, once the Israelites’ actions resulted in a total loss of God’s favor towards

his chosen people, their society became decadent, just as decadence had occurred in

Greek and Roman societies. Any large-scale regeneration and renewal of God’s virtuous

society would not occur until the coming of Christ and his establishment of the Catholic

Church.

…thus the Jews forgot the greatness and majesty of the law of God, applying themselves to mean and trifling things…. However, it was among these people [the Jews] that the tradition of virtue was preserved, as well as that of doctrine and religion…. Thus the grace of the gospel being added to such holy dispositions, it was easy to make perfect Christians of these true Israelites.138 In Mœurs des Chrétiens, Fleury argues that with the supernatural intervention of

Christ in human affairs, the historic Catholic Church, with its intermixture of human and

divine elements, would continue as the holy remnant of humanity. Catholicism actually

represented a continuation of the most natural way of life embodied in Israelite society,

and abandoning it would be unnatural. While, according to Fleury, Catholicism would

137 Fleury, pp. 36-37. 138 “Ainsi les Juifs oublioient la grandeur & la noblesse de la loi de Dieu, pour s’attacher a des choses basses & petities…. Ce fut toutefois parmi ce peuple que se conserva la tradition de la vertu, aussi-bien que celle de la doctrine & de la religion. … Ainsi la grace de l’évangile venant, sur de si saintes dispositions, il fut aisé de faire des Chrétiens parfaits de ces vrais Israelites.” Fleury, 149-151. Fleury here is implying that the Essenes were converted to Christianity in time and that they served as models of communal and monastic living.

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eventually succumb to a slow decline as it permeated the Western world and the forces of

the profane slowly would degrade the sacred, it was the early Church that remained the

model of virtue for Catholicism. Fleury stated, “As the Christian religion is not an

invention of man, but a work of God, it had its perfect state in its beginning, just as with

the universe. … It is thus among the Christians of the first Church of Jerusalem that we

must search for the example of the most perfect life and consequently that which is the

happiest possible while on Earth.”139

It was this description of “the example of the most perfect life” to which Bishop

Climent was drawn nearly a century later in writing his pastoral instruction to the people

of Barcelona that called for increased moral discipline. Largely based on the book of

Acts and the various epistles of Paul and the apostles, Fleury’s depiction of the early

Church focused on the communal aspects of Christian living, the strict separation of

worldly and spiritual goods, and its disengagement with politics. These aspects afforded

the preservation of this perfect state of the Church. Regarding the communal nature of

the early Church, Fleury emphasized the great extent to which early Christians spent time

together in prayer and “union of hearts” (community of spiritual goods). The sense of

community continued into the realm of material possessions since they shared their

worldly belongings equally with the group, thereby allowing them to distance themselves

from all things worldly. Charity was central in this community, fomenting a sense of

139 “Comme la religion chrétienne n’est pas une invention des hommes, mais un ouvrage de Dieu, elle a eu d’abord sa perfection, aussi bien que l’univers. … C’est donc chez les Chrétiens de la premiere église de Jerusalem qu’il faut chercher l’exemple de la vie la plus parfaite, & par conséquent la plus heureuse qui puisse être sur la terre.” Ibid, pp. 155-6.

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Christian brotherhood as Christians shared whatever wealth they had with the less

fortunate. This was the spirit which Climent sought to establish within his diocese.

In the early Church, the degree of Christian freedom had been exercised with

fortitude, tempered by persecutions from the temporal authority, and Fleury argued that

this situation naturally impelled Christians to keep a low profile politically so as to not

incur the wrath of the state. When the temporal authorities began to convert to

Christianity and ceased to persecute Christians (such as under Constantine), the Catholic

Church suffered a decline in discipline. As Christianity came to master the world,

worldly concerns soon predominated the time and attention of many Christians at the

expense of the earlier, more strict separation between worldly and spiritual goods and the

strict moral discipline that such a separation implied. As Fleury concluded,

What happened in the assured peace, once one could be a Christian not merely without danger, but rather with honor? When the princes and the magistrates who had been converted did not leave behind their goods and responsibilities to live a Christian life, the common faithful began to have no fear of honors, wealth, and the commodities of life. Love of sensual pleasures, avarice, and ambition awakened.140

Fleury leaves the history of the Mœurs des Chrétiens as simply an account of the

reasonable lifestyles of the past, refraining from explicitly critiquing contemporary

society. Nevertheless, the implication of Fleury’s analysis of virtue in the early Church

was that renewal of that virtue was essential for early modern Europe.

Climent specifically addressed Fleury’s Mœurs in his pastoral instruction of 26

March 1769 and extended the use of Fleury’s historical account to call overtly for the

140 “Que fut-ce dans la paix assurée, lorsque l’on étoit Chrétien non seulement sans peril, mais avec honneur? Comme les princes & les magistrats qui s’étoient convertis, ne laissoient pas de vivre chrétiennement, en gardant leurs biens & en exerçant leurs charges, le commun des fidéles commença à ne plus tant craindre les honneurs, les richesses, & les commoditez de la vie. Ainsi l’amour des plaisirs sensibles, l’avarice & l’ambition se reveillerent.” Ibid, p. 335.

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regeneration of the Catholic Church within his diocese of Barcelona. While Fleury lived

during pre- to early-Enlightenment times at the court of the absolute monarch Louis XIV,

Climent was more immersed in the high tides of the century of lights, living from 1706-

1781 under the “enlightened despotism” of the Spanish absolute monarch. To appreciate

the significance of Climent’s call for reform in his pastoral instruction, Francesc Tort i

Mitjans reminds us that “Climent defends his convictions in the instruction with

extraordinary bravery, even more significant in how well he himself knew that there was

no liberty of writing [free speech] in Spain.”141

Climent looked to history and based his argument for increased austerity in

Fleury’s Mœurs, placing him firmly in the field of Catholic Enlightenment. Climent

preached austerity by means of greater ecclesiastical discipline within the Catholic

Church, used the concept of austerity to critique of modern philosophers, and explained

the inherent link between austerity and his argument for the restoration of the “liberty” of

bishops—in all, providing a rational argument for the reconceptualization and, thus,

regeneration of the Church within the context of enlightenment. His use of classical

republican language in the form of veneration and emulation of the early Church along

with his commitment to Catholic reform was a unique mixture of notions that illustrated a

different side of the Spanish Enlightenment. Furthermore, while one cannot discern the

specific audience for Fleury’s books given their wide publication, the intended audience

of Climent is clear. His call for a return to the forms of the early Church is explicitly

141 Tort i Mitjans, El Obispo de Barcelona Josep Climent i Avinent (1706-1781) (Barcelona: Editorial Balmes, 1978): p. 113.

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intended not only to reach the ears of, but also to be applied practically by, the thousands

of people within his diocese, traversing boundaries of age and class.142

For Climent, Fleury’s works were deemed worthy subjects for a pastoral

instruction to all of Barcelona because they were written, as Climent stated, in a “natural

and concise style…, [Fleury] having managed to unite his reflections to accommodate

and make them profitable for all classes of readers.”143 Specifically, readers would profit

from a study of the Mœurs des Israelïtes since it would enhance an understanding of what

the Catholic Church is. As the story of the “Israelite Church” forms, through Jesus

Christ, part of the story of the Christian Church, “we cannot form a perfect idea of our

Religion without having knowledge of the Church and People of Israel.”144 Climent

pointed out that it was for such reasons that Saint Augustine instructed his deacons to use

discourses of Old Testament principles when catechizing those who wanted to become

Christians.

Furthermore, the Mœurs des Chrétiens would serve Climent’s flock as a

catechism for “moral practice.” As Climent stated, this was not a book which should be

read once or twice; rather, it should be read and studied continually “to the point of

memorization.” Climent found that such was the most effective and expedient means for

reforming the Church. Each one reforming his or her ways, accompanied by a

142 Climent, “Carta,” p.199. Climent’s mission as bishop was to reach out to as many people as possible in order to effect spiritual change in their lives. Climent’s instruction was preached in Barcelona enabling the illiterate to hear it and was made into a readily-available publication. Climent even had numerous and inexpensive copies of Fleury’s works brought to Barcelona in order to encourage all income levels to buy the book. 143 Ibid, pp. 199-204. 144 Ibid, p. 207.

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reestablishment of the rule and laws that governed the Church universal for centuries—

this was the only way to effect true change. “Unlike the manner of Luther and his

followers, [reform could be achieved] instead by the means desired by Saint Bernard; this

is, without breaking the unity [of the Church].”145

Maintaining that eighteenth-century lifestyles were typically characterized by

“comfort and delight,” Climent argued for increased moral discipline, directing each

individual to return to the more “laborious” and austere lifestyles of early Christians as

depicted in Fleury’s work. To be Catholic meant to believe what the first Christians

believed; it rationally followed for Climent that to be Catholic one’s actions should

conform to theirs as well. “Tradition is the pure path (canal limpio), through which the

true doctrine of customs is communicated to us. If you all wish, then, to assure ourselves

of salvation, do, not what you see is being done, but rather what you read was done by

early Christians in this book.”146

The first Christians had lived “truly Christian” lifestyles centered on the

“penitence” of sins and resistance to the passions by a continual exercise of virtue.

Climent pointed out that such virtue had receded in the Christian community over the

past centuries specifically because the decline of discipline among the clergy and over

their congregations had in turn triggered a similar decline among the laity.147 Luxury had

crept in through the Church door when the clergy began to use tithe money for causes

145 Ibid, p. 211. 146 Ibid, pp. 208-214. 147 Ibid, p. 242.

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other than the relief of the poor, which had been its original intent and which embodied

the spirit of Christian charity.

Applying his argument to his own day and age and indirectly countering Madrid’s

goals for economic progress, Climent preaches to the faithful of Barcelona that in recent

years they had seen an emergence of luxury among themselves: “Before you all were the

model of moderation and temperance for all of Europe… but in little time, as our wise

parishioners lament, luxury has penetrated that old and laudable order, and has disfigured

this City to the extent that those who saw the city thirty years ago would no longer

recognize it.”148 While such words on luxury were not received well by all in Barcelona

(detailed later in Chapter Five), Climent furthered his call for austerity by arguing that

just as luxury had led to a decline in the virtue of Church so it had led to the ruin of

various “Republics and Monarchies” of past and present. In general, luxury led to

“affeminization” (softness in men), followed by a loss of valor and military glory, and

inevitably to an overall corruption of those “Nations.”149

Since Climent wrote to the Church in his capacity as a spiritual authority, he did

not digress into a discussion of civic virtue. Nevertheless, his treatment implies that

austerity was not only a Christian virtue but a civic virtue as well.150 Furthermore, this

idea of austerity inherently contrasted with the monarchical discourse of the Spanish

enlightenment. In eighteenth-century Spain, the monarchy actively sought “progress” for

148 Ibid, p. 248. 149 This compares to language used by Rousseau in Émile: an essay on education, Thomas Nugent trans., (London: J. Nourse & P. Vallant, 1763). 150 Climent, “Carta,” pp. 248-9. Climent does not specifically use the term “civic virtue,” but by discussing the Roman Republic and its fall, his focus switches from matters of religion to matters of general human decline and corruption.

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the regalist state, particularly in the form of economic prosperity for the good of the

political economy, also called mercantilism. Given Climent’s attitude toward luxury,

Climent would want nothing to do with this drive for greater economic prosperity. Thus,

Climent’s discourse of republican virtues of austerity thus was not a monarchical

discourse since luxury was a corrupting rather than beneficial force for Spain. While his

object remained reform of the Church, the sentiment of that reform would not coincide

with the economic program of the state.

The clash between the discourses of progress and austerity is further illustrated in

Climent’s pastoral instruction as he used arguments against luxury to one-up the

Probabilists, initially, and then to teach the philosophes a lesson about reason.

The license to philosophize [opinar] without basing arguments on holy Scripture or Tradition, or Probabilism, invented to please the passions of men, opened the door to modern philosophy, whose Authors and followers, unconscious of their corrupted human nature and obscured by original sin in their judgement, follow the instinct of their appetite as a rule of operation, as if it were the straight dictum of reason: arrogantly shaking off the yoke of the Faith, they fall in the abyss of unbelief and irreligion. Nevertheless, not all of these so-called Philosophers, but rather only two or three that we might know of have dared to defend the proposition that luxury is honest and useful; and the arguments, with which they attempt to prove this false proposition on the virtue of luxury, are pure sophisms.151

As Fleury’s Mœurs was the focus of his instruction, Climent employed words that made

the “modern philosophers” appear less reasonable than the early Christians, an

opportunity Fleury himself never had. In sum, Climent makes a rational argument for the

superiority of true Christian virtue over that which proceeds solely from modern

philosophy or Probabilism.

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Corresponding to his ecclesiastical vision, Climent was able to use his words to

criticize both the corrupted Church and the irreligion of the philosophes, the respective

right and left of the eighteenth-century political spectrum. His alternative vision

addressed “liberty”—specifically, ideas regarding episcopal freedom. Thus, Climent

remained distinct from both political extremes as a devout Catholic and loyal subject who

argued for return to the natural order of the Church by changing the status quo of the

Roman hierarchy.

Climent argued for the return of the “liberty of bishops” by referring to specific

events mentioned in Fleury’s Mœurs des Chrétiens. Fleury’s history of the early Church

had depicted its ecclesiastical structure and the nature of episcopal rule specifically in the

cases of the bishops Ambrose of Milan and John Chrysostom. In the pages of his

instruction, Climent defended clericalism by highlighting what these cases teach us about

the bishops’ jurisdiction in relation to the temporal authority (Theodosius and Empress

Eudoxia, respectively). What is important is that the liberty of bishops, by means of their

direct spiritual authority over their flock, led to greater moral purity within the Church in

these particular illustrations.

In times of pagan rulers, persecutions tempered the liberty of all Christians, but

when temporal authority was held by a Christian, the separation between Throne and

Altar was not as distinct in the times of Ambrose and John Chrysostom. While church

leaders consistently preached submission to the authority of the state as Scripture taught,

if the leaders of state were also baptized members of the Church the bishops could

151 Ibid, pp. 244-6. Climent continues on pp.250-ff to explain how such philosophy also has led to regicide which is against the natural order that God established, words that would ring sweetly in the ears of Catholic monarchs.

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exercise authority over them in spiritual matters. As was their duty to all members of

their flock, bishops were ordained by Christ to hold, as pastors, even princes accountable

to Christ. When the entire population of a state were members of the Church and the

prince of that realm were reprimanded by the Church (verbal punishment, interdict,

excommunication, etc.), as in the cases of Ambrose and Chrysostom, then the general

public would have to heed the authority of the Church (specifically here, the bishops)

over that of the state. Even though the temporal authorities in Europe had found since the

onset of the Reformation some success in distinguishing themselves from the spiritual

authority of Rome, the praise which Climent gave to episcopal liberty would assuredly

not find favor with absolute monarchs in Catholic Europe. The point of Climent’s praise,

however, was not to showcase the authority of Church over state, as he made clear by the

end of his instruction; instead, he wanted to emphasize the amount of liberty bishops had

possessed within their dioceses. As Climent concluded in this section, “Such was the

liberty that the Bishops had to preach the truth with zeal, prudence, and without the least

disturbance of the peace: and such was the attention and respect that [the bishops]

merited from the Christian Princes, even the least pious ones.”152 Climent emphasized in

this pastoral instruction that the key to this liberty was the regular convening of

provincial councils because of the ecclesiastical discipline that such councils provided.

They preserved the authority of bishops over their dioceses as well as the virtue of

bishops by holding bishops accountable to each other. By such means, the moral

discipline taught by Scripture and embodied in the early Church was maintained.

152 Ibid, pp. 219-220. I deduce from Climent’s phrase “disturbance of the peace” [perturbación de la pública quietud] that he is referring to civil unrest or violence in general.

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The openness of the deliberative procedures of provincial councils promoted

austerity within the Church. Bishops were the final judges over spiritual affairs in their

dioceses, but if complaints or disagreements arose between fellow bishops, provincial

councils were convened to adjudicate the matter. (General councils were called if the

matter pertained to something central to the Christian faith, and throughout the pope was

consulted as ministerial head of the Church.) Through the regular convening of

provincial councils, as Fleury had also pointed out, the events of particular churches and

the conduct of the bishops were made known to all. Climent held that such transparency

served as a deterrent to luxury and moral decline since bishops would “fear being

accused, reprehended, and punished (castigados)” by their fellow bishops.153

Climent saw a cause-and-effect relationship beginning in the eighth century—at

the same time that provincial councils were disappearing, ecclesiastical discipline was

relaxing and, simultaneously, the jurisdiction of bishops was receding. This analysis of

Fleury’s historical account led Climent to criticize explicitly the present state of

ecclesiastical relations and to call for a return to Church tradition:

Today we must confess that each one of us [bishops] uses to our individual satisfaction whatever jurisdictional powers remain for us, we live isolated in our dioceses: we have very little or no communication with our neighboring bishops; and consequently we lose out on the “lights” we need and that were historically shared between us congregated in councils.154

Such open councils would shed “light” over the Church to return them to the virtue of the

past.

153 Ibid, pp. 224-225. 154 Ibid, p. 225.

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The loss of episcopal liberty that was encountered and the distance from the forms

of traditional ecclesiastical structure that Climent observed in eighteenth-century Europe

led him to apply his vision of reform on a more contemporary example—the Church of

Holland. There, the predominantly Jansenist church of Utrecht had remained one of two

Catholic representatives within a Protestant country. For various reasons, this church

illustrated certain points of Climent’s argument for episcopal liberty.

By the early-1720s, the Jesuit-friendly Pope Clement XIII had cut off

communication with Utrecht since she had insisted on remaining an ordinary secular

clergy with a chapter and a bishop. The pope had been enflamed by Utrecht’s

archdiocesan clergy when they refused to recognize the authority of the papally appointed

and Jesuit apostolic vicar of the church stationed in Brussels in lieu of their elected

archbishop. Thus, Utrecht not only was isolated from the Protestant churches of Holland,

but also became isolated from the Roman Catholic Church in the early-eighteenth

century. Given their situation and the toleration they were granted by the Dutch

government, the leaders of Utrecht were resigned to convene councils in order to

maintain order and orthodoxy within their congregation.

Interestingly enough, Climent did not draw specific attention to the council

convened in Utrecht in 1763. Instead, he highlighted how the case of Utrecht, in terms of

her isolation from the pope, drew a lesson from Church history demonstrating the proper

ecclesiastical structure of the Catholic Church. As he had earlier referred to the lack of

communication present in the Catholic Church of his time, the situation of the Church of

Utrecht served as a reminder of the duty of bishops to correspond with each other and

help each other as one body:

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For what one sees of churches in distant provinces, we have not even one notice of their joys and concerns. Not many days ago, we received a letter written to all bishops in which the Church of Holland, while communicating to us their works and afflictions, makes present to us the unity of the Church and the Episcopacy; wherein the necessary obligation to help her [Utrecht] is born.155

The key component of unity within the Church entailed communication between

individual churches to lessen the physical distance between them. As Saints Cyril and

Basil had written, along with other Church fathers, on such necessary mutual

correspondence and aid for the good of the Church Universal, Climent contended that

they would find the present indifference and insensitivity of bishops regarding Utrecht as

“abominable.” In previous times, bishops had fulfilled their duty to help other churches

by writing to the pope, “the Head of the Church Universal,” asking him for the specific

reasons of his indignation against a particular church and begging him to treat the church

with grace and justice.156 Thus, while Climent’s words were quite radical at the time and

would later prove troublesome for him, his words did not directly question papal

authority nor did they criticize the pope’s dealings with Utrecht. Climent simply

suggested a return to tradition.

By returning to previous practices of the early Church, Climent proposed to

ameliorate the present situation of ecclesiastical disunity. Provincial councils would

serve best to give proper counsel to fellow bishops since the advice and help of a greater

number of bishops was possible. Such councils would also alleviate “princes and secular

tribunals” of their obligation to expedite ecclesiastical affairs:

155 Ibid, p. 225. 156 Ibid, p. 226.

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In truth all just and religious Princes, while desiring, as they desire, the reestablishment and maintenance of purity in religious beliefs and practices within their States, can entrust this duty, while imitating Constantine and Theodosius, to the Bishops congregated in Council. They should have neither the fear nor the lack of trust that they had in those turbulent times [of Theodosius, for example] that the Bishops, by their great power and bellicose temperament made themselves feared: but now, by the mercy of God, we Bishops are the most humble and loyal vassals of our Princes….157

In trying to assure the king of Spain that granting a measure of episcopal autonomy was

in his best interests as a ruler and good Catholic, Climent was also passively denouncing

the abusive intervention of the state in Church affairs. Tort I Mitjans, in his biography of

Climent, rephrases Climent’s message, “Said in other words, the Patronato Real should

quit taking initiative over the Church and should aid the episcopacy only when its aid is

solicited.”158

Climent’s pastoral instruction, published during his lifetime in both Spanish,

French, and Italian, prompted various reactions. To ascertain the reactions of the

explicitly intended audience—the people of Barcelona—requires a separate study of

different records in Barcelona and is part of Chapter Five below, but the letters between

Climent and the Abbé Clément of Auxerre illustrate the responses of France, Rome, and

Madrid discussed earlier in this chapter. To the extent that the “liberty of bishops”

threatened the infallibility of Rome and the secular power of the state, Climent ran into

trouble after its publication. To the extent that his discourse or language of ancient

“republican” virtues of austerity was not in accord with the monarchical desires which

157 Ibid, pp. 227-8. 158 Tort i Mitjans, p. 142.

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had a stake in progress and luxury, Climent would remain suspicious in the eyes of

Madrid.

On the French front, Climent did not realize that neither Clément nor Gallican

France were on the same “anti-regalist page” as he was. As the pro-Jesuit Gazette of

Utrecht had published an article hailing Climent’s instruction as anti-papal and therefore

schismatic, Pope Clement XIV took notice of the words regarding the Church of Utrecht

and in fall of 1769 called for a thorough investigation of both the instruction and the

bishop to determine their orthodoxy. Illustrating Climent’s criticism that both

Ultramontanism and regalism were problems for eighteenth-century reform, the pope

deferred the matter to the king of Spain.

On papal urging, this rhetoric was deferred for judgement to the Council of

Castile and to a special commission regarding religious orthodoxy which determined

whether the instruction contained either seditious or heretical language. Naturally,

regalists dominated the bureaucracy of Charles III, many of whom had Jansenist leanings,

such as the Minister of Grace and Justice Manuel de Roda. The various regalists who

made up the commission wrote of their final judgement to the king on 22 November

1769: “Above all we have observed much to our enlightenment that the writings notably

promote solid instruction and piety, and manifest in its author, a sacerdote whose lips

promote Science; a vigilant Pastor that strengthens his flock against the illnesses of the

Century, and an episcopal zeal, dignified of the times of Basil and Chrysostum.”159

While the language of the verdict did not indicate that Jansenist sympathies

shaped the decision of the Council, Climent’s own words, perhaps strategically crafted, in

159 HUA, CPR, 215, house 4, Letter to the King of Spain, 22 November 1769.

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the conclusion of the instruction were complimentary to the king in their own right.

Eulogizing Charles III as a final point, Climent is careful not to convey an anti-

monarchical tone:

God has blessed us with a King so religious as Josiah [of Judah]; and such as this Prince, moved by the zeal for God’s honor, charged the priests with the duty to teach the law of Moses…and to teach the law and doctrine that Jesus Christ gave us as understood and explained by Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas, not as obscured and disfigured by some Casuists of the last centuries.160

In the years that followed, however, such rhetoric would not be sufficient enough for

Climent to maintain his position in the Church of Spain.

Climent’s Vision for Moral Reform: An Application of the Spirit of the Council of Trent

Rome’s scrutiny of his pastoral instruction of 26 March 1769 did not prevent

Bishop Climent of Barcelona from writing future instructions. He found that his message

was not being received even though it had avoided censorship. Nevertheless, the

vindication he had received from Madrid, and thus Rome, had protected his honor and

clout not only within Spain and the Church but more importantly among the laity of his

diocese. Climent continued to broker ways for deeper internal piety in his jurisdiction.

Yet, the Abbé Clément cautioned him to proceed in a way that avoided further

entanglements, and, as Jansenists and all anti-Jesuitical reformers had high hopes for

Pope Clement XIV, Clément wrote, “One will encounter the least [entanglements] by

showing all good will possible toward the Pope.”161

160 Climent, “Carta,” pp. 259-260. King Josiah of Judah is mentioned in 2 Kings 22 of the Old Testament and is praised as a righteous king who as a child found scrolls of the Mosaic law, long forgotten in Judah, and upon having them read, reestablished Mosaic law in his kingdom. 161 ASSP, CC, ms. 1290, Letter of the Abbé Clément, 10 January 1770, 52v.

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Less than three months after being cleared of charges from his previous pastoral

instruction, Climent saw another opportunity to foster moral and ecclesiastical reform in

Barcelona and, by extension, in the Church Universal in a continued spirit of eighteenth-

century Reform Catholicism. By the end of December of 1769, Pope Clement XIV had

published a letter declaring 1770 a year of Jubilee, meaning he would grant full, or

plenary, indulgences to all confessed Catholics. In eighteenth-century Europe, such an

announcement from the pope was truly a cause for jubilation among Catholics since it

was understood that plenary, or full, indulgences from the pope pardoned all of the

normal duties of penitence.

Clément wrote to Climent in January of 1770, commenting on the bull’s overall

good nature and pointing out particular extracts “of which enlightened Prelates can take

advantage.” Clément had no doubt that Climent would do just that regarding the bull. In

like manner, Climent responded that after having read it, “the clauses of the Bull of

Jubilee gave me motive to say something on penitence.”162 He followed through on his

words, and in the process, turned the predominant eighteenth-century notion of an

indulgence, even that embodied in the pope’s bull, upside down. Using the language of

indulgence that Pope Clement XIV had supplied in the bull, Climent manipulated it to

present a definition of indulgence that required an even greater commitment to penitence

than was presently practiced in non-jubilee years.

Climent published a pastoral instruction in May of 1770 that laid out the needed

moral reform with great clarity for the people of Barcelona, in a way serving as an

162 Ibid, Letter of Climent, 6 February 1770, 67v.

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addendum to the pope’s letter.163 In this instance, he did not have to reach back as far as

the early Church to find support for his arguments. Making reference to various decrees

of the Council of Trent and their contemporary interpretations, Climent’s instruction

brought to light various aspects of Tridentine Catholicism, particularly embodied in the

thought of Carlo Borromeo,164 that had been de-emphasized in baroque Europe over the

past centuries by increased Ultramontanism and Roman centralization.

The instruction of over 100 printed pages (a “brief” one in the words of Climent)

accompanied an edict outlining the guidelines for the upcoming Passion Week as a week

of jubilee in the diocese of Barcelona. In the edict, Climent stated that “Jubilee” would

only be enjoyed by the individual resident of Barcelona during that week if he or she

confessed sins with a pure heart to a confessor approved by Climent, gave alms to the

poor, fasted Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and visited at least one designated church

“station” to pray for some time.165 To explain the grounds for declaring what might seem

like a severe edict in a time of “Jubilee” Climent wrote his instruction in the pages that

followed in an effort to convince his flock of the reasonable nature and orthodoxy of such

163 The edict and instruction were written months earlier but were not published until the Lenten season of 1770. Josep Climent i Avinent, “Edicto e Instrucción a todos sus feligreses,” Colección de las obras del ilustrísimo señor don Josef Climent i Avinent, vol.II: pp. 5-116. (Henceforth noted as “Edicto” and “Instrucción.”) 164 For further reading on Borromeo’s involvement in and subsequent interpretations of the proceedings of the Council of Trent, see John M. Headley and John B. Tomaro’s edited collection of essays: San Carlo Borromeo: Catholic Reform and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century (Washington: Folger Books, 1988). 165 Climent, “Edicto,” Colección, vol II: pp. 5-13. In the edict, Climent is explicit about which “missions” to attend for Sunday mass in that the sermons there will promote penitence, as well as in instructing parishioners that their individual “stations” for confession and communion will be their respective parish churches. Regular clergy will go to their respective monasteries. The announcement of dates and locations for the missions also appears in Calaix de Sastre, AHCB, MS.201A. “25 de Mars de 1770: Se obri a la tarde la Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesus per las missions fan en ella Los Pares del Seminari, per la preparació del Jubileu que ha concedit lo nou Pontifice Clement XIV per lo acert del govern de nostra

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strict guidelines, referencing decrees of the Council of Trent as well as their later

application in late sixteenth-century Milan under its archbishop Carlo Borromeo later

canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.

While many have noted the increased papal centralism and authoritarianism as

immediate by-products of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the archiepiscopal

administration of Carlo Borromeo in Milan (1564-1584) demonstrates that the spirit of

the Council of Trent was one that emphasized diocesan organization and the meaning of

pastoral ministry. As the papal secretary and cardinal-nephew of Pope Pius IV,

Borromeo was an eyewitness to Trent’s proceedings. While his position was solely

bureaucratic during the convening of the Council, after its conclusion and his subsequent

appointment as archbishop of Milan, Borromeo felt moved to implement Trent’s decrees

as a pastor, a status that was of central importance to the fathers at Trent.166 During his

twenty years as archbishop, Borromeo was an outstanding example of the application of

the spirit of Trent. He held regular diocesan synods and provincial councils, maintained

his residency in Milan as part of his pastoral obligation, requesting papal permission if he

needed to leave for any length of time, and published pastoral instructions of an austere

and rigorous spirit on moral reform. “The declared and closely followed intent of

Santa Mare Iglesia; estas missions duraran 8 dias, es a saber en las Iglesias de Sant Francesc, Sant Agusti, St Felip Neri, etc.” 166 As Headley points out in the introduction of San Carlo Borromeo (op.cit), ever since Borromeo’s death, Rome has consistently referred to him in hagiographic texts as the loyal cardinal-nephew of the pope, obscuring his image as the reformist archbishop of Milan. However, the great dedication he felt toward implementing the decrees of Trent prompted Borromeo less than a year after the council to leave his high-ranking position as a cardinal in Rome after being named an archbishop, seek his uncle’s permission to reside in Milan for the purpose of convoking provincial councils there, and remain in Milan for the rest of his life as its archbishop even though he was still a cardinal of Rome.

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Borromeo was to secure the full and unqualified application of the disciplinary decrees of

the Council of Trent.”167

The example that Borromeo set on how to conduct oneself in episcopal office and

to influence both the ecclesiology of his fellow bishops and the spirituality of his flock

was an example that Bishop Climent of Barcelona would repeatedly appeal to in his

pastoral instruction of 15 May 1770. As the pope’s bull of Jubilee for 1770 was one of

plenary indulgence, the argument of Climent’s instruction—that indulgences are

contingent on the Sacrament of Penitence and that they therefore require a fuller

understanding of the sacrament—consistently made reference to the Council of Trent and

the works of Borromeo. While the Council of Trent had promulgated various decrees on

the proper use of indulgences (e.g., it was no longer acceptable to claim the day and hour

when a soul would be released from purgatory), Borromeo had reformed the use of

indulgences within his province, publishing pastoral instructions that demonstrated such

Tridentine ideas of reform. Climent emphasized how these ideas about indulgences were

consistent with Scripture and Tradition and would lead to a more profound sense of

internal piety among clergy and laity alike implemented within his diocese.

Climent’s instruction defines “indulgence,” “penitence,” “contrition,” and

“attrition” as understood by himself, the Council of Trent, various church fathers, earlier

general councils, and Scripture. In explaining the interconnected meanings of these

terms, Climent maintained that an indulgence is never unconditionally granted, as some

such as the Probabilists might think, but is granted only in connection with the Sacrament

of Penitence, entailing a truly contrite heart of the confessant. Basing his argument on

167 Headley and Tomaro, p. 69.

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recognized Catholic authority, Climent sets out stipulations for his diocesans on what is

required of the sinner, the confessor, and the bishop in this exchange of confession,

penance, and indulgence, while also emphasizing increased moral rigorism, authority of

bishops, and the need for provincial councils.

Well read in Church history and an enthusiast of the works of Fleury, Climent

began his instruction with a history of indulgences in the Church. Rooting them in the

biblical tradition of the Old and New Testament, as well as early Church councils,

Climent justifies the use of indulgences in accordance with their originally intended

purpose. God had instructed the Israelites of the Old Testament that every fiftieth year

would be one of “Jubilee” in which land would be given back to its original owner,

Israelites who had sold themselves as slaves because of debt would be given back their

liberty, and the land would not be farmed in order to give it a rest. As the Old Testament

prefigures the New Testament, the Jubilee of the Hebrews (found in the written Old

Testament law) would be adapted in the New Testament. The coming of Christ

established a new eternal and universal jubilee—the Jubilee of God’s grace. Thus,

Christians must treat debtors with charity in the same manner in which God graciously

pardons debts.

As Climent states early on, what he wants his flock to understand is that the

pope’s declaration of jubilee for the duration of 1770 does not entail a special type of

indulgence that has been unconditionally granted. What the pope has declared remains

within the traditional meaning of the jubilee of grace:

I am convinced (me hago cargo) that universal or perpetual Jubilee, of what until now I have spoke, is not a special Jubilee that popes concede for a determined

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time. But, outside of what truths I have exposed here, it should be a matter of our meditation during this time that the Jubilee conceded by our holy pope, if one deeply reflects on it, is a participation or application of that universal and perpetual Jubilee.168

As he had directed the Barcelonese in the preceding edict, the present Jubilee is nothing

other than the granting of plenary indulgences only to those who participate in the

Sacrament of Penitence, fasting, alms-giving, and prayer. Although the Council of Trent

had reached the same verdict on the matter, Climent sees a grave need to write an

instruction to the same point roughly 200 years later since “without doubt you all have

read or heard that plenary Indulgences pardon all penalty that we merit by our sins to the

extent that they exempt us from the obligation of penitence.”169

Thus, for Climent each component of the Jubilee must be understood individually

and in relation to the other parts. Regarding the principle part of the jubilee, the

indulgence is the remission or pardon of temporal punishment (or penance) that one pays

in this life or after death in Purgatory for pardoned sins. Moreover, as Climent made

clear, indulgences themselves do not pardon sins; only penitence does and reconciles the

individual to God. Indulgences lighten the duties of penance. Since the time the Council

of Trent had first corrected their use, Climent found an augmentation in abuses of

indulgences to have occurred in the Church. He directly linked the abuse to the

Probabilists (abundant in Spain because of Jesuit influences in the past) who defended the

idea that plenary indulgences eliminated the need for penance entirely. Returning to the

teachings of the Council of Nicea, St. Cyril, and of Trent, Climent held that such

168 Climent, “Instrucción,” pp. 21-22. 169 Ibid, p. 42.

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complete exemption from penance had only ever accompanied plenary indulgences in the

cases of those so sick or persecuted that they were incapable of performing any act of

penance with their confessions. Instead, the Nicene Council and St. Cyril had established

that plenary indulgences imply that the individual do some penance;170 even Pope

Clement XIV had included, says Climent, the conditions of fasting, alms, and prayer in

his letter of Jubilee. Explained in Climent’s instruction, the proper attitude toward

indulgences, as evidenced in Church tradition, was to view them as treasures of the

Church to be given out only to the truly penitent as part of the mercies of Christ in

combination with Sacrament of Penitence.

Climent sought to instill a deeper appreciation for and understanding of the

Sacrament of Penitence in the hearts of individuals in his diocese. Integrally connected

to indulgences, the Sacrament of Penitence was a “laborious baptism” that needed to be

understood by the parties involved. As the Council of Trent had plainly stated,

The fruit of Baptism is different from that of the Sacrament of Penitence: because through Baptism, as we reclothe ourselves in the spirit of Christ, we become a new creation through Him, meanwhile achieving a full and entire remission of sin. Moreover in the Sacrament of Penitence we cannot regain our first newness without many tears and great works according to what Divine justice asks for: and therefore the Holy Fathers rightly call Penitence a laborious Baptism.171

Seeing the need to remind his diocesans of Barcelona of the nature of penitence, Climent

had found to his dismay that the idea of “labor” involved in penitence had been forgotten

as he regularly witnessed those who had gotten into the automatic routine of sinning,

confessing, and communing.172 As he had learned from the writings of Cyril and Basil as

170 Ibid, pp. 55-56. (Nicene Council, canon 12.) 171 Ibid, p. 36. (Council of Trent, Session 14, c. 2.) 172 Ibid, pp. 80 & 87.

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well as from the history which Fleury had put forward in Mœurs des Chrétiens,

Christians in the first centuries of the Church found the idea of offending God so painful

that, desiring reconciliation from their sins, they would prostrate themselves before the

doors of the churches, asking their bishops to admit them as a “penitent,” offering to

suffer all kinds of rigors in the process. Furthermore, he found through reading these

sources that the practice of “public penitence” had once been common in the Church,

mentioned as early as I Timothy 5:20, obligating, for example, all those who caused

bodily harm on or false testimony against another individual to make a public confession

of their sins. Even though this practice was nonexistent in the eighteenth century,

Climent calls for its reestablishment, justifying it by recalling it as a reform of the

Council of Trent. Even Borromeo in post-Tridentine Milan had written a pastoral

instruction on the orthodoxy of public penitence.173

Climent concentrated on the concept of contrition in hopes of effectively

communicating it to the people of Barcelona in his instruction published just before

Easter in 1770. If one truly wanted to receive pardon for their sins and be reconciled to

God, the disposition of the individual was key. As the receiving of indulgences was

dependent on penitence, the pardoning of sins entailed a laborious baptism, completed

only by those with a contrite heart. The pain of the soul, the hate of the sin committed,

the hate of the past life as a sinner, accompanied by a new spirit of avoiding that same sin

in the future—contrition, thus rigorously defined, was essential for God to pardon sins, as

173 Ibid, pp. 33-34.

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the Council of Trent had similarly maintained.174 Overall, it must be “firm, stable, and

efficacious” to extend over all sins and was therefore supernatural in origin and

motive.175 The desire to have a new spirit, a new life out of love for God in order not to

disappoint him again could only be implanted in the heart of the individual by God

himself. Climent requests his flock repeatedly to pray to God, asking him to create such

a new spirit in their hearts.

Many of his contemporaries, specifically Probabilists, maintained that attrition in

the heart of the sinner was sufficient enough in the Sacrament of Penitence. Climent,

however, disagreed in his pastoral instruction of 15 May. Since attrition was a fear of

God as a condemning enemy, not a love of God as a savior, it lacked the necessary desire

for a new life out of love for God. Thus, the disposition of attrition was never sufficient

for obtaining God’s grace. Referring to the acts of the Council of Trent, Climent is

nevertheless quick to mention that attrition is a step in the right direction and a gift from

God. An impulse from the Holy Spirit who seeks to inhabit the soul of the individual,

attrition moves and helps the soul to enter the path of justice, a step toward loving God

and thus toward receiving God’s grace in the Sacrament of Penitence. As evidenced in

the Old Testament books of Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah, “God is who begins the great

work of justification of the sinner. God loves us first and moves us and helps us to love

him.”176

174 Ibid, p. 68. (Council of Trent, Session 14, c. 4.) 175 Ibid, p. 72. 176 Ibid, p.78.

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Climent further instructed his flock that penance, or the temporal punishment

designated by the confessor for a particular sin, should be done piously under the spirit of

contrition as part of the Sacrament of Penitence. Climent reminds the people of

Barcelona that since 1768 he has made available for their reading pleasure numerous

copies of the Spanish translation of Borromeo’s pastoral instruction that set forth the

penitential canons (rules regarding penitence) along side the Ten Commandments for the

people of Milan. Once again (and in a tone that implies no one has fulfilled his request),

Climent begs them to read Borromeo’s instruction that prescribes the time and exercise of

penance according to the sin committed. For example, the penitential canons designate

that for an adulterer the Church used to impose a period of ten years penance.177 Climent

added, however, that such penance should not be designated as a cruelty inflicted by the

Church, but rather should be considered the action of a pious mother who punishes her

children out of love for them:

…a Mother ever-loving, ever-pious with her children; and never more loving or pious than when she treated them with severity to correct them. We confess, then, with humility, that that practice of the Church, that now frightens us, was very just and reasonable; exacting from sinners the punishment judged proportional to the gravity of the crime, although in reality inferior to the eternal punishment they merited and to which they were condemned. 178

As a model for present behavior, the Christians of the early Church would voluntarily do

rigorous penance because they knew the extent to which their actions had offended God.

For the eighteenth century, Climent advised his audience on the stance taken by the

Council of Trent that penance “serve [the penitents] as a brake, and make them more

177 Ibid, p.31. 178 Ibid, p.32.

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cautious and vigilant in the future….”179 Thus, Climent through his instruction of 15 May

1770 made an appeal to his readers that they consider how the Church issued penance in

the past in order to better appreciate the meaning of it in their lives.

Climent also maintained that penance is intimately connected to contrition, as the

three principle types of penance—fasting, alms-giving, and spending time in prayer—all

deepen one’s sentiment of contrition. Climent instructed his audience that even in a time

of Jubilee such forms of penance were naturally a part of the Sacrament of Penitence.

Penitence is rarely mentioned in Scripture without linking it to fasting, Climent pointed

out, concluding that it is the most just form of penance since it mortifies the flesh thus

instilling a spirit of humility. (Climent requested of his audience that in the present time

of Lent they not only give up their usual amounts of food in their fasts, but also eschew

sleep, profanity, games, and diversions.180) Giving alms was linked with fasting since the

money one would spend on food was obligatorily given to the poor under divine precept.

Prayer accompanied the first two types of penance and was even a greater obligation

since prayer entailed the “[humble] elevation of the mind to God, the petition of what is

decent…according to the spirit of charity (caridad).”181

Consistent with his other writings that critique contemporary practices, Climent’s

pastoral instruction of 15 May 1770 does not merely express the practices of the laity as

the only focus for reform. Climent was clear that moral reform among the laity in the

areas described above could only be successfully achieved with greater involvement from

179 Ibid, pp. 39-40. (Council of Trent, Session 14, c.2.) 180 Ibid, p. 96. 181 Ibid, p.100.

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the clergy. Yet Climent did not see this involvement as anything beyond their call of

duty; instead, Climent maintained that the clergy had become lax in their duties and must

now return to the original requirements of their offices.

As the confessant was not the only participant in the Sacrament of Penitence,

Climent held that the confessor must take his charge of granting or denying absolution of

sin seriously. Confessors should act as “doctors of souls” in Christian charity. They

must go beyond listening and absolving to guide the individual on the path of heaven and

cure individuals of the sicknesses of their souls. Climent advised that each person of

Barcelona, whether laity or clergy, should choose a confessor as one would a doctor or

surgeon when sick: “You all would not want your doctor or Surgeon to be

contemplative, but rather that according to their profession they prescribe bitter drinks

and cut your flesh when necessity calls for it; so too you all do not want your spiritual

doctor to propose sweet drinks or light penances, Pater Nosters and Ave Marias, cheating

you with weak cures.”182 Mechanical, monotonous forms of piety or devotion would not

help individuals to understand the inner contemplation that was involved in penance.

Instead, Climent sought to “enlighten” his flock through the words of his pastoral

instruction by communicating the true meaning of penitence in order for the laity to

deepen comprehension of their faith.

Climent, however, felt the only way to ensure the quality of confessors was by

achieving the “unanimous consent of the Prelates of the Church” on the means that would

reform the discipline, seeking the quality over the quantity of confessors.183 As a plea

182 Ibid, pp.49-51. 183 Ibid, p.49.

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consistent with his earlier instructions, Climent called for provincial councils as a forum

for obtaining such unanimous consent again in his pastoral instruction of 15 May 1770.

Aligning himself with someone such as Carlo Borromeo who had actually held provincial

councils in the sixteenth century, Climent desired to convene provincial councils in order

to establish the universal observance of the decrees of the Council of Trent, such as that

of public penitence. He wrote his pastoral instruction in an effort to change parishioner

and priest attitudes towards indulgences but concluded, “What more can I myself do,

when the Council [of Trent], recognizing it to be serious and universal, did not order that

each Bishop by himself remedy the situation (regarding indulgences); but rather that

Bishops congregated in Council unanimously procure the remedy?”184 Thus, while the

Council of Trent had not succeeded in establishing regularly convened provincial

councils, Climent argues that the model Trent laid down and the example Borromeo set

supported such action.

Another predominant theme of Climent’s pastoral instruction was ecclesiastical

jurisdiction in accordance with Scripture and Tradition. As he indicated with the case of

indulgences and “as St. Peter conceded, …popes are the dispensers, not the owners, of

the goods of the Church.”185 Moreover, indulgences had been established as one such

good when St. Cyril, the “Doctor of Indulgences,” had solidified the doctrine on

indulgences in the Councils of Nicea and Ephesus in the fourth and fifth centuries and the

conciliar decree “inferred that only bishops by ordained Right could grant indulgences.”

Climent saw this concession on indulgences intrinsically as an act of jurisdiction “that

184 Ibid, p.64.

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bishops maintain only, as Jesus Christ had entrusted to them the governance of his

Church.”186 While the pope could concede indulgences to all of Christendom,

archbishops to those of their province, and bishops to those of their diocese, the clergy

had to respect those boundaries and refrain, for example, from satisfying those who live

outside of their jurisdiction who might request the grant of indulgences for various sacred

images that were venerated in their towns. Thus, Climent clearly outlined the

ecclesiastical boundaries of jurisdiction.187

Clément of Auxerre enthusiastically read Climent’s instruction that had radically

departed from the typical perception of indulgences and the jurisdiction accorded them

and then responded to it in his letter of 1 May 1770. While expressing his concern that

the abundance of Probabilists in Spain would cause Climent significant difficulties in

establishing the requirements of confessors, Clément was quick to praise the great

wisdom and lumière with which Climent put forward his case for the reestablishment of

public penitence and indulgences in the spirit of the Council of Trent. He also was

delighted to find that the instruction’s words regarding the convocation of ecclesiastical

185 Ibid, p.66. 186 Ibid, pp.27-29. 187 It should be noted that Climent did not mention the existence of parish jurisdiction, instead stopping at the level of the diocese. While Tort i Mitjans categorizes this instruction as one of “Jansenist rigorism” (p.181), Jansenist rigorism might have led Climent to address the jurisdiction of parish priests in the same manner. Differentiating himself from many Jansenists such as Abbé Clément, Climent did not find that parish priests held authority independent from their bishop within their parish. Since Climent argued his points alluding to Scripture and Tradition in the early Church, the role of the bishop alone remained his focus of ecclesiastical reform since bishops had historically been more prominent in the Church as men of Apostolic Succession. Instead, parish priests remained an integral component in Climent’s plan for ecclesiastical reform. Under the jurisdiction of each bishop, parish priests further inculcated austerity in the lifestyles of their parishioners. But they had a long way to go in achieving it; Climent voiced his frustration that in governing his diocese since he lacked jurisdiction over one-third of it that the “lower clergy” had maintained, and parish priests had difficulties with such clergy as well. This reference is made regarding the jurisdictional immunities of the lower, secular clergy. In comparison with the French who had been “more zealous in conserving the old discipline than the Spanish.” Climent, “Carta,” p. 231-2.

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assemblies were an embodiment of the Gallican belief that Church tradition had always

supported the convening of national councils.188

While Clément welcomed the pastoral instruction, Climent soon discovered that

the reaction of the Council of Castile was not as positive. While the vision for provincial

councils probably did not bode well with the regalists in Madrid, the actual content of the

instruction was not divisive enough to result in condemnation. Instead, the Council of

Castile, led by Campomanes, took action against Climent’s apparently unchecked liberty

to publish his ideas in the form of instructions prolifically. As the forces of absolutism

and regalism in the government of Spain sought power for the monarchy as absolute head

of the Church in Spain as a Catholic authority in his own right, further secularizing the

Church, this did not leave room for any rivals such as bishops, autonomous as spiritual

authorities in their dioceses, to hold great sway over large congregations of Spaniards. 189

Publishing material as often as Climent did was only a reminder of the capacity clerics

had to influence the population. Therefore, in partial response to his instructions, the

Council of Castile decided to require the inspection of pastoral instructions by a secular

magistrate before publishing them.190 (Given the constraints of “Enlightened Despotism”

with which Climent had to work, his prolific publishing record and dissemination of

printed material becomes one of the main illustrations of Enlightenment in Barcelona,

discussed below in Chapter Six.)

188 ASSP, CC, ms. 1290, Letter of Clément, 1 May 1770, 83v. 189 Antonio Domínguez Ortiz chronicles the reforms of Charles III as part of a program of absolutism and political centrism that shaped all areas of Spanish life. See Carlos III y la España de la Ilustración. 190 Novísima Recopilación de las leyes de España. Mandada formar por el señor don Carlos IV (Madrid: Boletín Oficial del Estado, 1975 [1805-7]): libro II, título XIV, ley VI, pp. 331-3.

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Writing to Abbé Clément in response to the passing of the law, Climent voiced

his dismay over this development in 22 September 1770. The law hopelessly

compromised the independence of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and most likely entailed the

cessation of publishing his pastoral instructions. Climent lamented, “According to the

present signs, I will no longer be able to publish other Instructions.” Consistent with his

vision for ecclesiastical reform, Climent added that the bishops of Spain must come

together to defend their exercise of spiritual authority before the king if there were to be

any hope of reversing the current trends of Madrid. Noting the liberty that “the

Inquisitors, the Intendents, and other Tribunals enjoyed, publishing as much as pertains to

their office without permission of any regent or the Council of Castile,” Climent was

confident that the king would maintain their jurisdiction. Climent gravely doubted,

however, the desire of the Spanish bishop—who were so divided theologically,

regionally, and politically—to unite across existing divisions and make themselves

understood in this issue as one body.191

The secular power of the Spanish king, although recently exercised against Jesuits

in 1767 and more or less in favor of “Jansenists,” was now threatening Climent’s own

episcopal prerogatives and his rights and capacities to instruct his parishioners as he saw

fit. Seeking to give counsel to his brother on this issue, the Abbé Clément responded in

true Gallican fashion in his letter of 10 November 1770. In order to solve the solidarity

problem among Spanish bishops, Clément felt an avenue could be broached that would

remedy the disunity and address the matter of jurisdiction and pastoral instructions. He

191 ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, 22 September 1770, 124v.

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inquired of Climent, “Why not consider the most immediate means of reconciling your

right to instruct freely with the respect you demand from the Prince?” Clément suggested

that the king be asked to call a meeting of the clergy to bring about coalition between

bishops, thereby asserting his temporal rights over the Spanish clergy as well as over this

“spiritual” matter of instruction.

Overall, Climent’s situation, facing this new decree of Madrid, had not provoked

the same feelings of desperation in Clément. He explained to Climent the counter

example of Gallican France where it had been clear, from the premises of royal

Gallicanism, that the bishops’ right to publish pastoral instructions had always been

“conceded” by the prince (i.e., the state), but where they also had enjoyed the exercise of

this right without prior inspections from the secular magistracy (all the while subject to

legal action in case of their abuse of this right). Thus, he urged Climent to persuade

Charles III and his council to assert their temporal rights along the lines of the French or

Gallican model. With such an understanding of boundaries, the efforts of the state to

encourage councils would not be an exercise of direct temporal intervention in and

control over the divine right of bishops to instruct their parishioners.

Climent’s response to the Gallican suggestions of Clément is not known;192

however, it is unlikely that Climent would have found Clément’s ideas amenable to his

vision for the Spanish church, given his general outlook over the previous years of

correspondence that “the undermining of the Discipline…comes as much from Regalism

192 The archive’s collection of ecclesiastical correspondence between Bishop Climent and the Abbé Clément, while complete for 1768-1770, is sparse for the letters written after 1770 until Climent’s death in 1781.

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as it does from Ultramontanism….”193 Climent held out for episcopal autonomy within

the diocese that did not compromise what Scripture and Tradition had mandated—that

which he had so diligently explained in his pastoral instructions. For moral reform to be

properly established within the diocese, such as that which regarded indulgences, it

would be necessary for a pastor to be intimately acquainted and in constant

communication with his flock by means of pastoral visitations and instructions. Such

close contact could not be impeded by any other authority, whether from Rome or

Madrid.

Unfortunately, as a measure of fateful inevitability, the key to success for such a

vision depended on all bishops sharing Climent’s passion and holding a common view of

the importance of discipline and of the form in which it should be expressed. As had

been the case with Borromeo and his implementation of the Council of Trent, “the

episcopally based, potentially particularist interests and initiatives of Borromeo presented

a reform whose success depended upon a thousand like-minded, dedicated, driven

bishops.”194 So, too, for Climent the attainment of his goals for Spain would not be

realized due to the lack of support among his fellow Spanish clergymen compounded by

a monarchy that was renovating traditional Spanish institutions, such as the Church, to

maximize its authority. In such a climate, Climent never abandoned his stance on reform

and later became a “victim of regalism.”195

Yet before regalism stepped in to remove Climent from Barcelona, he had ten

years as bishop, taking advantage of every opportunity to reform his priests and

193ASSP, CC, ms. 1289, Letter of Climent, October, 1768, 54v. 194 Headley and Tomaro, p.16.

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parishioners. As he began his episcopacy with a call for a synod in 1767, Climent

collected ideas on the particular areas of reform needed among laity and clergy in order

to restore the desired model of the Early Church. In “The Responses” collected that

address these areas, much is learned about the nature and shape of both Climent’s priests

and parishioners. In the next two chapters, the image of first the laity and then the clergy

circa 1767 is reavealed.

195 Appolis, Le “tiers parti”, p. 479.

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CHAPTER 3

FIESTAS AND FERVOR: LOCAL RELIGIOUS LIFE OF BARCELONESE PARISHIONERS

Saying that the people of eighteenth-century Barcelona were Catholic is easy

enough. Looking at how they practiced their Catholicism, however, entails a more

sophisticated distinction of what being Catholic meant to average, everyday people—

whether farmers or city vendors, men or women, young or old, rich or poor—in the rural

and urban areas of Barcelona of the mid- to late-eighteenth century. Varying local brands

of Catholicism existed from Europe to Asia, the Americas, and even from place to place

within Spain. In effect, stating that Barcelonese went to mass, observed the sacraments,

and heeded their priests provides a lackluster analysis for a piece of rigorous historical

scholarship. Moreover, such a statement remains an assumption and one that should not

be made, since evidence of the contrary appears upon examination of eighteenth-century

church records. Uncovering the manner in which Catholicism was practiced by the laity

of Barcelona helps us get closer to finding out who these people were, what they

believed, and how their beliefs affected their daily lives. As in Catholic Spain “church”

and “state” were intertwined and blurred the lines of jurisdiction, understanding the

perspective of the laity and laying out their religious practices or lack thereof sheds light

on how people related to the larger, more powerful institutions of their day and why

politics handed down “from above” met the reaction it did “from below.”

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In this chapter, the perspective of the laity on everyday Catholicism is delineated

in order to distinguish Catholicism as practiced on the popular level from Catholicism as

laid out in doctrine in the diocese of Barcelona in the mid to late eighteenth century.

John McManners, in his own treatment of “popular religion” in eighteenth-century

France, presents an important consideration for beginning this chapter:

So far, the historiography of the religion of the masses has tended to equate it with superstition and the search for magical help in obtaining material blessings. Isolating it from the religion of the establishment tends to make it so, and obscures the contribution made by simple people to the spiritual content and continuity of the formalized religious cult. Within the confraternities, pilgrimages, and carnivals, a sense of collective salvation was enshrined, an aspect of Christian truth which the stern doctrine of individual responsibility tended to forget.196 While the main historical events covered in this study occurred between 1766 and

1775, following the story of Catholic reform during the episcopacy of Josep Climent i

Avinent of Barcelona, this chapter is not limited to those years but instead takes a broader

time span. Because this chapter has more of a cultural focus, some of the sources used to

write it cover broader periods of time and show certain continuities and long-term

cultural trends particular to the region of Barcelona. Such a study communicates the

overall environment in which any attempts at religious reform would be effected.

Before proceeding any further, it is important to introduce the sources employed

in order to bring to light eighteenth-century Barcelonese popular piety and how such

documents allow for the conclusions made in this chapter. The main bodies of

documentation used represent different perspectives and were all created for distinct

196 John McManners, Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998) vol II: p.192.

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purposes. First, “The Responses”197: this source is written by various parish priests of

the diocese of Barcelona in the spring and summer of 1767 who write to Climent

individually in order to report issues that need to be addressed (in their opinions) in an

upcoming synod or meeting of all parish priests, regular clergy, and the bishop of

Barcelona (Climent). Many of the letter-writing priests touch on problems within the

clergy of Barcelona, but most often the responses point to the (mis)education of their

parishioners. The second source of information consulted on Catholicism as practiced in

Barcelona is the Calaix de Sastre (“The Tailor’s Drawer”),198 a sort of diary of personal

observations made by the city-dwelling nobleman Rafel d’Amat i Cortada, the Baron of

Maldà from 1769 until 1785. This source is distinctive in the fact that it comes from a

lay, not a clerical, perspective, and Maldà’s purpose in writing it was purely out of

personal leisure, rather than to cast judgement on how Catholicism was practiced in

Barcelona. In addition to these two main bodies of documentation, information from

records of confraternities, art history, and native anthropological studies of Barcelona’s

festes (pronounced fés-tas, meaning holidays) is also consulted in order to provide the

fullest picture possible of everyday religious life in Barcelona. In sum, the sources for

this chapter highlight dances, processions, church attendance, uses of the church building

by the laity, the function of padrinos (godparents), education, gender relations, and

sexual behavior.

197 “29 Respostes d’alguns rectors a la carta enviada a ells, sobre quins abusos al correguir en viste, a un futur sinode a celebrar Josep Climent 1767 (que no es ha celebrar); finguen com a breve les sinodals vigeus del bisbe Sotomayor.” Arxiu Diocesà de Barcelona (hereafter ADB), Sínodes, legajo 83 (1.767) sin foliar. 198Rafel d’Amat i de Cortada, Baró deMaldà, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A (1769-1785), Arxiu Históric de la Ciutat, Barcelona. An abridged version of this manuscript has been published, although it omits important entries of Maldà: Calaix de Sastre, volume I (1769-1791), (Barcelona: Curial Edicions Catalanes, 1988).

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But yet there is another twist in achieving the goal of this chapter. The particular

aspects of the dances, processions, and festes are even more difficult to present in a

unified fashion for the diocese of Barcelona because of local variations in devotion to

saints. But this is not a phenomenon unique to Barcelona, as William A. Christian, Jr.

has pointed out in his ground-breaking study Local Religion in Sixteenth-Century

Spain.199 The center of his study is the unique religious culture that develops in different

communities; the result is “local religion”. Looking at the answers to two questions from

Phillip II’s questionnaire from 1575-1580,200 Christian was able to sort out how various

Castilian cities, towns, and localities described their religious culture, mentioning

festivals, shrines, and vows to their local pantheon of saints. While he feels that the term

“popular religion” connotes more of a separation between rural and urban, Christian uses

“local religion” to describe how a unique religious culture developed out of the history

and experience of a given community. Given that popular religion is typically

characterized as “superstitious” or “backward”, Christian’s goal is to show that a manner

of “theology” did govern local beliefs. Throughout Christian’s treatment of vows,

chapels, shrines, relics, and indulgences, the commonalties that emerge from locality to

locality pertain to the notion that God intervened in daily life. Each natural disaster,

199 Christian, Local Religion in Sixteenth-Century Spain. 200 A geographic project of Philip II, the questionnaire was sent out in the 1570s in order to gather information on the history, geography, economy, population, and “antiquities” of various Castilian villages. The original intent of the project was that the answers received would serve as raw material for a History of Castile and its Indies. The answers to the questionnaire are known as the Relaciones Topográficas (or sometimes Geográficas), geographically covering New Castile (Castilla La Mancha) and even the Americas. Thus, no such accounts exist for Barcelona (or even Catalonia). The originals are found in the Biblioteca del Escorial (El Escorial, Spain), and Christian cites in his bibliography the many published versions of groups of answers he used to write his book. See Christian, pp.223-4. See also Geoffrey Parker, The Grand Strategy of Philip II (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998): pp.61-65.

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apparition, or image that materialized was interpreted as a powerful message or sign from

God (or a saint) that led the community to make a pledge to a particular saint (or in later

years to Mary or Jesus). This usually involved a vow to celebrate a saint’s day or the

building of a chapel or shrine in exchange for the saint’s intercession with God on the

community’s behalf to grant the area protection and prosperity. In sum, the accounts that

Christian includes demonstrate the manner in which religion permeated daily life in

Castile and, moreover, how religion was experienced on a societal, not an individual,

level.

Thus, the use of the terms “local religious life” and “local religion” in this chapter

are in the spirit of Christian’s work. Devotions to saints in the form of dances,

processions, and other special observances are not treated here as mere superstitions, but

as cultural traditions that evolved out of vows between communities and saints, Mary, or

Jesus, such as those in Christian’s study of sixteenth-century Castile. Because of the

nature of the sources consulted in this chapter and the primary claim of this thesis that a

“Catholic Enlightenment” occurred in the diocese of Barcelona, the local religion

discussed in this chapter will not solely focus on devotions to the local pantheon of saints.

Instead, in order to illustrate what eighteenth-century reformers sought to “enlighten”,

local religion in this chapter will also include the “darkness”—that is, what practices or

attitudes of the general public reform-minded officials sought to correct. This “darkness”

had not always to do with external forms of religious devotion that were part of the

culture (the shrines and saint’s day celebrations that outsiders, maybe philosophes, might

call “superstition”), but often had to do with the lack of Catholic piety amongst

parishioners in the areas of attending mass, knowing doctrine, and practicing sexual

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conduct approved by the Church. Thus, this chapter addresses local religion, or local

religious life, both in terms of the patron saints of Barcelona’s communities and the

accompanying outward forms of devotion due them as well as in terms of the

communities’ amount of religious observance measured by participation in the parish

church and contact with the parish priest.

As Christian points out, “local religion” is a useful concept in order to incorporate

the religious practices of both rural and urban areas. As the diocese of Barcelona in the

eighteenth century contained both rural and urban parishes, it is important to distinguish

rural and urban. In the mid-eighteenth century, the diocese comprised 207 parishes, and

of that number only 7 parishes were considered part of the city of Barcelona. While other

larger towns existed such as Vilafranca de Penedès, Mataró, or Badalona, the majority of

the remaining 200 parishes were rural ones. A similar distinction between rural and

urban pertains to the sources studied in this chapter. While the Calaix de Sastre has

observations on local religious life within the city walls of Barcelona, “The Responses”

are generally letters that represent the concerns of secular priests in the remaining 200

parishes of the diocese (outside of the city). Some letters are from other urban areas such

as the city of Barcelona, or towns such as Badalona and Mataró, but the majority

represents issues of rural religious life. Thus in this chapter, first “The Responses” will

be discussed, mainly with local religious life in the rural areas and to a lesser extent with

urban religious life. Next, the religious life in the city of Barcelona proper and the

observations made by the Baron of Maldà in the Calaix de Sastre will be highlighted.

“The Responses” to Bishop Climent

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Historically, it was the custom in the diocese of Barcelona for the newly arrived

bishops to convene a synod in order to orientate themselves to the people and issues of

their diocese.201 After being installed as bishop of Barcelona in November of 1766 and

seeing the abundant influences of Jesuit laxism in the diocese, Josep Climent i Avinent

had similar plans for such a synod, proposing first to visit personally all or most of the

parishes in order to take the diocese’s pulse.202 However, when the Spanish monarchy

under Charles III expelled the Jesuit order from Spain on April 2, 1767, Climent realized

that his pastoral visitations would have to be put on hold in order to attend best to the

opportunities for reform available in the wake of Jesuit expulsion. Instead, in a pastoral

letter dated May 26, 1767, Climent wrote to the parish priests of the Barcelona diocese,

making clear his goal to return to the level of “discipline” found in the early Church

concerning the practices or “customs” of both the clergy and the “populace.”203 Alerting

them to his intentions of seeking reform in many areas in Barcelonese society, Climent

announced his proposal to implement such reform by means of a diocesan synod to be

held in the future. Secondly, in the pastoral letter Climent petitioned the priests to reflect

on the most important points of reform that in their opinion would “lead to the better

201 Since at least the thirteenth century, records exist that the diocese of Barcelona convened synods as an important tool of pastoral organization. For a full history and description of the synods, see José Sanabre, Los sínodos diocesanos de Barcelona, (Barcelona: Arxiu Diocesà de Barcelona, 1930). 202 Tort i Mitjans, El Opispo de Barcelona Josep Climent i Avinent, 1706-1781, P.44. 203 In this letter, Climent spends equal if not more time discussing discipline among clergy than among laity. For example, “…no nos lisongeamos poder desarraigar el envejecido [y]errado concepto que el mundo ha formado de los Beneficios eclesiásticos; pero discurrimos que la Iglesia podría mejor asegurarse de la verdadera vocación de sus Ministros.” See Josep Climent i Avinent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo”, Colección de las obras del il.mo señor don Joseph Climent, vol 1: p.103.

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governance of their parish”204 and put them down on paper, serving in a way to prepare a

working agenda for the synod.

Although the synod deemed “antiregalist” by Madrid was never held, 29 official

responses from parish priests were sent in to the episcopal palace in Barcelona in the

summer of 1767, designating in each priest’s opinion which abuses, or errant religious

practices, of the laity and clergy needed to be rectified.205 As the responses collected

from Climent’s parish priests point out, parishioners in the diocese of Barcelona did not

always manifest their religiosity in ways pleasing to the institutional Church. Instead,

they many times put work in the fields or in the market before parochial church

attendance. Or sometimes they opted for rural chapels over the parish church. And,

much to the chagrin of the clergy, open, pre-marital sexual relations were a common

occurrence. They also celebrated religion in their own way through processions or

dances in religious fiestas (festa in Catalan). It was this tendency on behalf of

parishioners that led parish priests to ask the bishop for help in rectifying their main

problem areas in the future synod.

As the diocese of Barcelona was comprised of four deaconries (or sub-governing

regions), “The Responses” represent all four deaconries—Barcelona (the Oficialato),

Vallès, Penedès, Piera—and actually cover the majority of all 207 parishes despite the

suggestion made by the number of 29 letters. As it turned out, Climent in his letter

directed the parish priests of Vallès, Penedès, and Piera to send their observations to their

“dean,” or parish priest who headed the group of parishes of the region, and then the dean

204 Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo”, idem, pp. 90-91. 205 For a narrative of events during Climent’s episcopacy, see below in Chapter Five.

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wrote the comprehensive response to Climent (or else the deacon would assume the job

of answering for his fellow parish priests). For these three “deaneries” (representing 137

out of 207 total parishes or 66.2% of the diocese), Climent received one response per

dean, each claiming to represent the opinions of the whole body of priests, some

purporting to have arrived at such a response by means of a smaller meeting of parish

priests. For the remaining region, the oficialato of Barcelona comprised of 7 parishes

within the city of Barcelona and 63 parishes outside of it, the city parish priests sent in

one representative letter for the seven priests and 25 parishes outside of the city proper

sent in responses (39.7% of 63 non-city parishes). Thus, at least in principle, “The

Responses” represent 80.5% of the parishes outside of Barcelona city (161/200) and

81.2% of the diocese as a whole (168/207). While a few of the letters from the oficialato

of Barcelona come from more urban areas (e.g. Badalona, Mataró, and Barcelona city),

they represent concerns of predominantly rural areas (the “countryside” as opposed to the

“city”).

Because Climent’s letter had made clear that his message of stricter church

discipline was focused not just on the laity but also on the clergy, the parish priests

responded accordingly with letters pointing to areas needing remedy in order for them to

“govern” their parishes better. The two main areas can be summed up as “keeping the

Sabbath holy” and “pre-marital sexual relations”. Education in Christian doctrine and

rules governing the use of the Church followed closely in the amount of attention they

received in the letters. In general the responses covered all aspects of society, from

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gender roles to dress codes, from baptisms to funerals, from the military to the municipal

and regional governors (justicia).

The view of local religion in these letters may be characterized by the words

“unorganized”, “out of control,” and “indifferent,” not to mention at times “inconsistent”

with the Catholic Church. Yet, one must remember that “The Responses” are written

from the point of view of the clergy, and so when seeking the larger reality of local

religion in early modern Barcelona, one must “read against the grain” of the

documents.206 Reading against the grain of the priests’ words, then, one finds much

consistency and organization. First of all, while only a handful of the letters mention it,

there is an important observation made by some that frames the details of how

Catholicism was practiced in and around 1767: Many times parishioners were being very

consistent with the example given by their priests. The bad example of the clergy,

particularly in rural areas, caused parishioners to know no better on how to be good

Catholics. Especially in an era in which universal literacy was not assumed (particularly

in the countryside) and the Catholic church itself incorporated visual images to teach

devotion to the populace, the behavior of a local parish priest would naturally be the most

practical way for people to learn what it meant to be a Catholic on a day-to-day basis.

Before pointing the finger at parishioners, a few priests placed the blame for any

lack of Christian discipline or obedience squarely on the shoulders of their fellow

clergymen. In a strongly worded letter, a parish priest spoke out against the “abominable

abuses and pernicious vices” that denigrate the “true Christian Religion.” Condemning

206 The phrase is borrowed from literary studies. See Mary Louise Pratt, Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation (London & New York: Routledge Press, 1992). Pratt uses the phrase to communicate

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the festes majors (principal religious festivals of towns) in which men and women

casually intermix and dance together, this priest describes it as a practice many times

sponsored by the parish priest as a church fund-raiser. But even before getting into such

details, he prefaces his letter on abuses by saying,

It would be in first place, illustrious sir, the lamentable abuse and the bad example no less insufferable that we priests give, ignoring people to the point of ostracism and talking behind each others’ backs in churches, and especially in some rural parishes. …With this example, what do the people [vulgo] do? The same. Who corrects it? No one. Because those who have to correct it are more guilty of it.207

Further hinting at the bad example parishioners had to follow, a group of six priests

referred to the “blushing” and “confusion” that Climent’s letter had “so justly” caused

them because “as a single order” they felt the difficulty of acts of synod lay not in their

establishment, but in their practice and putting them into effect (compliance).208 In

another letter, one priest (no name given) made ten particular notes concerning the

synodal constitutions of Sotomayor, but at the end his point is simple: convening a synod

and making a lot of constitutions means nothing if such resolutions are not put into

practice. “Of the ordinances of different Councils and Synods …in all eras one can infer

what in his era St. John Chrysostom inferred; that is, that if one notices an undisciplined

people, the ecclesiastics have the principal blame because they are not the image [mirall]

how one can read the accounts of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spaniards in the Americas to uncover traces of the colonial reality of indigenous and conquerors. 207 “Será en primer puesto Il. Sr. lo Abus tant lamentable, y lo mal exemple no menos insufrible, que donam los Sacerdots arraconnant y confabulant en las Iglesias; y en especial en algunas Parroquias rurals. …Ab est exemple, que fa lo vulgo? Lo mateix. Qui l’corregirá? Ningu. Perque los qui haviam de corregirlo, som en lo mateix mes culpats.” P.1-2 of letter of “Rt. Dr. P.M. y B.,” “The Responses”. 208 “A pesar del rubor y confusió que tant justament nos causa la zelosa Pastoral carta de V.S.I. de 26 maig proxim passat;…respecte de que la experiencia ab Castant sentiment nostre, ensenya que la dificultat de las Constitutions está mes de part de la practica y cumpliment de aquellas que de son primer establiment…” P.1, letter of Papiol, Castellbisbal, Rubí, Villastrell, Valldoreix, and Santa Creu d'Olorda parish priests, “The Responses.”

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that they should be in order to move the laity to divine worship and good habits.”209

Thus, it seems safe to infer that often what were, from the priests’ point of view,

inconsistencies between local religious life and the teachings of the Catholic Church were

in reality a result of parishioners learning Catholicism by emulating the everyday

example of current or past priests who were less than the perfect Catholic role model. If

the laity were ignorant, it was not solely because they were religiously indifferent.

One of the most universal traits of the Catalans of the Barcelona countryside was

their tendency to work, regardless if it were a Sunday or Holy Day (festa or fiesta). So

while the Church preached “keep the Sabbath holy”, for other pressing reasons,

parishioners felt they had to work. Of all “The Responses”, only 10—all from individual

parishes in the oficialato of Barcelona—were silent on “keeping the Sabbath (and other

holy days) holy” when discussing main areas needing reform. The lists compiled by the

deans of Penedès, Piera, and Vallès all included complaints about their parishioners

working on Holy Days. In Vallès, the parish priests felt incapable of deterring the

practice on their own; they wanted to ask the Real Audiencia (or royal judicial court) to

order town mayors and councilors to assist parish priests in reprehending and fining

“lawbreakers.” According to their words, the chief culprits were carters and carriers of

coal and firewood because people were demanding and buying those commodities on

such days. The priests of Piera reported that now markets were even being held on

Sundays and because of them mass attendance had gone down considerably (poca

209 “De las Ordinacions de diferents Concilis y Synodos, …apar se pot inferir a totas Eras, lo que en la sua Era inferia Sant Joan Chrisosthomo, ço es que si se nota al Poble indisciplinat la principal culpa tenen los Ecclesiastichs, perque no son lo mirall que deuhen ser pera mourer als Seculars al Culto Divino y bons Costums.” P.3, letter of Reflexions en alguns titols y Consitucions del Synodo del Illm Sr Sotomayor, “The Responses.”

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asistencia) so that many people were not “hearing” mass. In their report they added that

in those parishes in which two masses were “said” on Sunday, the majority of people

went to the sunrise service rather than the one held at 10 or 11A.M. Putting the two

comments together, it seems possible that, even though the markets had decreased mass

attendance on Sundays, some parishioners of the Barcelona countryside could have been

getting up early to go to mass out of their Catholic devotion. But because of high taxes,

food prices, etc. they found themselves having to work on Sundays as well.

In the letter composed by the dean of the Penedès parish priests, many of the

details from individual priests’ letters were edited out for the sake of brevity, yet “the

scandalous lack of Holy Day observance” appears number one on several lists from

Penedès parish priests. The dean himself, in his observations of the regional parishes,

found that sea-faring commerce had really picked up, becoming increasingly important to

the industry of rural areas on the Mediterranean coast of the bishopric. Since the only

port facility was Barcelona, a growing number of parishioners were asking for permission

to work on Holy Days, loading and unloading goods on such days due to the risk and

danger sea-travel presented, particularly in winter and spring.210

While the priests did not consider the work they excused to be “scandalous” or a

violation of the Biblical law, there was always a fine line between what was work out of

“necessity” and what was work on Sunday out of convenience. “On many occasions,

especially in times of harvesting and threshing wheat and picking grapes, some truly have

210 “Fuera de Barcelona en ningun Lugar hay puerto. Los Navios estan en la Mar expuestos a todo riesgo y peligro por lo que casi siempre piden licencia para cargar y descargar en dia de Fiesta. Se pudiera dudar, si esta causa es bastante para dispensar en todo tiempo o solo lo será para el de Invierno y Primavera.” P.4, letter of Penedès, “The Responses.”

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just cause for working on Holy Days. On other occasions the cause is dubious, and with

the pretext of similar dubious causes, some work on Holy Days without reason, and abuse

occurs.”211 One priest in Sant Just Desvern, the farming area just northeast of Barcelona

city, found his parishioners’ behavior more than questionable since they were carting

sheaves of wheat and other grains on “all Holy Days,” so much grain that he said it

averaged out to “at least one cartload per house.”212 When priests got suspicious about

how “necessary” a parishioner’s work was Holy Days, many of them (such as the priest

from St. Just Desvern) severely warned violators about the sin they were committing

against God and the Church. But much to the dismay of the priests, their repeated

appeals (exhortacions), outcries and protestations (clamors) went unheeded. People

worked “publicly” on Holy Days, claimed the parish priest of Badalona (a coastal town

neighboring Barcelona city to the north). So too in the city of Barcelona, particularly

tailors and shoe-makers worked “publicly” on “mornings of Holy Days.”213 Even

imposing fines for violators did not deter sufficiently, as some priests wrote about

parishioner resistance in paying said fines.

But why in the eighteenth century would people in the region of Barcelona want

to work on days they did not have to? Knowing that the local parish priest would soon

211 “En moltas occassions, especialment en temps de segar, batrer, y Veremar verdaderament alguns tenen justa causa para treballar en dia de festa; en altras occasions la causa es dubiosa y ab pretexto de semblants causas, alguns treballan en dia de festa sens causa bastant en que se observa sobrat abus.” P.1, letter of St. Vicents dels Horts’ parish priest, “The Responses.” 212 “No bastan en est Llobregat las repetidas monicions dels Parrocos contra lo carretejar las Garbas y demes Grans en tots los Dias de Festa, en quals indispensablement se practica a lo menos de una carretada per casa.” Letter of Joseph Ponton Sala, St Just Desvern, “The Responses.” 213“La poca observancia de las Festas, traballant publicament…”, (underline in original) letter of Antonino Monserrat, parish priest of Badalona; “…també lo abus de treballar molts sastres y sabaters los matins del dia de festa publicament…”, p.7, letter of city parish priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.”

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pay them a visit and warn them about going to hell for that mortal sin and maybe throw

on a big fine for good measure, why would they choose work on a holiday as opposed to

enjoy a day off? Overall, the parish priests’ answers point to apathy and the ease with

which the collections of such fines could be resisted. While in some individual cases

apathy and indifference could have been true, it seems that the “Cape of Necessity” (from

the letter of the parroco of St. Adriá) which parishioners claimed “covered” their work

on festes from sinning could actually have been just that—necessity. The priest of

L’Ametlla observed that some worked despite their “doubting conscience” while others

worked “positively against their conscience.”214 Having a “conscience” about their

actions hardly paints Barcelonese parishioners as apathetic or incredulous Catholics. In

fact, in the parish of Sant Boi de Llobregat (just southwest of the city walls of Barcelona),

morning mass was said at daybreak in the parish church on Holy Days so that the farmers

of wheat and grapes would not lose part of the workday in times of harvest.215 As

sometimes bread alone fed the populace in eighteenth-century Europe and vineyard

produce was the main commodity of the Catalan countryside, the picture becomes more

likely that people were literally working “to keep bread on the table” rather than to get

rich. When noting the number of riots in late eighteenth-century Europe caused by

214 “En alguns traballant ab conciencia duptosa; pretextuant motius apparents. Y en altres obrant positivament contra sa conciencia.” Letter of l’Ametlla, “The Responses.” 215 “Encaraque: en los dies de Festa de sola obligació de oir misa, y en totas las Festas del temps en que se recullan los fruits de pa y vi: se diu la Misa Matinal a punta del Dia en la Iglesia Paroquial de S. Boi: perque los treballadors no perdian part del Jornal; y en los Diumenges, y Festas de tota obligació se abstingan de treballarhi, continuan treballarhi part grave de ditas Festas y Diumenges.” P.1, letter of St. Boi de Llobregat, “The Responses.”

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increased bread prices on impoverished people216, the likelihood that Barcelonese

parishioners just plain did not care about being good Catholics is very slight.

The second most common observation made by parish priests regarding abuses in

their midst was one more private in theory, occurring behind closed doors—sexual

relations. Of the 25 letters in “The Responses” from individual parishes in the Barcelona

oficialato, only 12 did not mention how obvious it was that young people were engaging

in sexual activity before marriage.217 (The regions of Vallès, Penedès, and Piera all

report on it.) While on one hand the observed “abuse” revealed sexual promiscuity

prevalent in all reaches of the Barcelona diocese, it also showed that what was private

and what was public was hard to distinguish in many communities. Whether in a city or

village, everything that occurred in neighborhoods was observed and became communal

or societal issues (rather than individual, private, or family issues). So when and which

people entered others’ houses was common knowledge in Barcelona society; culturally, it

was not considered snooping or nosiness.

216 In Barcelona there was a famous bread riot in the 1790s; in pre-revolutionary France, Louis XVI tried to prevent such riots but was not successful. The ideas of physiocrats influenced the French government in the 1760s and 1770s to introduce free-trade legislation which “stripped local officials of a number of tactics for countering shortages” of grain and bread. Still holding on to the power to set bread prices, the French government kept prices low in the capital of Paris for the greater public even though bakers there incurred higher rents and costs of production. When the minister Turgot abruptly told bakers they could sell at whatever price they desired and bread prices went up exponentially on 3 May 1775, “thousands of enraged buyers roamed from bakery to bakery, in and out of market stalls, forcing doors, shattering windows, seizing loaves, and slitting sacks of floor.” These riots on May 3rd were the most famous episode of the “Flour War.” See p. 93, 104-7 of Judith A. Miller, Mastering the Market: the State and the Grain Trade in Northern France, 1700-1860 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998). 217 There was awareness amongst priests that pre-marital sex was a universal problem in the diocese. It could be assumed. The priest of Mataró wrote that “as all of us cry out about this, perhaps some remedy will be invented.” [“pero como todos clamamos sobre lo mismo, estará tal vez discurrido algun remedio a tanto mal.”] Letter of Beniso Vila, “The Responses.” Of the 12 letters omitting this problem, 7 of them also did not mention working on the Sabbath and Holy Days. In most cases, the letters list sexual promiscuity immediately before or after working on Holy Days, or otherwise the two abuses are linked by a conjunction in the same sentence. While the two are different in nature, the prevalence and persistence of the two problem areas were obviously very similar.

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Especially in the countryside, lines between private and public were so blurred

that even the most intimate of human interactions was in the communities’ view in

eighteenth-century Barcelona. As the dean of Piera reported, when widowers remarried,

the community did not give the newlyweds privacy. They made commotion with

cowbells, told stories, and sang popular songs outside of the house to the point where

many times fights would break when one family hit a bad nerve of another.218 The

description from the Piera region is almost identical to that given by Natalie Zemon

Davis in her study of sixteenth-century French society and culture.219 Charivaris—noisy,

masked demonstrations to humiliate some wrongdoer in the community—sponsored by

informal circles of friends and family (Davis names “Abbeys of Misrule”) regularly

occurred in sixteenth-century France and targeted husbands who were ruled by their

wives, widows, widows who were remarrying, and husbands who were deceived by their

wives. Davis finds that this type of “misrule” served a function in society, whether it be

political criticism or a youth society, and actually reinforced order and suggested

alternatives to the existing order. Naturally, the priests of “The Responses” did not

perceive this function.

In the case of young people, the community watched their sexual behavoir—and

not in silence. As one priest wrote, sexual activity of engaged couples produced “more

than a little gossip.” Many parishioners considered such behavior scandalous when

218 “També providenciar que per ocasio dels matrimonis dels Viudos no se fassen recidos, Vulgarment dits escallots, ni relacions, nis canten cansons profanes o injuriosas de que ab molta frequencia se originan rinyas, odis implacables, deshonestedats, y altres malts...” Letter of dean & parrocos of Piera, “The Responses.” 219 See Natalie Zemon Davis, Society and culture in early modern France: Eight Essays (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1975): pp.97-123.

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engaged couples cohabitated. Parish priests wrote for help since it brought social

disorder to the parish and unneeded commotion that impeded the priest’s mission. To the

community, especially the parish priest, it was obvious what was going on when young

men and women spent hours behind closed doors un-chaperoned.

Both regions of Penedès and Piera sent in letters noting the behavior of engaged

couples as a “principal point” and a “great abuse.” The men, in particular, were entering

the houses of their fiancées with “excessive frequency”, and many times the couples had

the house all to themselves. In Vallès and in the oficialato parish of St. Joan d'Horta (and

possibly in others that did not want to report such a detail), pre-marital sexual relations

were more overt: engaged couples were openly cohabitating in their own houses.220

Even in the big city of Barcelona where crowds of people in the streets and other

distractions of city life might have helped to conceal the occurrence, parish priests still

observed the problem: unmarried men and women were renting apartments together by

telling the landlords that they were married! In this case, the priests were asking Bishop

Climent to provide for some sort of regulation that required landlords to refrain from

renting to couples until the parish priest could certify that they had indeed been married

in the Church.221

220 “La demasiada frequencia de los Promesos o Encartados de entrar en las Casas de las Promesas” (Sta Margarita, el Gornal), “El punto mas principal es el de los Promesos o Encartados y el de la Observancia de los dias de Fiesta que es lamentable.” (Dean) letter of Penedès; “Es constant seria de major gloria de Deu providenciar ab tota eficasia contra lo abus tan gran que hi ha entre los Promesos de estar sols dins las casas, o altrament ja per poch, ja per molt temps, de que se sequeixen tants mals.” Letter of Piera; “…los Promesos que habitan, encaraque per molt poch temps, en una mateixa casa, executant en ells alguna pena, segons en dit Concili [tarraconense de 1717] esta disposat.” Letter of Vallès, “The Responses.” 221 “Sobre la Constitucio 4 perquant en las Parroquias numerosas de la present Ciutat es difficil que sapian los Parrocos los qui se van mudant en las casas, apar convindria se procuras un Ordre a tots los Amos de Casas que de ningun modo baix certa pena llogassen las casas a aquells que diuhen ser marit y muller sens

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Several parish priests in the oficialato of Barcelona similarly noted how common

it was for young men to visit their fiancées behind closed doors, but in their letters they

specifically mentioned the agency of the parents. In St. Boi de Llobregat, parents and

masters gave “their daughters and female servants too much liberty to be alone in the

house, day or night, and especially when their fiancés were around, resulting in births

after the couple only recently married.” In more direct words, the parents of the engaged

girls permitted her to belong to her fiancé so that the “fiancé could put his head on her

lap, which is dangerous.”222 And in Sarriá,

with the excuse that they are promised to each other, the parents allow the couple to be alone together; and many times, under the pretext that the promised girl has work to do, the parents go to bed, leaving the promised boy to keep her company until 11 or 12 at night; from this it follows that throughout the engagement one can believe that they are in mortal sin, and for the majority of them, their confessions are sacrilegious.223

So far from being solely the volition of the engaged man, sex before marriage was

approved by both contracting families in the engagement. And priests felt the solution

was to deal directly with the fathers, ordering them not to permit the boys to sleep with

the girls. Only in one letter is there any suggestion that parents in the Barcelona region in

the mid-eighteenth century had no control over their children’s love life, and that came

que ans [abans] se certifiquen per medi del Parroco si los tals son o no casats en fas de NS Mare Iglesia.” Letter of city parish priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.” 222 “De la demasiada llibertat donan Pares y Mares, amos que a Fillas y Criadas de estar a solas dins las Casa de Dia y nit especialment quant estan promesos, se segueix parir a poch temps de casadas.” Letter of parish priest of St. Boi de Llobregat; “…permetent los Pares que la filla promesa pertinia al Promes tenint est lo cap sobre la falda de la promesa, o que periculos es.” Letter of Josep Closa, parroco of St. Gervasi, “The Responses.” 223 “…los Pares amb titol que son promesos los dexan tractar a solas y moltas vegadas en la nit amb lo pretext de treballar la promesa los pares s’en van al llit dexant lo promes que fasa companyia a la promesa fins a 11 y 12 horas de nits de lo que resulta que en tot lo temps del prometatge se pot creurer que estan en pecat mortal y que totas las confessions son secrilegas de la major part de aquells.” P.2, letter of Anton Riera, parroco of St. Vicens of Sarriá, “The Responses.”

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from the same priest who lamented having “the dregs of every place in Catalonia” (the

parish of Molins de Rei). There youths gave each other marriage proposals “without the

least reflection and many times without permission of their parents, living 2, 3, or more

years in this manner, treating each other with intimacy very disagreeable to God.”224

Why all of this pre-marital sex, even under parental supervision, in the Catholic

heartland? The priests felt long engagements were the principal cause of pre-marital

sexual relations. The parish priest of Sarriá put it in plain terms:

As the sinfulness of men takes over in these engagements, making them endure as long as 3, 4, 5, or 10 years, [the couple] finds justification, within the commitment of their engagement pact, to be together with more frequency and familiarity so that the engaged girl treats the boy with intimacy whenever he wants, and he stays in her house to eat and sleep.225

The priest of St. Boi de Llobregat noted that sometimes this led to marriages in which

babies were born within less than nine months. John McManners presents another

explanation for pre-marital sex in his two-volume work Church and Society in

Eighteenth-Century France.226 There were three preliminaries before the marriage

ceremony in church: the betrothal (fiançailles, in France), three callings or meetings in

the parish church (“banns”) for the couple, and the signing of a (pre-nuptial) contract a

few days before the wedding. “There was a custom in some places, and a temptation in

224 “Yo sé lo que me sucede en estos años que tengo en mi Parroquia el peor de cada lugar de Cataluña.” “Gravisimo es el abuso dandose palabra de casamiento los Jovenes, sin la menor reflexión y muchas veces sin permiso de sus Padres, viviendo 2, 3, o mas años de esta suerte, tratandose con confianças muy desagradables a Dios…”, letter of Pablo Organt, parroco of Molins del Rei, “The Responses.” 225 “No obstant com la malicia dels homens abusi de estos Esponsals fent los duran molt temps com es 3, 4, 5, y 10 anys prometense la ab est pacte sent asso ocasió que se tractan amb mes frequencia y familiaritat, que la promesa pentina lo promes sempre que ell vol, que lo promes se queda en la casa de la promesa a menjar y dormir…” letter of Anton Riera, parroco of Sarriá, “The Responses.” 226 McManners, Church and Society in Eighteenth-Century France, 2 vols.

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all, to enjoy sexual intercourse once one or all of these preliminaries were completed.”227

While in eighteenth-century Barcelona the preliminary marriage customs were not

exactly the same, the similarities between Barcelona’s parishioners and those of the rest

of Catholic Europe (France) in this case are clear: Barcelonese engaged couples and their

parents were accustomed to pre-marital sex as a culturally accepted practice after the

official betrothal.

But while pre-marital sex might have been easily accessible during such long

engagements, long engagements were not a matter of convenience. Once again, priests

were painting the problem as a lack of devotion to the Catholic Church; their

parishioners’ carnal desires outweighed their desire to be good Catholics. However,

between being a promeso (one promised in marriage) and taking the marriage “mass of

benediction” in a church, a lot of money was involved. As numerous priests noted, many

forewent the mass of benediction because they did not want to pay the extra money to get

married in church. They could instead save money by contenting themselves with the

parish priest’s basic ceremony inside their home.228 For the engaged couples and their

families, there was not only the matter of money to pay the church, but also the problem

of the male’s family to establish a new residence and of the female’s family to provide an

adequate dowry. As Miquel Borrell i Sabater has pointed out in his book on poverty and

marginalization in eighteenth-century Catalonia, because of an increase in the birth rate

and in the average life span (more elderly people) the Catalans had more mouths to feed,

and for those of working age and ability there was not a sufficient increase in jobs to

227 McManners, vol.2: p.25. 228 Letter of parish priest of St. Boi de Llobregat, “The Responses.”

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match the population. Thus, poverty increased in Catalonia over the eighteenth

century.229 Long engagements were most likely a visible sign of that increase.

No matter what the socio-economic conditions, it was far from the case that

people were turning away from the church, losing their faith. The Catholic Church was

still the center of the community, both in spiritual, social, and real physical terms. The

church building itself was typically located in the heart of the community.

Figure 3.1: The Central Location of the Plaça or Plaza in the Barcelonese

Community

229 The author focuses particularly on the increased number of orphans and wet nurses, as well as the dowries the Church tried to provide for the chaste female poor. Looking at census data, he also points to an increased number of homes in mid-century; however, the date shows that such homes would most likely only have one or two rooms—another sign of poverty. See Miquel Borrell i Sabater, Pobresa i marginació a la Catalunya il.lustrada: dides, expòsits i hospicians (Cabrera de Mar, Spain: Galerada, 2002): P. 33-4, 42.

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The plaza or plaça (town square) served as the center of town and meeting point for most

community events (particularly the market), and the parish church and town hall had

prime locations on the plaza to show their importance in the life of the community. “The

Responses” to Bishop Climent present the image that the town church building in 1767

was far from unfrequented by its parishioners; instead, the letters show that parishioners

saw the parish church as a communal center, and often times they used or appropriated it

for their own purposes. One of the most telling descriptions comes from the city parish

priests of Barcelona, as it depicts how even in urban areas with multiple community

centers or public spaces, even by 1767 the church remained prominent as such a center or

space in the community. While the episcopal seat of Barcelona remained vacant in 1766,

“parishioners began to meet in groups in churches to make them places to vote for the

election of Deputies and Syndicate leaders. This seems improper and should be done in

City Hall.”230 Although the priests complained about such church building use, it

demonstrates how religion could never be separated from politics and vice versa,

especially in eighteenth-century Barcelona. All Barcelonese politicians or governors

were first Catholics and parishioners of some parish church. It seems logical that such

distinctions on proper church use might be confusing for Catholics living in a world

where religious language permeated politics. At least in the formalities of official

political language, the cause of religion often seemed to dictate Spain’s politics.

The church building itself typically held an altar in the front, adorned with a

retablo (retaule in Catalan) or altar piece whose size was determined by the money of the

230 “Pues sede vacant se introduhí juntarse en ellas los Parroquians per fer votans per la elecció de Diputats y Sindich Persones lo que apar es impropri y se podria fer en Casa de la Ciutat.” Letter of Barcelona parrocos, “The Responses.”

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church’s patrons. Coming in from the front door of the church, walking down the center

aisle towards the altar, one passed by numerous side chapels on either side. (Once again,

their size, ornateness, and number were determined by the church’s patronage.) While

the clergy maintained the front altar, the side chapels were most commonly maintained

by laity of the particular community or neighborhood organized into “administrations” or

confraternities (cofradías in Castilian or confraries in Catalan)—religious brotherhoods

of laymen (mostly associated with the middling classes) who joined together as official

members in devotion to a particular saint or sometimes because of a similar

occupation.231 It was these men of the local community that as confraternity members

kept a treasury that bought and maintained the gold, silver, images, and other wealth of

the saint’s chapel, organized and participated in the processions and other observances

associated with the saint’s day, and for these things were recognized by the community.

Because of their special duties, confraternity members were leaders of lay piety and acts

of lay Catholic devotion. Altogether they were representatives of the community at large

in appropriating and maintaining the church building for the laity, the parishioners.

It is not surprising, then, that in “The Responses” some parish priests complained

of the church building becoming too much of a community center. Confraternities were

going too far in their use of the church building, appropriating the building to the point of

using it for some functions that were more “profane” than “sacred.” The priests of the

231 While guilds (gremios, gremis) were the official organizations of tradesmen such as shoemakers, fishermen, or tailors that maintained the standards for each profession and took care of workmen’s compensation and the widows of the guild members, sometimes guilds were analogous to confraternities or other times confraternities were established in association with particular guilds. For instance, the chapel of Santa Llúcia in the Barcelona cathedral is maintained by those associated with sewing and clothing industries since the saint is known for her ability to bless eyesight.

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region of Piera complained of such church use for “temporal matters” by confraternities

and added that they wanted to prohibit the leaders of such groups from holding certain

fundraisers such as card games, bowling events, or holding balls “that serve as sport with

the intention that all proceeds go to the churches, in order that under the pretext of piety,

impiety is not sown.”232 Similarly the neighboring region of Penedès complained of

confraternities organizing dances, balls, card games, as well as “Ball” and “Ring” games

as fundraising events for the work of the confraternity, this time divulging that such

events were taking place on church property or playing such games on the walls of the

church). In the Penedès priests’ opinion, besides profaning church property such events

were an added nuisance in that parishioners got into disputes with each other, lost their

money and possessions, wasted their time, and many times failed to attend mass on

Sundays because of them.233

But the clergy never asked for nor hinted at elimination of confraternities; they

clearly knew the important function that they served in enjoining the community to

Catholic devotion. Yet, many clerics felt that confraternities were taking too many

liberties in using church property and in the kinds of events they linked to the devotion of

particular saints. In fact, one could argue that the clergy competed with confraternities,

even for money, as parishioners sometimes gave money for particular devotions

sponsored by confraternities rather than in church as alms for the poor. The parish priests

of Vallès complained of collecting alms for pious objects as an abuse so that “neither the

232 “Y també la prohibició als Administradors de las Confrarias de administrar Cartas, Bitllas, bolas, y altres instruments que serveixen al joch ab lo titol de aplicar lo lucro a las Iglesias, paraque baix lo pretext de la pietat no se sembria la impietat.” Letter of dean and parrocos of Piera, “The Responses.” 233 “La razon es por no seguirse de ellos sino pendencias, disputas, perdida de los bienes, del tiempo, y falta de assistir a la Doctrina Christiana y Misa Mayor.” Letter of dean of Penedès, “The Responses.”

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Workers nor other Administrators [of confraternities or religious foundations] should be

permitted to do so during mass until the priest is finished.”234 The parroco of St. Vicents

dels Horts lamented that some “administrators” of the side chapels were spending their

funds on unnecessary items, contributing to an overall lack of necessary or “appropriate”

items in the church.235 If priests were directly prohibiting or taking a stance against such

practices, it did not have effect.

Either priests did not garner enough respect or hold enough power to control the

confraternities of their churches, or they feared that any such direct action against such

groups would have too negative an effect over popular Catholic devotions of the

community—or maybe a bit of both. Two letters from the oficialato region of Barcelona

further support these conclusions, the priests admitting their inability to keep such groups

in check. Both priests wrote regarding the bad behavior of confraternity members. What

remains certain is that despite a previous decree of Bishop Cascante of Barcelona in 1726

(and the precedent of the acts of synod of the neighboring Vic diocese in 1748), priests

still could or would not command effective authority over confraternities and other

religious foundations within the parish church. In the letter from Hospitalet (just

southwest of Barcelona city), the priest mentioned how a previous bishop of Barcelona

(Cascante) had overseen a decree against the illegal exportation of money of the

234 “y lo abus de acaptar per la Iglesia Administradora alguna, lo que ni als Obrers y demes Administradors se hauría de permetrer durant la Misa fins a que lo Sacerdot haja sumit.” Letter of parrocos of Vallès, “The Responses.” 235 “En aquesta iglesia de St. Vicents se troban administracions de differents capellas de que cuydan las personas seculars… Com son tant differents los gents dels administran ditas capellas, se experimenta que alguns gastan ab cosas no necessarias de que se segueix que a la Iglesia faltan moltas cosas convenients y necessarias, no tenint la Iglesia altra cosa que lo se aplega.” Letter of Ignasi Roig parroco St. Vicents dels Horts, “The Responses.”

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“administrations” and that parish priests must have inventories of all that each

confraternity or administration possesses, including the towels and candles of the chapel

altars. This priest added that “administrators” should also give a yearly account in the

presence of the parish priest and then pay the priest any funds remaining after budgeted

expenses were totaled, having over and above the money they needed. Clearly some felt

confraternities and other religious foundations operating in the parish church needed to be

monitored on how money was spent in order to ensure that leaders kept an honest record,

used funds for pious causes, and refrained from any appearance of embezzlement as well.

One priest, who kept his identity hidden, wrote generally about the state of the

diocese—the same priest who gave as the worst abuse the bad example that “we priests

give right now”236—and claimed that the second main area of concern was the abuses of

confraternities. Putting the confraternities second next to the priests in order of abuse,

this cleric communicated both how important confraternities were as leaders of local

religion and how serious he considered their misbehavior in setting a bad example for the

rest of the community. While he did not go into detailed observations he mentioned that,

according to what he saw, “at least in some places” the 1748 acts of synod of the diocese

of Vic had not been quite matched in Barcelona. For the benefit of Bishop Climent, he

transcribed the pertinent Latin words that the confraternity representatives not be

associated with “sport, blasphemy, jokes, contentiousness, and other bad habits.”237 In

his opinion, confraternity members did not take their position as community religious

236See note 206 above. Pages 1-2 of letter of “Rt. Dr. P.M. y B.,” “The Responses.” 237“Nobis innotuit in alsquibus locis nostra Diaecesis, hujusmodi irrepsive abusum, quod Operarii, seu Procuratores confraternitatum, chartulas, basillos, globulos, et alia ad hidos deservientia ministrant titulo applicandi Ecclesia luerum inde resultans: quiatamen ex ludo, blasphemia, rixa, contentiones, et alia

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leaders seriously enough. Because of that and the poor example of priests, popular

attitudes towards everyday religious life in Barcelona were relaxed in comparison to

official stance of the Catholic Church.

So in real physical terms the church was at the center of community life—both

geographically in the town and in practice with the confraternities. In spiritual terms, to a

certain degree the church also maintained a central location in the lives of its

parishioners. The sacraments marked the important stages in each person’s life. The

church held a central position spiritually in the lives of the laity as a dispenser of the

sacraments. And so with baptism, confirmation, marriage, the Eucharist (with prior

confession included), penitence, and extreme unction (last sacrament before death), the

Catholic Church was a giver of rites of passage of which members of the community did

not want to be deprived. “The Responses” Climent received in 1767 made many

references to the distribution of sacraments, generally in terms of the priest’s

performance but nevertheless indicating the important position sacraments held in

parishioners’ lives.

Since the birthrate had increased in eighteenth-century Catalonia, naturally

baptism remained an important sacrament as the priests indicate in several letters.

Parishioners baptized their babies within eight days after birth to mark them as Catholics,

or in other words members of the one true Church of God. Although babies do not have

full capacities of reason to be believers at eight-days-old, such a sacrament was vital in

the spiritual universe of parishioners. Since child mortality remained a stark reality for

parents and extended families of each baby in the eighteenth century, baptism was

plurima mala frequenter omni solent, ne sub praetextu pieatis, impietas disseminetur, non est, in hac parte,

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essential in assuring each family that God would claim their baby in his name if it died

prematurely. The priest of Molins del Rei (oficialato) adverted to consequences of

delaying baptism in 1767: “Many times baptisms are delayed a few days from the set

date for frivolous and temporal reasons, exposing the child to be baptized to the danger of

losing a good Eternity.”238 (While this comment paints his parishioners as negligent to

their babies’ salvation, what could one expect from the priest who also told Climent that

he had in his parish “the dregs of every place in Catalonia”?239) In the region of Piera,

child mortality was such a pressing concern that the dean parish priest there suggested

changing the baptism age from eight- to three-days-old and added that “some babies die

before being baptized because their mothers or their wet-nurses sleep with them in their

beds.”240 (In the region of Vallès, child mortality was also hinted at as a problem since

the priests reported that many families were baptizing their boy or girl with the same

name as an older brother or sister. Since choosing names had more to do with devotions

to particular saints then personal preference, it would make sense that if an older child

died the parents might use the same saint’s name for a new child.) In the region of

Penedès, the priests petitioned that baptismal fonts not be kept wherever there was not a

priest for its custody. But what does this say? Were lay people using baptismal fonts to

perform their child’s baptism, believing more in the power and symbolism of the water

corum dende rium confovendum.” P. 3, Letter of “Rt. Dr. P.M. y B.,” “The Responses.” 238 “Sucede muchas veces retardar los bautismos unas dias de lo justo por motivos frivolos y temporales, exponiendo el que se ha de bautisar en peligro de perder un buen Eterno.” Letter of Pablo Organt parroco of Molins del Rei, “The Responses.” 239 See Organt’s quote above quote on children marrying without parental permission. 240 “Aixi com diu: que los Baptismes no se diferescan mes de vuit dies: diguia: que no se diferescan mes de tres dies: y com se experimentia morir algunas Criaturas abans de ser batejadas per causa de tenirlas en sos llits sas propias Mares, ho didas sera bé remediar semblants abusos.” Letter of Piera, “The Responses.”

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than in the priest and the cost of his services? Or were people using the water for profane

purposes or just allowing it to be dirtied by the elements? So while the overall tone of

“The Responses” is negative regarding parishioners’ respect for baptism as well as the

general state of Catholic spirituality in Barcelona, other details communicate that such

conditions might have been more the result of external circumstances rather than a true

loss of religious fervor.

“The Responses” indirectly show how Catholic spirituality remained alive in

other ways. One good example of this is the multiple letters that petition for restrictions

on fasting. Not one priest complains of Lenten fasting nonobservance, but on the

contrary it was so well observed that priests found it detrimental to some members of

society. Instead of maintaining the requirement that all adults fast during Lent—the forty

days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, excluding Sundays—many priests requested

that those over 60 years old not be obligated to fast. This partly reflects an increase in

life span—the Church never having had to deal with this age demographic to the same

extent before the eighteenth century—but it also reflects indirectly the religious fervor

with which parishioners observed the Lenten season. While many might not have been

able to afford meat anyway, parishioners held tight to this tradition of remembering

Christ’s sacrifice on a daily basis.241

241 The letter of Joseph Closa parroco of St. Gervasi and an anonymous letter of “The Responses” entitled “Reflections on some titles (headings?) and constitutions of the Synod of Sotomayor” speak to this change in fasting age to end at 60. Yet two, seemingly anti-Jesuit, letters seem to speak against such a change since “such words are based on probabiliter probable opinion, that which is not a rule of good work.” [“…perque sols se fundan en opinió probabiliter probable la que no es regla de ben obrar.”] Letter of Dr. Anton Riera parroco of Sarriá, “The Responses.” The second such letter is that of Dr. Anton Bruno parroco of Vegas; both letters are discussed further in the following chapter because they contribute to a theological profile of Barcelona clergy in the mid- to late-eighteenth century.

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Yet there was another aspect of the sacraments such as baptism and confirmation

that reflected a function of society rather than spirituality. It was custom for the parents

of the baptized child to select a godfather, godmother, or both who would serve over the

years as teachers of Catholic doctrine and guides of the faith rightfully practiced. In

function, however, these godparents or padrinos (padrins in Catalan) served more as

markers of family alliances or allegiances realized in job offerings, marriages, etc, in

order to maintain a sort of safety net that kept society afloat. Because of the importance

of these allegiances or patronage networks, many times padrinos were chosen more for

their family and social position than for their maturity in the Catholic faith. A common

complaint in “The Responses” of 1767 was that the padrinos had taken the sacrament of

confirmation—meaning that after their childhood baptism they had not yet gone through

or had foregone the catechism and doctrine training that terminates with full membership

in the church symbolized by taking the Eucharist (“communion” or the Lord’s Supper)

for the first time. Another occurrence, in the sacrament of confirmation, was that the

padrinos present were not any older or were of the opposite sex of the confirmed—

unacceptable in the eyes of the Church.242 As described earlier, the priests had

complaints against their parishioners’ attitudes toward the sacrament of marriage—pre-

marital sex running rampant—but still the inter-family allegiances and alliances formed

through marriage solidified the sacrament as a necessary part of society. So while the

intended spiritual function of the sacraments remained important, the practical social

242 “Apar será be anyadir a la fin de esta constitució: que los Padrins sian de major edat y del mateix sexo que los Confirmats.” Letter of dean of Piera, “The Responses.”

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function sacraments that served kept them as integral elements of parishioners’ lives of

which they had no intention of abandoning.

Similarly, “The Responses” convey that parishioners were indeed attending mass

and participating in church-sponsored functions, but also that priests were not always

able to maintain the desired amount of order at such times. Once again, the issue

centered on sexuality and sexual relations. The Catholic Church wanted to influence a

social order in which men and women were segregated in every instance except marriage

(women remained in the home, men in the outside world). In church services this sexual

separation was proper conduct; the parishioners of Barcelona in the eighteenth century,

however, did not feel compelled to maintain this division of gender or to dress in a way

that supported it. For lack of money or role models, men and women intermixed in

church pews and exposed their bodies by how they dressed, making priests depict their

parishioners as sexually loose and scandalous.

Various letters paint a picture of the parish church as a place to show off one’s

body and flirt with the opposite sex, making the church a meeting point of society, a

setting for real social interaction. The parish priest of Vegas complained that people

should not “enter churches to celebrate mass with a net on their head or clothing placed

over their thighs, and not to mention the confraternity administrators exercising their

offices with these indecencies.”243 The region of Penedès had complained of the

“indecency of women taking communion with their breasts exposed, the cause their lack

243 This description probably refers to the hairnets made famous by the majos and considered an insanity by the ilustrados, and the obscure reference to thigh clothing could be a fashion that called attention to the thighs, possibly tight breeches. “Que no s’entria en las Iglesias celebrarse los Divinos Oficis ab Red al cap ni roba inposada als muscles ni menos los Administradors de confrarias exercitian sos oficis ab estas indecencias.” Letter of Anton Bruno parroco of Vegas, “The Responses.”

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of scarf covering the chest.”244 The dean of Piera wrote that “It appears necessary to

tighten up the prohibition of women seating themselves among men in the pews of

Church as well as to prohibit the abuse of heads and chests appearing uncovered.”245 In

the parish of Hospitalet, the priest advised that the morning masses and misas mayores

should be said at the “main altar and not in the side altars [of the chapels] in order to

avoid many indecencies and much irreverence and in order that in the concurrence of

men and women the appropriate order and restoration is observed.”246 The parish priests

of St. Marti de Torrellas, of San Estevan de Cervelló, and Sta. Coloma de Cervelló,

parishes of the oficialato of Barcelona, pooled their observations together in a letter,

saying “…constitution 4, book 2, title 3 orders that men and women be separated in

church and we see the contrary practiced at least in Barcelona.” 247

In the mid- to late-eighteenth century going to mass was more than just a religious

experience—it was a social one. Priests could not effectively influence sexual behavior

even within the walls of the church, complaining that not enough reverence was paid in

mass. Furthermore, bad church behavior encompassed more that just sexual behavior;

smoking was also a problem. But this problem amongst laity resulted from emulating the

244 “Indecencia de comulgar las Mugeres a pecho descubierto la causa falta de Panyuelo en el Pecho y en el Altar de Barandilla y toballa.” Letter of Penedès, “The Responses.” 245 “Apar deu ajustarse la prohibició de asentarse en los banchs de las Iglesias las Donas entre los homens y aixi mateix prohibir lo abus de comparexer descubertas de Cap o pits.” Letter of Dean of Piera, “The Responses.” 246 “Que las misas matinales y mayors deu dir al Altar mayor y no en els alters col.laterals per evitar moltas indecencias y irreverencias y peraque en la concurrencia de homens y mugeres se observa la deguda ordre y reparació, etc.” Letter of Felix Bover parroco of Hospitalet, “The Responses.” 247 “De dicho tenor son la cons.4, Lib.I, tit.3 [del sinodo de Sotomayor] en que se manda estar los hombres separados de las mujeres en las Iglesias y vemos practicar lo contrario a lo menos en Barcelona.” Letter of Thomas Prat, Bernardo Vilaseca, and Joseph Antigas; “The Responses.”

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example of clergy. Several letters mention priests smoking while seated in public view in

the choir area of church. “Neither is it observed the constitution 11 of said book and title

that prohibits the use of tobacco in church, especially by the clerics when they are

wearing their choir robes.”248

So under the eye of the parish priests, parishioners, and even fellow clergy, were

not behaving well in the parish church. But what happened in masses or services away

from the view of parrocos? As many priests complained, their parishioners were not

attending the parish church as much as the rural chapels or shrines outside of town. How

was behavior in those religious services any different? What was distinctive about these

sites that attracted lay piety?

A commonality for all of these sites—whether capellas, capellas rurals, capellas

publicas, oratoris, or santuaris—is that all were dedicated to particular saints and

generally served as headquarters for confraternities.249 As Christian prefaces his chapter

on chapels and shrines,

Because of the costs in material and labor, the vow to build a chapel was probably one of the most important commitments a town could make to a saint. After its completion the chapel would be the site of the annual votive mass to the saint on her or his day. Some chapels were simply converted houses, willed by devotees

248 “…Tampoco se observa la const.11 de dicho libro y tit.que prohibe el uso del tabaco en las Iglesias. Mayormente a los ecclesiásticos estando revistidos con habitos de coro.” Letter of Thomas Prat, Bernardo Vilaseca, and Joseph Antigas; “The Responses.” The letter of Felix Bover parroco of Hospitalet also suggests the need to reinforce the decree of Bishop Salasar who in his parish visit of 1687 ordered “moderate” use of tobacco in churches. 249 To clarify, I use the term rural chapel in the same way that William A. Christian uses chapel in his book Local Religion—to designate any public devotional center outside of the parish church and monasteries. The difference in terminology is that in “The Responses,” as well as other contemporary sources employed here, Christian’s sixteenth-century chapels are mostly called capellas rurals, capellas publicas, oratoris, or santuaris in eighteenth-century Catalonia while the side chapels in the parish church and monasteries are also discussed frequently and referred to as capellas in the context of the larger building.

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of a certain saint. Others would be small oratories on the outskirts of the villages, typically used as stopping points for the rogation processions of springtime.250

Within the general category of chapels, shrines were distinctive and specifically

known for their curing or healing powers contained in something like a spring of water,

many times frequented by more than one town. Such edifices cropped up in the Spanish

landscape during the late Middle Ages and centered on the veneration of an image found

or an apparition that occurred there. (This is in contrast to the chapels and altars of parish

churches and monasteries that centered on devotions to relics.) In all cases of these rural

chapels and shrines, a “miracle” had occurred which communicated to the town or village

nearby that a particular saint (in most cases Mary) had chosen their community to protect

and serve as a patron. Christian calls this phenomenon a “kind of Christianization of the

landscape.” He also observes how these shrines and rural chapels, “the quintessential

institutions of local religion,” could be seen as tactile markers of resistance to the official

institution of the Church.

The legend motif of the return of the image to the country site, rejecting the parish church, may be an echo or a metaphor for what was in some sense a liberation of devotion from parish control—or, put another way, the resistance of local religion to the growing claims of the Church. It may also have been an expression of the implicit tension between the intensely social life-style of these urban-type villagers and their agricultural and pastoral vocation. In this sense it was a statement of peasant or rural “otherness.”251 From the sixteenth-century reports to Philip II that Christian studies to the

eighteenth-century “The Responses” under analysis here, rural chapels and shrines

250 Christian, Local Religion, p.71. 251 Christian, Local Religion, p.91. By the early sixteenth-century, claiming to have found images or experienced an apparition became a dangerous business, even for nuns and priests, since by this time the Inquisition paid more attention to Catholics. As Christian perceives, then, chapels and shrines were building phenomena of the eleventh or twelfth centuries until the sixteenth century in Spain. After that “cut off” point, towns and villages kept up existing ones.

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remained a firm fixture of local religious life in Spain. Despite the Council of Trent’s

reform efforts to establish the parish church as the center of local religious life and the

parish priest as the principal religious authority in each locality, eighteenth-century

parrocos of the Barcelona diocese were still decrying rural chapels and shrines and

bewailing that the parish church was far from the center of local religious devotion and

their authority far from recognized by parishioners. Spelling this out (mostly in Latin), a

letter from a group of parish priests in the oficialato describes, as the first among three

abuses worthy of mention, the lack of parishioner attendance in parish churches due to

“public chapels” also being able to celebrate mass.

First: the lack of parishioner attendance on Sundays, Holy Days of Christ and Holy Mary, each one in their parish church, arising from the petty excuse of the concession of so many erections of public Chapels, permission to celebrate the holy and awesome sacrifice of the Mass in those that once were shrines [sanctuaris] and nowadays under the name Hermitas have become Taverns and houses of profanation, and belonging to churches of the Regular clergy: All for avoiding the Catechism and word of God.252

Parishioners preferred these remote chapels and shrines, considered them holy places,

and especially on the corresponding saint’s day found them the appropriate place to

celebrate mass. As the above-letter mentions, regular clergy—Dominicans, Franciscans

(Capuchins, Mercedarians), Benedictines, (earlier) Jesuits, for example—had given such

sites their nod of approval by “setting up shop” close by and most likely officiating mass

on such holy days. Parishioners indeed felt that they were being good Catholics because

252 “Primo: La falta de la assistencia dels Parroquians en los Diumenges festas de Christo y de Maria Ssa quiscun a sa Parroquia, provenint est del nimio indult en la concessio de tanta ereccio de Capella publica, permissio de celebrarse lo sant y tremendo sacrifici de la Missa en las que en lo temps foren sanctuaris y en lo dia baix lo nom de Hermitas son Tabernas y casas de profanacio, y adhesio de aquells a las Iglesias dels Regulars: tot per subterfugir lo Cathecisme y paraula de Deu.” Letter of Francesch Gonima, “The Responses.”

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they were keeping the traditions of their fathers and mothers, paying devotion to the

saints whom they believed had “Christianized” their immediate surroundings in the past

and through that had promised patronage to them and their town. While their parish

priests had been trying to encourage them to leave the rural chapels and come into the

center of town for mass at the official church, parishioners had hesitated to do so,

concerned that such a change would be breaking the pact with the patron saint that their

parents had venerated and taught them to honor. What was at stake for them was their

religion, their religious devotion. From the late Middle Ages and times of the Spanish

Reconquest, Catholicism had developed a unique flavor in each area of Spain, emanating

from orthodox Catholic beliefs. Parishioners held on to that unique flavor of local

religion and considered it orthodox.

By the time of “The Responses” in 1767, it is clear that a real disconnect existed

between the Catholic church as a body of believers in Barcelona and the Catholic church

as an institution in the diocese. Although the sixteenth-century Council of Trent had

ordered reforms intended to bring uniformity to Catholicism as practiced by making the

parish church the center of religious devotion over the remote chapels and shrines, such

reforms had never been successfully effected in the diocese of Barcelona (as in other

parts of Spain). So while priests were receiving seminary education—in itself a

Tridentine reform—in Barcelona on what was Catholic orthodoxy in terms of Scripture,

Doctrine, and Theology as defined by Councils and Papal Bulls, their future parishioners

were learning the external markings of Catholicism for the community rather than

internal forms of piety: their community’s devotion to specific patron saints and sites

rather than Catholic doctrine. In essence, this resulted in two different definitions of

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Catholicism in each parish—that of the parish priest and that of the community. In the

letters of “The Responses,” no other picture of local religion is made more clear than that

of these diverging definitions of Catholicism.

In a very brief letter, the parroco of Tiana mentioned only two main abuses:

chapels and oratories taking away from the parish church and secondly (and even more

briefly) working on holy days. Dr. Joseph Reull wrote a short letter, but a very frank one

that got right to the point of the priest-parishioner disconnect.

Various Chapels have been constructed, and in some of them on most holy days mass is celebrated, for which reason there is no attendance in the masses of the Parish [church] where Doctrine is taught. The ignorance of this [knowledge of doctrine] in my flock causes me due regret because I cannot remedy it, nor openly oppose it in order ad evitandum majus damnum [to avoid many damnations of parishioners].253

Other parish priests had similar complaints linking attendance in rural chapels and shrines

with ignorance in “Christian Doctrine.” The parish priest of St. Boi de Llobregat

petitioned Bishop Climent that in the two capellas rurals of his parish mass only be said

on holy days when work is permitted and that on all other holy days they publicize the

festes requiring fasts and read “at least” a quarter hour of doctrine. Showing even more

clearly the diverging definitions of Catholicism in the eighteenth-century parish, Sant

Gervasi’s parroco cited his preoccupation with the many chapels in the plain surrounding

Barcelona’s city walls (his parish’s location) and that in them they do not teach “The

253“…se hallan construidas varias Capillas y en algunas de ellas los mas de los dias festivos se celebra misa por cuyo motivo no hay asistensia en las misas de la Parroquia donde se ensenya la Doctrina, causandome la ignorancia de esta en mis ovejas el devido sentimiento por no poderlo remediar, ni oponerme (a cara descubierta) ad evitandum majus damnum; pero todo lo dicho puede remediar o S.Illma que privando universalmente el celebrarse misas en Capillas y Oratorios la principales fiestas y domingos a mas de lograr la asistensia en la explicación de la doctrina, tal vez se lograría el destierro de otro abuso que es el trabajo servil los dias festivos.” Letter of Tiana, “The Responses.”

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Doctrine,” which is sometimes “the reason to escape from their parish [church].”254 The

parish priests of the region of Vallès offered a suggestion that showed no attempt to shut

down rural chapels on holy days, but rather: “to oblige any Priest, secular or Regular,

who intends to say Mass in a Rural Chapel of the diocese on days of Festa in which

working is forbidden, to explain after the Offertory some point of Doctrine which it is of

necessity to know, and to publicize on Sundays as well the holy days and fasts occurring

in that week.”255

The parish priest of Sant Joan de Horta added a further criticism of the chapels

and oratories in his parish and its surroundings—their use of bells. Not only did such

masses exclude any explanation of “the Gospel or any part of Christian Doctrine nor on

Sundays any announcement of the festes or fasts of the coming week”, but they were also

ringing their chapel bells “to convene the People.”256 Since the parish church bells

served as clocks for parishioners, telling them the time during the work week and

sounding extra bells on holy days to advise when it was time for mass, this priest took

exception to chapels using their bells to communicate to people that they should come

into that chapel. In a sense, chiming bells to round up people for worship at a chapel was

a way of putting a mark of “orthodox Catholicism” on something that was not such

254 “y ab dit motiu fugir de la propria Parroquia.” Letter of Joseph Closa of Sant Gervasi, “The Responses.” 255 “Item seria convenient obligar a qualsevol Sacerdot secular o Regular que en dias de Festa, en que no se puede trabajar, vulla dir Misa en alguna Capella Rural subjecta a Sa Illma a que immediatament despues del Offertori explique algun punto de Doctrina dels que necesariament se deuben saber, y a que en los Diumenges publique també las Festas y Dejunis occurrents en aquella semana.” Letter of Vallès, “The Responses.” 256 “Tambe se ha experimentat que en esta Parroquia y terme en moltas Capellas y Oratoris se celebran Misas molta part del any en los dias festius. Y antes de celebrarse tocan certa campana convocant ab ella lo Poble y com de altre part en estas Misas no se expliquia el Evangelio, ni part alguna de la Doctrina Christiana ni en los Diumenges se denuncien las festas ni dejunis de la semana immediata.” Letter of Felip de Oriola, rector of St. Joan de Horta, “The Responses.”

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according to the parish priest’s education. In Sarria, another parish priest remarked about

bells but this time with the addition that chapels of private homes were using them. This

was almost worse for him since such chapels were smaller yet were convening so many

people with their bell-ringing that not all could fit inside. So as a result, most people that

came stood outside and struggled to catch a glimpse or even hear anything of the service

inside.

Because many Parishioners and especially heads of household do not come to the Parish Church where they publicize the festes and fasts, very often they are ignorant of them, giving them the opportunity of not coming and of holding masses in the chapels of private homes where they convene people by ringing the bell, this being of great detriment to the Parish Churches and the souls of their attendants. Because as the chapels are small and many people gather there, they have to hear mass, or not hear it, from outside.257 In short, a lot of religious devotion occurred outside of the parish church. The

people of eighteenth-century Catalonia had no desire to stop being religious as they

understood it and leave chapels for parish churches. The local religion of Barcelonese

parishioners continued to incorporate rural chapels and require processions and

pilgrimages to these sacred places. Naturally, some parish priests took an even harder

line against these extra-parochial religious devotions. For them, adding some doctrine in

services there would not be enough, and even the popular tradition of making pilgrimages

to some chapels was not sufficiently Catholic. The priests of Papiol, Castellbisball,

Valldoreix, Vallestrell, Rubí, and Santa Creu d'Olorda wrote together about aplechs—

257 “Per quant la causa de no venir molts Parroquians y especialment los caps de casa a la Iglesia Parroquial ahont se publican las festas y dejunis fa que moltas vegadas las ignoran donantlos la ocasio de no venir í lo tenir missas en las capellas de casas particulars ahont los convocan tocant la campana o campaneta sent asso en gran perjudici de las Iglesias Parroquials y de las Animas dels assistents. Perque com las capellas son petitas y molta la gent que alli acut, la han de oir o no la auhen desde afora.” Letter of Anton Riera rector of Sarria, “The Responses.”

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literally “meetings”, but better defined as special holy days that by definition coincide

with a group trip to the countryside on a pilgrimage to an ermita or rural chapel—that

took place in the “Sanctuaries and Rural Chapels.” Such a description conveys a great,

albeit biased, picture of local religion in Barcelona circa 1767:

As the popular gatherings, commonly called aplechs, at Sanctuaries and Rural Chapels in these times are not moved out of a spirit of devotion but rather out of relaxed habits; and be it the vow or promise to celebrate a mass in said chapels or to visit them only, a pretense quickly darkened by the excesses of eating and drinking, and by the dancing that said aplechs end in; for all of this, those dances in the day should be impeded by us (and those at night cry out for reform because of their nature) if your highness deems it proper to order those who are encharged with the care of said chapels [chaplains, mayordomos] not to open the buildings on days of aplechs. Surely much irreverence to the Temple of God would be avoided, and perhaps some decline would be achieved in the aplechs at chapels. In those chapels where mass is celebrated on Sundays and holy days of full obligation, the masters [of the community or chapel] do not attend, nor is there a resident priest. It remains up to the high intelligence of your highness to foresee the spiritual harms that such masses result in, especially if one has in view that these masses, being 15 minutes or a little longer, are very and regularly sought out.258

Parishioners headed out to these holy sites in the name of a pilgrimage to honor

the patronage of the particular saint whose spiritual or physical touch was connected to

the place of the chapel. The fact that such pilgrimages involved eating, drinking, and

dancing means that parishioners understood the meaning of a fiesta or festa more in the

traditional sense of having a feast and celebration rather than in the reformed, Tridentine

258 “Com los concursos populars vulgarment Aplechs en Santuaris y Capellas rurals no son moguts en estos temps del esperít de Devocio sino del de dissolució, y sia la prometensa o vot de fer celebrar una misa en ditas capellas o de visitarlas solament, un titol colorat, per los excessos de menjar y beurer [sic]; y per la desemboltura del ballar en que terminan dits Aplechs. Per tant ja que nos/no’s pugan directament impedir aquestos balls de dia (pues los de nit de sa naturaleza claman la reforma) si VSI se dignas manar als que estan encarregats del cuidado de las referidas capellas, que no las obrissen en los dias dels Aplechs, segurament se evitarian molts irreverencias al Templo de Deu. Y tal vegada se lograria alguna decadencia en los Aplechs de las Capellas: En las quals de celebrarse misa en Diumenges y festas de tota obligació no assistint hi los Amos ni havent hi sacerdot perpetuo queda a la alta Intelligencia de VSI premeditar los perjudicis Espirituals quen resultan, majorment si se te la mira a que essent estas misas de quart o poch mes son regularment molt buscadas.” Pp.2-3, letter of Papiol, Castellbisbal, Villastrell, Valldoreix, Rubí, and Sta Creu d’Olorda; “The Responses.”

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sense of it as a holy day, a solemn observance of internal reflection that these parish

priests advocated. Despite the parrocos desires, warnings, and attempts to pastor their

sheep in a particular direction, the popular religious practice of the locality held tightly to

the veneration of shrines linked to patron saints, and that veneration included eating,

drinking, and dancing. While sexual practices are also alluded to in the “night dances” of

the previous letter, it is impossible to say if parishioners associated outright sexual

activity with such celebrations (fertility rituals in springtime) or if sexual activity was just

the natural result of men and women celebrating into the night hours (more likely the

case).

Intimately linked to the rural chapels and shrines and inherent to the concept of

pilgrimage (as described in the last excerpt above) are processions. While many religious

processions were directed out towards the remote chapels and shrines, others proceeded

inside the town or village for the observance of Maundy Thursday or other official holy

days of the diocese. In his chapter on chapels and shrines, Christian isolates two main

types of processions: those processions on holy days (fiestas/festes) which observed

events in Christ’s life or the days of particular saints and “begging” processions called for

in times of crisis such as drought, famine, floods, etc named rogativas (pregaries in

Catalan).259 In this latter type of procession, priests, confraternities, and townspeople all

marched in devotion to the patron saint whom they were petitioning to intercede with

God and answer their prayers regarding weather or epidemics. While rogations certainly

occurred in the diocese of Barcelona during the eighteenth century, they were less

259 Christian, Local Religion, pp.113&119.

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frequent or predictable than processions linked to holy days. Secondly, rogativas are not

mentioned at all in “The Responses” as an abuse. It seems that parish priests approved of

the popular participation in these solemn processions that petitioned saints to alleviate

crises of the community, many times serving as the leader of such activity. Because of

the mood of crisis and penitence behind such processions, eating, drinking, and dancing

did not accompany them, nor did inappropriate sexual behavior. So while rogation

processions were an important part of popular piety in eighteenth-century Barcelona,

“The Responses” do not give us any information about them. Processions associated

with holy days, on the other hand, remain a popular religious practice that can indeed be

discussed from “The Responses” since they were a “common” abuse of priestly mention.

In fact, most descriptions of such processions are inseparable from complaints about

other activity on fiestas/festes. Thus, non-rogation processions are discussed below in the

general context of these holy days and include accounts of dances and other practices

associated with fiestas/festes as described in “The Responses.”

As holy days were linked to a particular patron saint or else to a specific biblical

event (Nativity, Passion week, Pentecost), most of them included processions to

demonstrate the religious devotion of the community as a measure of their reverence

towards the patron said or a sacred Biblical event. (The exception, of course, are the

Sundays that are technically fiestas/festes simply because they are the Sabbath.) In “The

Responses,” priests complain about the times and routes of holy day processions,

conveying a picture of Barcelonese local religion with processions that go late until the

night and far away from the village and parish church. In Castelldefels, a coastal town

south of Barcelona, the parish priest was so exasperated by his parishioners’ processions

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that traveled outside of the parish limits (too far), that he wanted to prohibit them by an

act of synod in order that “on solemn [holy] days, in which Parish Church attendance is

required, …they are not absent from her nor make commotion in the name of

devotion.”260

What was this “commotion in the name of devotion”? Processions typically did

involve people shouting songs and chants along the route, but the letter of the Piera

region provides other such details: when the processions ended outside of the parish or in

a place so distant, naturally the participants had to eat and drink to regain strength for the

return trip to the parish church. (In Piera’s letter the assumption is that processions begin

and end in the parish church.) Parishioners having a picnic out in the middle of the

countryside does not necessarily equate with “commotion in the name of devotion.”

However, when taking into consideration the other complaints about rural chapels and

some of the eating, drinking, and celebrating that was part of local religious practice

there, the picture emerges that on holy days in honor of local and/or patron saints

confraternities led processions outside of the parish into the country to rural chapels

where holy day observance was typically more festive than solemn, resulting in

“commotion in the name of devotion” from the parish priests’ perspective. In Badalona,

the priest there had similar comments about commotion linked to holy day observance

and processions. Parishioners, specifically the confraternities, were beginning

processions too late in the morning so that by the time they returned to the parish church

they annoyed the priest celebrating the misa major (high mass) and all the parishioners

260 “Apar que falta una constitució que prive totas las professons demasiadament distants, en especial fora dels limits, de la Parroquia, y en dias solemnes en que se ha de asistir a la Igla Parroquial per solemnisar la

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inside the mass service because these men were coming in late into the mass service with

their sombreros still on, many times having had some “liquid refreshments” before

entering church. (In the view of the priest, this problem would disappear if processions

started earlier, right after the morning mass, because then the participants would not get

so hot walking that they needed a beer or any other liquid refreshment.)261

Yet in other parishes, parishioners seem not to be making a commotion as much

as having an ambivalent or apathetic attitude towards holy day processions. In the city of

Barcelona itself, processions around 1767 sported young girls (between 10 and 16 years

old) dressed “richly” or “lavishly” making them the “object of Curiosity and laughter” for

the onlookers.262 So parishioners were not venerating processions as part of a holy day

by the manner of dress. In Vallès, the confraternity men walked in processions and

entered church at the end of them with their outer ceremonial shirts “around their necks

and arms out of the sleeves” with their shoulders, chest, and arms uncovered even when

the “holiest Sacrament is exposed.” The same men were even trying to confess and take

communion as such.263 While lavishly dressed young girls may represent relaxed

festa y frequentar los sacraments no ausentarse de ella ni fer bulla [bullicia] ab titol de devoció.” Letter of Castelldefels, “The Responses.” 261 “La poca devoción amb que se va a las profesons, per ferse a deshonra, com es abans de la Misa major de que se segueix a mes de acabarse aquesta molt tard en danyo del celebrant y prejudici dels que la han de oir la irreverencia de posarse alguns los sombreros, y de anarse’n despues de concluida la profesó a refrescar, tornant quant ya la Misa está abanzada lo que se evitaría, fentse immediatament despues de la Misa matinal totas las profesons de Confrarias.” (underlined in original) Letter of Antonino Monserrat of Badalona, “The Responses.” 262 “Apar se hauria de exterminar de las Professons lo fer anar en ellas Donzellas ricament vistidas majors de 10 anys per ser lo objecte de la Curiositat y de la risa.” Letter of city priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.” 263 “…los abusos de entrar los homens en la Iglesia amb la camisola, o gambeto al coll sens passar los brazos a las manegas; de entrarhi amb ret principalment quant esta exposat lo santissim sagrament y anar aixi en las Professiones majorment a los que tienen algun empleo en ellas: …de anar descubertar de

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attitudes towards the holy day observance in the city, the description of Vallès shows that

in the hot days of summer men in processions were overheated in their robes and did not

care if taking them off meant indecency in church.

A very different parishioner attitude is described in the letter of San Feliu de

Codines, a parish in the deaconry of Vallès. Here men of a certain brotherhood led the

solemn and holy procession of Maundy Thursday (commemorating Christ’s Last Supper,

arrest, and walk with the cross on his back) with dispassionate attitudes, according to the

priest. The description is a vivid one, yet the priest’s outrage permeates it and shows how

his bias affects his view of parishioner devotion.

On Maundy Thursday a great troop of men are accustomed in this parish to discipline [whip or flagellate] themselves in the afternoon procession, that more for vanity than for penitence they hold to this way of relieving themselves of the blood from which Bacchus makes them over-exceed their limits, causing in said procession the anger of those who accompany them in the pious memory of the Passion of Our Lord Christ. Because placing themselves at the head of it, they go so little by little, detaining the procession in prolonged pauses that there is no patience for putting up with them, arriving at so much shamelessness, that if it is said to them that they walk, they respond with heavy words and repeated threats, and that occurs even if it be a priest that tells them to walk. But their regular way of working does not stop there; it has been seen that they have had the nerve for making fun and mocking, going in said procession, to imprint the palm [branches] with blood and with them hit the face of some poor man who finds himself close to them, without him having done anything to them. If only to make onlookers laugh they have had the extravagant nerve to make their faces dirty [with blood] and dirty the hoods of many women. And what is more than this, they enter in the Church that same holy day, also to discipline themselves and with the pretext of prayer, they hit themselves in Church, scattering their blood on those around them and dirtying the Alters and other parts of the Church; for which it is needed to prohibit in totum the going of the Disciplinants in the procession and their entering the Church.264

espatllas, pits, o brazos, no permetent que entren aixi en la Iglesia, ni admetentlas a la recepcion dels sagraments de Penitencia y Eucharistia…” Letter of Vallès, “The Responses.” 264 “Lo Dijous Sant acostuman en esta parroquia disciplinarse en la profesió de la tarde de aquell dia una gran tropa de homens, que mes per vanitat que per penitencia tienen este modo de alleugerarse de la sanch, de que Baco los fa redundar, causant en dita profesio lo en fado als que acompanyan aquella piadosa memoria de la Pasió de Christo Senyor Nostre. Per que posantse al principi de ella van tant poch a poch

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What seems to have occurred in the parish of St. Feliu de Codines is that a

particular lay brotherhood had a tradition of leading the procession of Maundy Thursday

while caning themselves with palm branches. While on one hand such shows of self-

mortification seem highly passionate and could be considered extreme piety to remember

the same kinds of bleeding that Christ endured in the biblical event, this priest feels the

men do it more to showcase their piety as superior to the rest of the community’s rather

than out of true penitence. (The priest’s perspective is an interesting one and shall be

discussed further in Chapter Four.) Yet, if as described, such caning spattered blood on

the people around them, this practice was extremely brutal, giving the impression it was

more than vanity—these Disciplinants (flagellants) were performing a highly pious,

albeit external, act of Catholicism that the local community viewed as a solemn

observance of the Passion of Christ. In his chapter “Christ Enshrined,” Christian

discusses Passion brotherhoods:

The dramatic signs of the Passion demonstrate a new dialectic in the baroque period between the people and their images. With the signs the image literally came alive. Just as the people in processions and passion plays played Jesus and Mary, so the very realistic images they carried in processions were crafted to be as lifelike as possible. The people dressed and whipped themselves and wept so they looked like the images….265

detenintse en tant prolongadas pausas que no hi ha paciencia per aguantarlos arribant a tant son desvergonyiment, que si sels diu que caminen, responen ab paraulas pesadas y repetidas amenaza, y aixó encara que sia un Sacerdot qui los diu que caminen. Pero no para aqui son regular modo de obrar; pues se ha vist que per Zumba y mofa han tingut lo atreviment, anant en dita profesio, de estampar lo ram ensangrentat ab que se pegan en la cara de algun pobre home que trobantse prop de ells, sens ferlos res y si sols per mourer la risa dels circunstants han tingut lo extravagant gust de enbrutarlos la cara, y a moltas donas las caputxas. Ames de aixo, entran en la Iglesia aquell dia tambe disciplinantse y amb lo pretext de fer oracio, se pegan en ella, salpicant sa sanch als del contorn, y enbrutant los Altars y demes parts de la Iglesia; per lo que se devia privar in totum lo anar los Disciplinants a la profesio y entrar en la Iglesia.”Letter of Saturio Romero y Palacios rector of San Feliu de Codines, “The Responses.” 265 Christian, Local Religion, pp.197-8.

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While Passion week processions may not seem to represent ambivalent or

apathetic attitudes of the laity or their making a “commotion,” other activities on special

holy days as described in “The Responses” further contribute to such an image of lay

piety. Besides processions, dances receive a fair share of discussion in the priests’ letters.

Parishioners often broke out in dance in the town plaza on the major holy day

celebrations. In such dances men and women freely danced together, much to the dislike

of their disgruntled parish priests whose view of gender relations in religious scenarios

was one of complete gender segregation (excepting the case of married couples). The

priest of Badalona said his parishioners were using “liberty” in balls and dances, and that

in them evil (la malicia) was inciting “provocative actions and such things that can not be

tolerated or looked at without horror.”266 In the region of Vallès, they were described as

“scandalous and indecent dances” introduced on the festes majors (the high holy days of

the parish, typically festive and ornate celebrations). In the parish of Sant Just Desvern,

the women prepared for dancing in the plaza by wearing shorter skirts, a “manifest

scandal.” And further evidence of the controversial sexual relations is described in the

letter of St. Vicents dels Horts: “In many principal festes certain types of dances are held

in the plaçes (town squares) in which the arms of men and women interlink, and in this

mode they give a turn with violence, actions which are not only encouraged in those that

dance but also are destroying the modesty of those around who observe this step in the

woman.”267

266 “La llibertat que se usa en los balls y dansas en que cada dia anyadiex la malicia acciones provocativas y cosas tals que no se poden tolerar ni mirar sens horror.” Letter of Badalona, “The Responses.” 267 “En moltas festas principals se fan en las plazas certa especie de balls en que encrusan los brassos home y dona y donan desta manera una volta amb violencia, las quals accions no sols son incentivas en los que

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While it is hard to know exactly what these eighteenth-century performances

looked like in action, a few letters devote the bulk of their pages to describing these sexy

dances. In an anonymous letter, a priest describes sexually promiscuous dancing, and in

this case it is further profaning the church because it is sponsored in part by priests as a

fundraiser:

And the same for the abominable abuses of the crespellas (sweet ondular pastries), canterets (small jugs with spout and handle), and ventalls (fans) as they are the motivating causes for dances in the festes majors of the towns; the referred items’ price and profit serving for luminaries, adornments, etc, for the churches, at the liberty, I think, of the respective parish priest. The crespellas are (permit me, sir to describe them, as well as narrate what follows; because it appears to me not only necessary but also very useful to explain it) things that are baked in various figures and arranged with all slightness of ability, or better said constructed out of the vanity of the pastry-maker. These things are offered in the Mass offertory and in the afternoon are found in the plaça, while announcing that whoever buys the crespella will dance with the young girl. Now, does either the young girl have, or not have, many suitors? In the case of the affirmative (either many, a few, or some suitors), in order to be able to dance with the referenced young girl, those blinded and captivated in love, those moved by vanity or jealousy, many times are pressured into prices so excessive that not only do they trespass the limits of generosity but also exceed the limits of Extravagance. In the case of the negative, if some inclination toward the young girl is observed, or to her crespella, the dance organizers always have a third person to shove the inclined towards her as much as and how much as he can. Finished this function, the dances commence, observing the same ceremonies, tocatas [style of music performed], and developments that are commonly practiced in dancing. That referred to above being so as it is: Is it not profaning the Church and abusing Her, as well as the motivating cause, or at least the intermediate one, of impure and dishonest thoughts, words, and actions that elucidate the dances that are carried out with a mixture of the sexes and especially between those who mutually court [or party with] each other? It is undeniable. … I do not deny, sir, that in some Parishes it passes with mere (but bad) tolerance from the respective parish priests since it has always been so. …These galas, people dressed and adorned there as such all disposed and trying to make themselves more likeable and desirable—is it not for the end in itself of attracting the eyes of onlookers and especially those of other suitors? …The crespellas, cantirets, and ventalls, being

ballan, sino que offerer la modestia dels presents amb ha descompostuia que se observa en aquest pas en la dona.” Letter of Ignasi Roig rector of St. Vicents dels Horts, “The Responses.”

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little difference between them in their purpose, cause those effects. I have not made special mention of all of them. Such are the rural dances, not only on the days of the crespellas, etc but also on other remaining occasions they are practiced. Those that I have narrated at such length in order to prevent, and at the same time to dispel some reasons which, for being rural [dances], would be invented to justify them.268

The fact that in this example the dances correspond with selling items for a profit or

fundraiser simply shows that such dances had been around so long that someone had been

smart and seen a money-making opportunity in them. Someone had thought: If parish

priests have to put up with such (deeply rooted) customs on holy days, then why should

not the church find some profit in it? From the text, it does not seem that the rural

inhabitants were resisting such sales.

Clearly this priest is against such dances and fundraisers, but likewise his

commentary also makes clear that such dances were “rural” and a known centerpiece of

rural festa major celebrations. Not surprise that dances occur in rural festes, it is only the

268“Item los abominables abusos de las crespellas, canterets, y ventalls per ser, com son, causas motivas de balladas en las festas majors dels Pobles; servint lo preu y lucro de las referidas cosas por lluminarias, adornos, etc. de las iglesias, a llibertat, penso, del respectiu Parrocho. Son las crespellas (permetiam Il.Sr descrivrerlas, com tambe narrar lo que despres se segueix; perque me apar, sino necessari, a lo menos molt util, explicarlo) unas cosas crepsadas amb varias figuras disposadas y amb tot lo primor de la habilitat o por mejor decir de la vanitat de la pastadora construidas. Se offereixen estas en lo offertori de la Misa y en la tarda se encuentan en la plaza, dihent, qui comprara la crespella, ballara amb la Donsella (etc). Ahora pues o la Donsella te, o no, molts festejadors? En cas de la afirmativa, uns y altres, para poder ballar amb la referida Donsella, cegos y captivats del seu amor, instats de la vanitat e impellits dels zelos, se precipitan moltas ocasions a uns preus tant exessius que no sols traspassen los limits de la liberalitat sino tambien que passan a exessos de la Prodigalitat. En cas de la negativa, si veuhen algun inclinat a la Donsella, o a sa crespella, no faltan tercero que l'fan empenyar a tant, quant poder. Acabada esta funcio se comenzan las balladas. Observant los mateixos ritus, tocatas, desambulturas [sic], que comunament en las balladas se practican. Sent pues anxis, com es, lo sobre referit ?No es aixo profanar la Iglesia y abusar de ella com a causa motiva, a lo menos mediata, de pensaments, paraulas y accions impuras, y deshonestas que acarrean las balladas que se executan amb mezcla de un y altre sexo y en especial entre aquells que mutuament se festejan? Es innegable. … No dificulto SI que en algunas Parroquias se fa amb mera (pero mala) tolerancia dels seus respective Parrocos porque siempre se ha fet aixis. …?Aquiexas galas, vestits adornos hi axis tot disposat, ab que intentan ferse mes apreciables y amables, no es per lo fi de atraurer en si las voluntats dels miradors y en especials dels respectius festejants? … Aquexos effectes causan las crespellas, cantirets, y ventalls que sent per lo intent poca la diferencia de aquexos a aquellas; no n’he fet especial mencio. Aquexas son las balladas rurals, no sols en las diadas de las crespellas etc. sino en las demes ocasions que s’practican: las que tant llargament he narrat para prevenir y en lo mateix temps

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details of the dances the writer takes pains to explain. If the festes majors were largely

the only occasions in which men put down work in the fields and women work in the

home—not even on Sundays did they always do so—then in rural areas these

celebrations in the town plaza were one of the few types of social functions that available

men and women had at their disposal to scout out potential mates or make sexual or

romantic advances. Such dances provided forums for social interaction, but that

corresponds with how parishioners viewed their Catholicism. God and saints spoke to,

interacted with, and served communities, towns, or villages rather than individuals. To

honor a particular saint or celebrate a holy day meant a gathering of the community. It is

not surprising that such gatherings would blur the lines between social and religious

functions, linking church fundraisers and holy day celebrations to sexually charged

dancing.

But were such dances and celebrations of fiestas unique to rural areas? Or was

the label “rural” a way of connoting their backwardness? While one can make the case

for the unique nature of rural dances, “The Responses” tell us that such dances also

occurred in urban areas and perhaps even served as models for rural parishioners. The

priest of the pueblo principal (principal town) of Mataró (growing coastal city north of

Barcelona) claimed that what was regular in rural villages was hearing mass, a sermon,

and catechism in the morning and in the afternoon praying the Rosary. The excesses of

dances and games did occur but could be reduced if in the Capital (Barcelona) and

pueblos principales (main towns) “public theaters, spectacles, and profane fiestas” were

ended. His claim was that such an example would make it easier to keep modesty in

disvanexer [sic] algunas rahons amb las quals tal vegada per ser rurals se inventaria honestarlas.” Letter of

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check in the rural areas.269 Thus, it seems that on one hand local religion in rural areas

developed in a unique way in each locality and dances were a part of that, but on the

other hand the tendency also existed for rural parishioners in their trips and visits to

larger cities to bring back ideas for new rural celebrations. The letter of the city parish

priests of Barcelona makes evident the model that urban centers provided:

Finally, the Fandango270 and other profane and provocative dances, whose names could easily be ascertained from dance teachers, should be prohibited. And the Justicia secular [civil authorities] should procure solutions for the openings of casas de joch [casinos] in the mornings of holy days and in the afternoons of Adventen and Lenten Sundays. Likewise swimming should be prohibited in the port where [men] swim in the sight of many women who pass by and numerous scandals occur by the Rocks of St. Bertran where men and women intermix.”271 Besides dances, processions, and outings to rural chapels, specific holy days

needed reform as cited in “The Responses.” Mentioned in the letters of L’Ametlla and

San Andreu de la Barca (villages surrounding Barcelona city), people were still

celebrating Carnival on the first day of Lent, eating snacks, passing out herring and cod,

holding dances in the plazas, dressing in costumes, and having herb and vegetable hunts

set to music in gardens.272 For the regions of Piera and Vallès in general as well as a

dn. P. M. y B., “The Responses.” 269 Letter of Dr. Beniso Vila, parroco of Mataró, “The Responses.” 270 The fandango is an ancient Spanish dance, probably of Moorish origin, that came into Europe in the 17th century. It is in triple time and is danced by a single couple to the accompaniment of castanets, guitar, and songs sung by the dancers. At the end of certain measures, the music halts abruptly and the dancers remain rigid until it is resumed. 271 “Finalment se podria privar lo Fandango y altres balls profans y provocatius cuyos noms facilment se averiguavan amb los mestres de danzar; y procurar/t se remedias per la Justicia secular lo Obrir las casas de Joch en los matins de dias de festa y en las tardes de Dominicas de Advent y Quaresma. Com y tambe que se privas lo nadar en lo port hont [sic] nadan a la vista de moltas donas que passan y bastants excandols suceheixen en las Rocas de St. Bertran hont se mesclan homens y donas.” Letter of city parish priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.” 272 Letter of Manuel Cortada, rector of San Andreu de la Barca; Letter of l’Ametlla, “The Responses.”

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handful of oficialato parishes, the holy day of the Rosary [festa de Nostra Senyora del

Roser] was also spelled out as an “abuse”. The festa, celebrated throughout the diocese

in May, fell on a different Sunday in each parish. It was a great day for dancing, and

people from neighboring parishes would attend the festivities on all the Sundays, making

the dances even grander affairs.

The abuse is that each Parish celebrates with a festivity to Our Lady of the Rosary, commonly called the Rosary of May, on a different Sunday which results in the Sheep of each Flock losing their way and which leads more to encouraging Dances, Jousts [sortijos], Games, and invitations that are performed as honors and gifts in tribute to that Sovereign Lady. It should be a statute that one determined Sunday serve as the day to honor Holy Mary throughout the diocese with a similar (uniform) festivity.273

In addition, the day of Sants Innocents (December 28) was another common mention.

This holy day was in honor of all the babies (some said 14,000, others 144,000)

considered martyrs whom King Herod had killed in his efforts to find and kill the Christ

child as recorded in the Bible. In Catalonia, confraternities led celebrations on the

historic holy day, but their traditions did not always have a specific relation to the biblical

event. Besides the “profane dances” found in other celebrations, the day of Sants

Innocents was also celebrated with other performances. In San Andreu de la Barca, “the

young confraternity members dress as Mayor and Town Councilors, and in the hour of

mass they come to the church with music. In front, a ridiculously dressed Porter [a

person who carries the coat of arms or insignia in solemn processions and that pass by

city hall] makes everyone in the Church laugh.”274

273 “Lo abus qui ha de celebrar en quiscuna Parra una festivitat a Nostra Senyora del Roser, dita vulgarment lo Roser de Maig, la qual celebrantse aquella a cada Parra en distinct Diumenge, a mes de esgarriar las Ovellas de son Ramat, mes serveix a fomentar Balladas, Sortijos, Jochs, y convits, que a tributar honors y obsequis a aquella Soberana Senyora: sia estatuit un determinat Diumenge en qual en totas las Parras se obsequii a Maria Ssa amb semblant festivitat.” Letter of Papiol, “The Responses.”

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In the region of Vallès, the parish priest of San Feliu de Codines felt that lay

observance of Easter Monday was turning into an abuse because of the dancing and

intermixing of the sexes that had resulted over the years. The originally intended practice

had been the distribution of a considerable amount of bread to help the poor, but at the

time of the letter the true poor were not receiving the bread. Instead, whoever was

present at the church door during bread distribution time (11a.m.) could receive it, that in

practice it was not “true Charity but an insane vanity of this parish’s parishioners.” What

occurred at this time was once again the mixing of young men and women and the

“inevitable dangers of incontinence” between them when after receiving the bread at their

own parish church they would go as a big “troop” to other parishes and chapels on

“pilgrimages.” On a regular basis, the troop’s excursions included an aplech at the

Chapel of Our Lady of Villar which pertained to the parish—an aplech that had recently

been introduced by the “licentious behavior” of the confraternity members. The priest

describes what resulted on Easter Monday:

The blessed bread serving as sustenance for their immoderate gluttony and as incentive for their incontinence, all of this adds to the reputation of the dances that have been introduced in that day because of the aplech in the middle of the Forest. Because of the trips there and back, the scandals that occur are almost inevitable. Despite the infinite amount of times I have spoken against these insolences, probably only those that have a true fear of God have refrained from participating. But the liberty of the inconsiderate youth remaining vigorous, said Charity should be done without in totum.275

274 “En lo dia dels Sants Innocents acostuman los Fadrins fer de Batlle y Regidors y en la hora del ofici venen a la Iglesia amb musica, precehintlos un Porter vestit ridiculosament que mou a risa a tots los que son en la Iglesia.” Letter of Manuel Cortada rector San Andreu de la Barca. In the letter of Hospitalet, the confraternities involve Mugigangas and other “disorders.” “The Responses.” 275 “Lo segon dia de Pasqua de Resurecció se reparteix una considerable porció de panellets que ab lo colorat titol de “Pá de Animas” se distribueix en sufragi de ellas. Pero com sa repartició no es a verdaders pobres sino a qualsevol que se troba al temps de donarlo, se segueix que no es en rigor Caritat verdadera y si una loca vanitat de los feligreses de esta Parroquía. …Dit pa regularment serveix en la present parroquia per despues a la tarde de aquell dia anar a un aplech que de pochs anys a esta part ha introduhit lo libertinatge dels fadrins en la Capella de Nostra Senyora del Villar de esta parroquia. Fent servir lo pa

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Dancing in the forest or at the rural chapels, unruly processions in and outside of

the town—popular piety developed uniquely in each local. Some learned members of

high society might have deemed some popular rituals “superstitious”, but no priest uses

the label to describe his parishioners’ participation in processions or veneration of rural

shrines. Obviously, working on holy days or sexual promiscuity (in engagements, the

church pews, or the occasional money-raising dance) had nothing to do with superstition,

but were common occurrences that probably had less to do with Catholic conviction than

economic hardship. Devotions to patron saints and their shrines or chapels outside of

town were in essence based on the orthodox Catholic belief that saints (usually Mary)

interceded with God on parishioners’ behalf. While some of the practices that developed

on saints’ days were not purely religious nor strengthen internal Catholic piety, it was the

excess of these practices that led to “abuse.” The abuse was not belief in the saint or

shrine or the saint’s day observance itself.

If one defines “superstitious” practices as those not based on Catholic beliefs,

then only one comment appears in “The Responses” that mentions true superstition. In

St. Joan d'Horta, the priest wrote of some people who in their search for cures or lost

objects said spells or prayers “of what they formally consist has not been settled and is

feared to be superstitious” (emphasis mine).276 Discounting “superstition” (witchcraft or

benehit per sustento de sa intemperada gola e incentiu de sa incontinencia, com ho acreditan las balladas que amb lo motivo de est aplech se han introduhit aquell dia en mitx de un Bosch, ahont per anar y tornar de ell son quasi necesaris los escandols que se segueixen, sens que las infinitas vegadas que he declamat contra estas insolencias ajan pogut detenir mes que als timoratos; pero quedant en son vigor la llibertat de la inconsiderada juventut: per lo que se devia privar in totum dita Caritat.” Letter of San Feliu de Codines, “The Responses.” 276 “No menos alguns en est Pla de BCN se aplican en curar ab certs breus y oracions que si bé es veritat no se ha pogut liquidar en que formalment consistian lo que se tem ser supersticiosas penso considero seria convenient (salvo lo parer de VSI) que ninguna Persona puga fer breus ni dir oracions per curar ni per

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pagan rituals) as a problem area, certainly the priests’ views on abuses in “The

Responses” show that what was at stake was excessive external piety and deficient

internal piety in local religion in eighteenth-century Barcelona.

The Calaix de Sastre (the “Tailor’s Drawer”)

While the city parish priests sent in one letter in “The Responses,” on the whole

information on religious traditions within the city of Barcelona is notably absent.

Fortunately, another unique source exists that is almost entirely concerned with the

religious life unique to the city. In contrast to “The Responses”, the Calaix de Sastre

(henceforth Calaix) represents both a different sector of Barcelonese society—urban

Barcelona—and a different perspective on parishioners’ religiosity—the author being a

city-dwelling noble who had no position within the Church. Raffle d’Amat i de Cortada

(1746-1818), the Baron of Maldà (henceforth “Maldà”), a resident and parishioner of the

neighborhood of Santa Maria del Pi in Barcelona, wrote almost daily reflections on what

he described as “all that occurred in Barcelona and its vicinity from the middle of the

year 1769. From here on what follows enjoined in said Calaix de Sastre are the most

minimal Frivolities, for the pleasure of the Author and his Listeners.”277 While there are

60 volumes of the Calaix de Sastre covering 1769-1816, only the first volume, MS.201A

at the City Historic Archive of Barcelona, is discussed in this chapter since in it Maldà

chronicles 1769-1785, the time period pertaining to this dissertation. Maldà provides a

encontrar las cosas perdudas, o aprobadas per VSI o bé per son V.G. baix la pena ben vista a VSI.” Letter of Felip de Oriola rector St. Joan de Horta, “The Responses.” 277 “Calaix de Sastre en que se explicara tot quant va succehint en Barcelona y vehinat (vicinity) desde mitg any de 1769. A las que seguiran, las dels demes anys esdevenidors, per divertiment del Autor y sos Oyents adnexas en el dit Calaix de Sastre las mes mínimas Frioleras.” Taken from the first page of the original manuscript of Maldà: AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A (1769-1785).

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unique perspective, communicated in a direct and colloquial language, on local religion

in the diocese of Barcelona. Rather than the predominantly rural and clerical descriptions

of lay piety in “The Responses” of 1767, Calaix, written from 1769 until many years

later, is a window into local religion within the city walls of Barcelona, a profoundly

urban and bustling community.

Maldà clearly had the time on his hands to engage in something that could be

considered “frivolous.” This is explained by the fact that while he was a well-educated

(young) aristocrat, he did not enjoy a lot of riches, prestige, or power that other nobles

did, such as his uncle the Viceroy of Peru Manuel d’Amat.278 Since Maldà could not

always indulge in the things wealth and social prestige and power had to offer, an

acceptable alternative for a noble such as himself would be to indulge his literary

abilities, showing off his aristocratic education for his own amusement and that of his

family and friends. While his purpose in writing seems to have been purely personal

diversion and possibly entertainment within his own home or salon, Maldà’s observations

are a candid view into city life in Barcelona from the eyes of a man of privilege and

leisure who had no obligation to the clergy or position within the church that would

influence him to make judgements on what he saw.

Barcelona’s Catholic character is obvious from a reading of the manuscript, but

this is not because the author was particularly Catholic. Many have called Maldà

“profoundly religious”, and while it is true that expressions such as “Maria Santissima”

for the Virgin Mary, “Nostre Divino Salvador” for Jesus Christ, and similar religious

phrases appear on most pages of his commentary, it is important to remember that such

278 Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana, vol II, Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1986, p.166-7.

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words were familiar expressions in colloquial language in eighteenth-century Spain.279

Maldà is not exceptionally religious; rather, he exemplifies the kind of Catholic

religiosity found in eighteenth-century Spanish noblemen. He was, instead, very

representative of his society; his diary descriptions present the symbiosis between

religious and civic life inherent in eighteenth-century Barcelona city. In a critical

analysis of Calaix written by local scholars of Barcelona, the authors Martí, Bonet, and

Juncosa find an account relating “the spontaneous life of the people, as well as of civil

society, and their religious sources. What is manifest is not a ‘national Catholicism’ but a

people ‘naturally Christian.’”280 Maldà observes the actions of confraternities and guilds,

people’s interest in sacraments such as mass (Eucharist) and marriage, participation in

fiestas/festes and processions, and relates the details of society goings-on as noteworthy

events of Barcelona city. It is this characteristic that makes the Calaix noteworthy—the

focus is not religious life perse, but the life of the Barcelonese society, from commoners

to nobles. Yet coincidently or not these daily events in Barcelona noted in Calaix are

almost always referred to or equated with Catholic observance, and the bulk of the

manuscript highlights what the Catholic calendar of holy days looked like on the streets

of the city. Such observations, coming from a different lens than that of the clergy,

amplify the picture of local religion in eighteenth-century Barcelona. Thus, whenever

Maldà describes religious behavior—either his own or others’—he does so in a way that

279 See also the commentary in the edition of Josep M. Martí i Bonet, Lluis Bonet i Armengol, and Isabel Juncosa i Ginestà, Costums i Tradicions Religiosos de Barcelona: “Calaix de Sastre” (Barcelona: Akribos Edicions, 1987): P.10. 280 Martí i Bonet, eds, Costums i Tradicions, p.23. “Hem vist la mútua relació entre la vida espontània del poble, i també de la societat civil, i les arrels religioses del mateix.”

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designates what is commonplace (socially accepted practices or observances), what are

yearly customs and traditions, and how (religious) life is different for people of privilege

as opposed to skilled artisans or servants (middle and lower classes).

While Calaix de Sastre does illuminate everyday Catholicism in Barcelona, its

amplified picture is also one predisposed to the tastes of the writer. As the writer was a

nobleman, he is quick to point out the actions of other nobility in society. So as a result,

the picture of religious life is not only distinctly that of urban Barcelona but it is also one

seemingly permeated by nobility. Another distinguishing aspect of Calaix is its focus on

the Pi neighborhood (roughly the parish of Santa Maria del Pi) in Barcelona. The upper

class in general lived mainly in this neighborhood (as Maldà did), in that of the cathedral,

and in the area around Santa Maria del Mar basilica, and so the entries in Calaix describe

daily events and (religious) celebrations in these areas of the city.

Far from the case that other neighborhoods in Barcelona were not noteworthy nor

held religious sites or celebrations to detail in Calaix, it was the neighborhoods (roughly

the parishes) of the Pi, Santa Maria del Mar, and the cathedral that were the oldest and

most central—the heart of the city in historic, religious, and social terms. In this sense,

Calaix is a window into the heart of Barcelona's religious devotions.

The accounts of Calaix de Sastre (MS. 201A) begin with July 10, 1769, a couple

years after Josep Climent was installed as bishop of Barcelona. In order to mirror the

analysis of “The Responses”, the following pages similarly discuss confraternities,

processions, festes, and the use of the seven sacraments. In contrast to “The Responses,”

Calaix also details popular food as well as local military activity, boats in the city harbor,

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and family life. While not all of these relate to religious life, in some of the entries of

Calaix they go hand-in-hand, and so are mentioned here wherever relevant.

Figure 3. 2: The Eighteenth-Century Walled City of Barcelona Divided into its Seven Parishes

In Calaix de Sastre, Maldà naturally mentions confraternities frequently, as they

are associated with many public events and connected to particular society members,

guilds, and Regular clergy. Confraternity members received social recognition because

of their special duties related to planning the observance of a particular saint’s day and

keeping an account of deposits, withdrawals, and confraternity property. (However,

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because of the larger number of confraternities in the city parishes of Barcelona, the

effect of that social recognition was not the same as in the rural parishes of the diocese.)

In early 1770, however, a royal decree “suspended all congregations and brotherhoods

[i.e., religious confraternities]”281 that were not approved by the governor (or viceroy) of

Catalonia. Since after 1776, more mention is made of confraternities in Calaix it seems

the royal decree itself was “suspended” or the pre-existing confraternities were approved

by government. Thus, the majority of the following material is dated 1776 and later.

(For more on the events in Barcelona during the episcopacy of Climent, see Chapter

Five.)

While the confraternities mentioned by Maldà are not exhaustive, he makes

specific reference to about a dozen or so in the late eighteenth century. The confraternity

of shop-keepers (Botiguers) held a prominent position in the procession of Maundy

Thursday. In 1777, Maldà commented on the new costumes that the shop-keepers had

provided for those dressed as Roman captain and soldiers in the procession that depicted

Christ’s passion and death (“los vestits del Capita manaya y dels armats”). Besides the

Roman soldiers, the costumes of the boys (and some orphans) who served as banner- and

cross-carriers were noted as “looking good.” The confraternity of embroiderers

(Brodadors) held a prominent position in the procession of Good Friday—the

representation of the mystery of the Holy Sepulchre or the tomb of Christ—preceding

both the Community of Brothers of the Mercé and the Congregation of the Bona Mort

(see below on these groups). In 1776, Maldà commented on their golden crosses, and in

1777 he related the embroiderers’ part in the Good Friday procession as “lavish in

281 “Dia 3 de febrer se publica un decret en ordre a suspensió de totes congregacions i germandats.” Calaix

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everything.”282 It seems that confraternities, in this case the shop-keeping and

embroidering confraternities, found that, besides improving the religious act that was the

procession, the quality of their costumes on public display in these processions,

contributed to the amount of social recognition they received and provided incentive for

confraternities to spare no expense when participating in the public religious rituals of the

community.283

The confraternity of Esteves dels freners de Barcelona—an association of

different guilds who honored Saint Steven, but mostly people who made equipment, such

as brakes, for beasts of burden—was responsible for the “pass of the sepulchre” in the

Palm Sunday procession of the church of Bon Succes. Yet, the Esteves’ true day to shine

was the day of their patron Saint Steven, December 26. On this day the confraternity

showcased themselves in a procession before mass in front and around the Barcelona

cathedral:

26 December, Sunday, the day of the first martyr St. Steven, has began a day equal in weather to yesterday. As a consequence, the passage of Christmas festivities does not occur as usual. In the Cathedral, a brilliant festa for St. Steven occurs, in every year with a procession of the Confraternity of St. Steven before the mass service, inside and around the Cathedral, and with many individuals, from the guilds [corporative bodies] of Tailors, Wine-vendors, Chefs [bakers], etc., that go to said procession with a piece of candle. Their numbers having grown, the main church bell and the two other big bells are sounded only during the procession of such festival.284

de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.31. 282“Lo misteri del Sant Sepulcre era dels brodadors, i riquíssim tot ell.” Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, pp.57-8 (28-III-1777). 283 “…los vestits del Capita manaya y dels armats eran nous de est any, del Gremi de Botiguers.” AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, Ms. 201A, 27-III-1777 (fol. 82-83). 284 “Dia 26 de Desembre Diumenge y Sant Esteve Protomartir ha amanescut lo dia igual com lo de ahir. Per conseguent no promet Paseig de Festas de Nadal. En lo Catedral se fa lluhida Festa de Sant Esteva en tots los Anys ab Profesó de la Confraria dels Estevas abans del ofici per dins y rededor de la Seu ab molts Individuos que van a dita Profeso ab tros de ciri, dels estaments de Sastres, Cellers, Courers, etc; Sent

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Confraternities held an important position as leaders of lay piety; the lavishness and

beauty of their religious projects gained some confraternities more fame or a better

reputation than others, making the social recognition that confraternities provided an

added benefit for their middling class members.

The confraternity of Revenedors (small-scale provisions sellers or ‘general store’

owners) had their head-quarters in a house facing the steps of the Cathedral. While for

many this “head-quarters” served as gathering place for members to discuss business and

organize events (such as processions), some members actually lived in this house. (Most

who lived in confraternity houses usually did so because of disability, widowhood,

illness, or unemployment.) Besides the religious functions confraternities engaged in,

Calaix also makes clear that their “social security” services were integral in Barcelona

society. In November 16, 1782, Maldà remarked about a beautiful girl he met on the

street who lived, he casually wrote, in the “house of the Confraternity of Revenedors”

with her parents who were shoe-makers.285

Shoe-makers (Sabaters) had their own guild in Barcelona as well. While shoe-

makers might also belong to another confraternity, their guild—based more distinctly on

the professional grounds of shoe-making rather than the religious devotion of a

confraternity—still had religious affinities uniting them, in particular the celebration of

crescut son numero, ventase la tomasa sola durant la Profeso y las 2 altras grosas campanas en tal Festivitat.” AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, Ms. 201A, 26 XII 1784 (fol.358). 285“…conequi a una minyoneta que se diu Teresa Fita que viu ab sos Pares que son Sabaters, als que tambe conec, en la casa de la Confraria dels Revenedors, devant de las escalas de la Seu.” AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, Ms. 201A, 16-XI-1782 (fol. 238-9). Confraternity houses also served as geographical markers to help the Barcelonese locate other places. Maldà references the head-quarters (casa) of the tailors’ (Sastres) confraternity, located on the Plaça del

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the holy day of Saint Mark the apostle on April 25. The shoe-makers’ guild funded the

religious activities on that day as the Calaix de Sastre details:

Twenty-fifth day of April: Holy Day of the Glorious Saint Mark Evangelist has gone the Procession of Litanies [starting] from the Cathedral, from where it exited, to the Church of the Hospital, as is done every year on this day; and in the Week of the Ascention of the Lord or on the three Thursdays from the Cathedral with the Illustrious Bodies of the Cathedral Chapter and the City Council to other Churches, these Processions of Litanies instituted by Saint Mamerto in the fifth century of the Church for the conservation of the fruits of the earth. In the Cathedral after the Procession returned, there was, as in the years taken away, a service with all the music performed by the Lord Canons of the Chapel of Saint Mark, that is the Guild of the Shoe-makers, and in the afternoon an oratorio service in music.286

In eighteenth-century Barcelona, it was natural for guilds to have a patron saint who was

associated with their trade, honoring that saint bringing prosperity to the tradesmen.

Similar to the shoe-makers, the guild of carriers, carters, and carriage drivers (Arriers and

Calessers) united as members of the same profession yet had a patron saint and

celebrated that saint’s day—the day of Saint Anthony the Abbott (Sant Antoni Abat),

January 17. As Anthony the Abbott (a hermit or proto-monk of the 300s A.D.) was a

saint known for his care and protection of animals, it made sense that men whose

livelihood depended on horses would seek this saint as their patron. Each year on

January 17, the guild members either on horseback or driving a carriage would lead (and

still do today) the procession of the “Tres tombs”, or “Three Turns.”287 Maldà describes

Angel at the mouth of Tapinería street, in order to describe the whereabouts of a watch shop robbery. Ibid, 6 VI 1777 (fol. 90). 286 “Dia 25 de Abril: Festa del Glorios Sant March Evangelista ha anat la Profeso de las Lladanias desde la Seu, de ahont ha eixida, a la Iglesia del Hospital, com se fan en tots los anys per esta diada; y en la Semana de la Ascensio del Senyor o dels 3 dijous desde la Seu ab los Illrs Cosos Capitol y Ajuntament a altres Iglesias, las quals Profesons de Lletanias per conservacio dels fruits de la terra las instituhi Sant Mamerto al 5th sigle de la Iglesia. En la Cathedral despues de tornada la Profeso hi ha hagut, com en los discorreguts anys, ofici ab tota la musica celebrat per Srs Canonges en la Capella de Sant March, que es del Gremi dels Sabaters, y en la tarde oratori en musica.” AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, Ms. 201A, 25 IV 1785 (fol.387).

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the saint’s day in 1780 and 1783-1785, and from the description of the day in 1780 it is

clear how extensive the celebration was, mentioning special foods, masses with sermon

and music (extra costs involved), and children of the guild members participating:

The seventeenth of January, Holy Day of Saint Anthony the Abbot, as in every year, there is a great number of People, tables of Turrat [candy], and booklets of romances in Saint Anthony Street and the turn of the Pyramid of Saint Eulalia [which] exists in the City Registry in front of Saint Llatse, Hospital which is of the Poor farmers. The Animals in the morning adorned with bows and the mules of the Houses of the Lords are going to run the three turns that in effect is a joke. It is the Holy Day of the Carters and Carriage-drivers and they wear all their good clothes in Public, having little boys as Carriers who run with the mules to the largest [of them], and the little girl Carriers with all that is good and the best, since they base all their knowledge on looking pretty. On top of the Belfry of the Pi, the Antonia chimes alone inviting in those that pass close by there, if they want to go up to give her “good days”; since it is a large festival, it is known throughout all the city and vecinity, announcing it by means of the knocks of the clapper [chimes of the church bells]. In the Catedral in the Chapel and Altar of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the Carriers of Bou Street (contiguous with the New Square) pay for a luminous festival with a service in the morning, after the regular one, with all of the Chapel [full] of music and sermón, in the afternoon the oratorio service that in this year of 1780 has been that of the lay religious man [Beato] Miguel de los Santos. A lot of wax on the Altar, etc. In the Parish of Saint Just, the Carriers of the Square hold a festival, and I judge that even the Carters and Carraige-drivers of the Sea go there. And in the Church of Good Success, the Pelayres pay for a festival since they have that Glorious Saint for a Patron. (emphasis mine)288

287 The celebration of this festa or saint’s day in Barcelona is documented from the fifteenth century. For information on the modern day celebration, see Les Festes de Barcelona by Jordi Pablo (Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona-Random House Mondadori, 2003): p.38. 288 “Dia 17 de Janer, Festa de Sant Anton Abad, com en tots los anys hi ha molt concurs de Gent, taulas de Turrat y Paperadas de romances en lo carrer de Sant Antoni y volta de la Piramida de Santa Eularia existeix en lo Padró devant de Sant Llatse, Hospital que es dels Pobres masells. Los Animals al demati enflocats y las mulas de las Casas dels Senyors van a correr los 3 toms que en efecte es bulla. Es la Festa dels Calesers y trahuen tota sa bona roba al Publich, havent minyonets Arrieros que corran ab las mulas a lo majo[r], y las Arrieras ab tot lo bo y millor, pues que ab anar bonicas fundan tota sa ciencia. Dalt del Campanar del Pi toca la Antonia per ella mateixa, combidant als que pasan per alli prop, si volen pujar a donarli los bons dias, ya que fa festa bastant se fa coneixer per tota la ciutat y vehinat, pregonantla a cops de batall. En la Seu en la Capella y Altar de Sant Anton Abat pagan lluhidissima festa los Arrieros del Carrer del Bou contiguo a la Plaça Nova ab ofici al demati, despues del regular ab tota la Capella de musica y Sermo, en la tarde oratori que en est any de 1780 ha estat lo del Beato Miguel de los Santos. Molta cera en lo Altar, etc. En la Parroquia de Sant Just fan la festa los Arrieros de la Plaza, y judico que hi van inclosos los Carreters de Mar y en la Iglesia del Bonsucces pagan la Festa los Pelayres que tenen al Glorios Sant per Patró.” (Emphasis mine). Calaix de Sastre, Ms. 201A, 17 I 1780 (fol.182).

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While not mentioned in Calaix de Sastre, and so possibly not practiced in Barcelona in

the late-eighteenth century, the festa of St. Anthony the Abbott and the image of the saint

in it were associated with a pig. In El Santoral del Calendari, an account of the saints’

days and their history in Catalonia, one finds that Catalans venerate this saint

As the patron saint of domesticated animals, and in local representations of him the saint is always accompanied by an image of a pig. This occurrence has its origin with regulars [clergy] who, united in devotion to this saint, introduced the custom in many parishes of providing a pig that had the right to free pasture or grazing throughout the parish. On the saint’s day, the pig was killed and offered as food for the poor.”289 But besides these “sparkling” and “shimmering” (lluhidissima) festivities on

January 17, the guild, like all others, had “public” displays calling upon the saint in times

of greatest need, pleading for his help in the form of pregaries or rogativas (“begging

processions”). While annual rituals on saints’ days could become venues for

confraternities or guilds to showcase their pomp and Catholic piety, begging processions

were acts of desperation, humbly pleading for the saint to intercede with God to alleviate

their troubles. In spring of 1780, an epidemic had hit the animals of the city, and as the

Barcelona carriers’, carters’, and carriage-drivers’ livelihood depended on horses and

carting other animals they prayed and marched for Saint Anthony the Abbott to help

them. Since the outcome was a fairly positive one for the guild members, they held a

special mass recorded in Calaix de Sastre:

The Tenth of June, third holy day of the Celebration of Pentecost: another service is sung in the Catedral after that of High Mass with all of the Chapel full of music,

289 “com a patró dels animals domèstics i solem veure’l representat acompanyat d’un porc. Aixó té el seu origen en els religiosos que a l’Edat Mitjana s’acolliren sota el seu nom; aquests introdüiren el costum, en moltes parròquies, d’alimentar un porc, que tenia dret de pasturatge lliure en tots els camps de la parròquia i era mort, en benefici dels pobres, el dia present.” Alexandre Olivar, El Santoral del Calendari (Barcelona: Centre de Pastoral Litúrgica, 1999): p.36-37.

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in the Chapel and Alter of Saint Anthony the Abbot with a lot of illumination, paid for by the guild of Carriers or Carters and Carriage-drivers, with a Sermon in the Service in thanksgiving to the Holy Patron Saint for having preserved the males [donkeys] and mules and horses of the Carriers from the epidemic of the Animals; having as a consequence ended already; a Father of the Descalced Trinitarians preached the use, being sufficient the number of Listeners, principally the wives of many Carters and Carriage-drivers who were found outside. In the afternoon was the Procession of Saint Francis of Paula, the last day that was the thirteenth anniversary of the Church of the [minims] Fathers that every year begins with the Festivity of the Ascension of the Lord.290

The main instigators of pregaries, or begging processions was also one of the

most historic and prominent confraternities in Barcelona—the Confraternity of the Holy

Blood of Christ (Purissima Sang de Jesus Christ). Founded in the fourteenth century and

establishing residence in the parish of Santa Maria del Pi in the sixteenth century (thanks

to a house across the street from the Pi church donated by the then governor of Barcelona

Pere de Cardona), the importance of this confraternity pertained to deaths, executions,

and burials, mainly of criminals and prisoners. In fact from the late-sixteenth century on,

this confraternity had the power, granted by Rome, to pardon one prisoner per year who

was sentenced to death.291 Besides indicating the kinds and level of crime taking place in

eighteenth-century Barcelona, the entries of Calaix de Sastre that mention the pregaria

processions led by the Sang before the executions of criminals show the Catholic sense of

community present in the city of Barcelona.

290 Dia 10 de Juny, tercera festa de Pasqua de Pentecostes: se canta en la Catedral despues del Ofici Major altre ab tota la Capella de Musica en la Capella y Altar de Sant Antoni Abad ab molta illuminació, que pagaba lo Gremi de Arrieros o Calesers, ab Sermó en lo Ofici en acció de Gracias al Sant Patró de haver preservat als machos, mulas, y caballs dels Arrieros de la epidemia dels Animals; havent per conseguent cessat ya; l’us predica un Pare Trinitari Descals, sent suficient lo numero de Oyents principalment de mullers de molts Calesers que se trobaban fora. En la tarde se feu la Profesó de Sant Francisco de Paula ultim dia que era del tretsenari en sa Iglesia de Pares minims que en tots los anys comensase en la Festivitat de la Ascensio del Senyor. AHCB, Calaix, Ms. 201A, 10 VI 1783 (fol.259). 291 “Notes Històriques de la Reial i Il.lustre Arxiconfraria de la Puríssima Sang de Nostre Senyor Jesucrist,” twentieth-century publication of the confraternity written by Eduard Serra i Gull, s/f, s/n, s/p, Arxiu de la Parròquia del Pi (hereafter APP), section “confraries.”

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The twenty-ninth of March, 1776. They gave a death sentence to one whom they call the “Gavatx” 292 for the enormous crimes that he committed, with his other accomplices. The Congretation of the brothers of the Blood of the Pi parish went out at three-thirty in the afternoon with the image of Holy Christ. The procession showcased the Holy Sacrament (forever be it praised), the Antonia bell chiming to advise the faithful, for the end of entrusting him to God. The congregants were 148 in number.293 The sixth of April… Also, in the afternoon the reverent community of the Pi went out in procession with the Lord Masters and the confraternity brothers of the Blood with the [image] of Holy Christ, being the motive to go and look for the cadavers of the executed outside of the gate of Saint Anthony, in order to give them a grave in said parish. The coffins were seven, with their black drapes, and in front of the procession the banner of the marching brothers hung (if I am not mistaken), with seventy-two individuals with torches immediately behind the Image of Holy Christ. The Lord [guiad] Masters carried cofres in order to collect alms for the good of those deceased. All of the bells of the Pi chimed, the procession exiting at 4:45 in the afternoon and returning at 7:30 in the evening. And later, upon entering a pardon was made. On the following day seven, a funeral service was sung for the sentenced. Throughout the course of the procession, the number of people were many—principally in the Street of the Hospital, in the Rambla, etc.294

Such actions show that the demarcation lines of Catholicism and society (still) coincided

in eighteenth-century Barcelona, and the Sang confraternity represents this idea. The

292 “Lo Gavatx” is a Catalan derogatory epithet for “Frenchman”, and the “enormous crimes” he had committed quite possibly referred to sodomy. No wonder his execution caused such a sensation. 293 “Dia 29 de març de 1776. Donaren sentència de força a un que li deien <<lo Gavatx>> per los enormes delictes que havia comès, ab altres sos partidaris. Isqué la congregació de confrares de la Sang de a parròquia del Pi a dos quarts de quatre de la tarda (3:30pm) ab una imatge del Sant Cristo. Se tingué manifes lo Sm. Sacrament (alabat per a sempre sia), ventant-se la campana Antònia per avís als fidels, a fi d’anar-lo a encomanar a Déu. Los congregants eren en número 148.” Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, pp.48 (29-III-1776). 294 “Dia 6 d’abril… També en la tarda isqué la reverent comunitat del Pi en professó, ab los Srs. Obrers I los confrares de la Sang ab lo Sant Cristo, sent lo motiu d’anar a buscar los cadàvers dels sentenciats fora lo portal de Sant Antoni, per donar-los sepultura en dita parròquia. Eren set los fèretros, ab sos drapas negres, i al davant de la professó anava lo pendó (a no enganyar-me) dels fadrins marxants, ab setanta-dos individuos ab atxa inmediats a la Imatge del Sant Christo. Los senyors obrers portaven les bacines per recollir limosnes per lo bé d’estos difunts. Se tocaren totes les campanes del Pi, eixint la professó a tres quarts de cinc i tornà a la iglésia a dos quarts de vuit del vespre. I luego d’entrada se’ls féu una absolta. En lo següent dia 7 se cantà ofici de funeral per les ànimes dels sentenciats. De gent, en tot lo curs de la professó, era en gros número, principalment en tot lo carrer de l’Hospital, Rambla, etc.” Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, pp.67 (6&7-IV-1778).

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procession was to “beg” God for the salvation of the soon-to-be executed man or

woman’s soul. After executions, the confraternity members buried or paid for the burial

of the sentenced criminals. The continued funding for these services demonstrates the

vitality of the notion of a Catholic community or society: Catalan people were first

parishioners and members of the Catholic Church and remained so even if rightfully

condemned by government. Illustrating this in 1770 (during Climent’s episcopacy):

The twenty-seventh of June, 1770, they give a death sentence to a man for his crimes committed, having passed before the tortures with much patience, and died very resigned to the will of God. In the Church of the Pi, during the execution the Antonia bell (or the main bell) was struck so that the Christian faithful would gather in the church to pray to God for the poor guy that they were going to execute; and effectively, the Church was full of people, the Holy Sacrament [the host] displayed during the execution—that devotional practice is observed during any death sentence in which a fellow countryman is executed, the Congregation of the Blood going to the post of the gallows with the image of Holy Christ.295

295 “Dia 27 de juny de 1770 donaren sentència de força a un home per sos delictes [que] cometé, havent passat abans los turments ab molta paciència, i morí molt resignat a la voluntat de Déu. En la iglésia del Pi se ventà durant la sentència la campana Antònia, o la major, peraquè los fiels cristians acúdien a la iglésia a pregar a Déu per lo pobret que anaven a sentenciar; i, efectivament, estava plena de gent la iglésia, quedant lo Ssm. manifest durant la sentència; la qual devota funció se fa en qualsevulla sentència de força [en què] s’executa a paisà, anant al puesto del patíbulo la congregació de la Sang ab el Sant Cristo.” Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, pp.32 (27-VI-1770).

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Plate 3.3: Procession of the Congregation of the Blood of Christ

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Plate 3.4: Confraternity headquarters of the Congregation of the Blood of Christ296

Finally, congregations—groups similar to confraternities but with statutes

prescribing various penitential works such as fasting, the use of the discipline, the

wearing of a habit in processions, etc—existed throughout Barcelona and were

representative figures of lay piety in the city. The congregations of the Bona Mort (Good

Death), of Dolors de Maria (the Pains of Mary), de Nostra Senyora de l’Esperança (Our

296 Plates 3.3 & 3.4: APP, Section: Confraries, Sang, “Notes Històriques de la Reial i Il.lustre Arxiconfraria de la Puríssima Sang de Nostre Senyor Jesucrist,” twentieth-century publication of the confraternity written by Eduard Serra i Gull (s/f, s/n, s/p).

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Lady of Hope) wore habits, each of a different color symbolizing their type of penitential

works, in processions, namely those of Holy or Passion week (Setmana Santa).297 The

congregation of Jesus of Nazareth is mentioned a few times by Maldà, and each time the

congregation’s affiliation with the nobility and high-society are evident. (Both Perelada

and Gironella were affiliated with the Royal Academy in Barcelona, detailed in Chapter

Six below):

The eighth day of April, 1781… A new congregation of Jesus of Nazareth has been planned for the procession that goes out in the morning of Good Friday from the church of the Descalced Trinitarians, the head member being the Excellent Count of Perelada and the consultor the Marquis of Gironella, passing by to invite in [to the procession] many individuals of the nobility so that if it was not an inconvenience for them, they would gather there with an axe for said procession at 5:30 in the morning of Good Friday. I judge that they were having to excuse many from attending it since it was so early in the morning. …and in the procession of Jesus of Nazareth of the Descalced Trinitarians they have added congregation members dressed in light purple and with tall, pointed caps. Their number surely arrived at two hundred. The Excellent Count of Peralada crowned the block [of the procession], having invited the nobility and many of them could not manage to attend the procession. (emphasis mine)298 The twenty-sixth of October, 1783, a luminous Holy Day celebration was made with a service in the morning, all of the Chapel full of music in the Cathedral, and in the afternoon an oratorio service in the Church of the Descalced Trinitarians, consecrating it with the Most Sacred, Pious Image of Jesus of Nazareth. Having had the sermon in the solemn service which the Lord Arch-deacon Huerta preached, celebrating the Service at the fine Altar of Jesus of Nazareth with the attendence of the Excellent Count and Countess of Perelada and the Marquis and

297 See 28 March 1777 in Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, pp.83; 25 May 1776 (fol.51-52) in AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A. 298 “Dia 8 d’abril de 1781… S’ha projectat una nova congregació de Jesús Natzareno, per la professó [que] ix al dematí del Divendres Sant de sa iglésia de Trinitaris Descalços, sent hermano mayor l’Exm. conde de Peralada, i consultor lo marquès de Gironella, passant-se a convidar a molts individus de la noblesa peraquè, si no els és d’incomodo, hi acúdien ab una atxa a dita professó, a dos quarts de sis del dematí del Divendres Sant. Judico [que] s’hauran excusat molts d’assistir-hi, per ser tan dematí. …I en la de Jesús Natzareno dels Trinitaris Descalços s’han anyadit congregants vestits de morat clar i ab cucurulla. Arribarien a ben segur a 200. Coronava la quadrilla l’Exm. conde de Peralada. Havent-se convidada la noblesa, i molta d’ella no hi pogué assistir.” (Emphasis mine.) Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.92 (8-IV-1781).

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Marquesa of Penyafiel for whom a drawing room has been made, having given a Gift the Excellent Lady Marquesa of Penyafiel of very rich vestments, a deep color violet, clothes of velvet, embroidered all in gold and precious stones with matching tassels of gold for the Holy Image of the Redeemer. Many have seen this exquisite valuable [gift] up close and from far away, the Church remaining full of People this morning and afternoon. (emphasis mine)299 The Communities that have passed by in the afternoon of August eleventh for the absolution of the Deceased Countess of Perelada have been the Reverent Community of the Chaplains of the Pi, Communities of Friars of the [shoe-wearing] Trinitarians, of Saint Monica, Saint Francis, Saint Augustine, and the Discalced Trinitarians adjoined to them the Congregation of Jesus of Nazareth carrying Torches, being the head member the Excellent Count of Perelada, husband of the deceased (that she enjoys the Glory [of Heaven]).300

Lay religious associations such as confraternities and congregations simultaneously

demonstrated how Catholicism permeated society and provided markers of class or social

status. While Calaix is written by a member of the nobility, it is fair to say that such

class distinctions would have been equally perceived by a non-noble.

Many times associated with confraternities and congregations, processions are

another key component of the Calaix de Sastre’s accounts. As previously noted, the

1770 royal decree (resulting in the pragmática verbo professons) suspended

confraternities that did not have government approval, but this also led to the suspension

of holy week processions (the pragmática verbo professons?) mainly because they ended

299 “Dia 26 de Octubre de 1783 se feu una lluhidissma Festa ab ofici ab tota la Capella de musica de la Cathedral al demati, y oratori en la tarde en la Iglesia de Pares Trinitaris Descalsos consagrantla a la Sacratissima Piadosa Imatge de Jesus Nazareno, haventli hagut sermo en lo ofici solemne, quel predica lo Sr Ardiaca Huerta, celebrantse lo Ofici en lo primoros Altar de Jesus Nazareno ab la assistencia dels 2 Exms Srs Condes de Perelada y Marquesos de Penyafiel per los quals sels ha format estrado, havent feta una Dadiva la Exma Sra Marquesa de Penyafiel de una riquissima vestidura, fondo color violat, roba de vellut, brodat tot de or y pedras preciosas ab borlas corresponents de or a la Sagrada Imatge del Redemptor, la qual preciositat molts la han vista de cerca y de lluny, quedant plena la Iglesia de Gent avui mati y tarde.” (emphasis mine). AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 26 X 1783 (fol.304-5). 300 “Las Comunitats que han pasat en la tarde del 11 de Agost per la absolta de la Difunta Condesa de Perelada han estat la Rt Comunitat de Capellans del Pi, Comunitats de Frares Trinitaris Calsats, de Sta Monica, Sant Francesch, Sant Agusti, y Trinitaris Descalsos adnexos los de la Congregació de Jesus

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later in the evening, generally leading to nightly mischief amongst the laity. After 1776,

Calaix provides full descriptions of the resumed processions. With only a few

exceptions, most of the processions noted below take place after 1776, after Climent was

no longer bishop of Barcelona.

One of those exceptions was the pregaries of February 1770. While

confraternities had temporarily been suspended, these processions were led by secular

clergy in different parishes of Barcelona in humble supplication to God for rain. The

processions enduring for at least a month, Bishop Climent even led one:

The eighth of February, 1770, the body and relics of the Holy Matron [Saint Eulalia] are carried in a procession from the church of the Capuchin friars to the Cathedral; the procession was on Thursday of the Godfathers at four o’clock in the afternoon, and the Lord Bishop went with his purple cape, and the same for the guilds, with the noble City Council, but the Image of Holy Christ of the Blood [confraternity] did not go along in said procession because of difficulties that occurred. Around [the church of] the Capuchins, the Rambla, and the Cathedral was a large number of people of both Sexes, of all Classes, Ages, and Conditions. (emphasis mine)301 The fourteenth of February, 1770, [the pregaria of] the community of Saint Michael and so on of the remaining Parishes. Because of the Pregarias [begging processions] for the desired Rain and the Holy Matron [Eulalia] remaining in the Catedral, the public diversions planned for this Carnival remain cancelled.302

Nazareno ab Atxa, sent hermano mayor lo Exm Conde de Perelada, marit de la Difunta (que goze de Gloria).” AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 11 VIII 1784 (fol.339). 301 “Dia 8 de febrer de 1770 portaren en professó des de la iglésia dels frares Caputxins a la catedral lo Cos de Santa Madrona, o sas relíguias [Santa Eulalia], la qual profeso fou en dijous dels Compares a las 4 horas de la tarde y anava lo Senyor Bisbe ab Capa morada y de la mateix lo Gremial, amb lo noble Ajuntament, pero no hi ana a la tal profesó la Imatge del Sant Christo de la Sanch per algunas dificultats se oferiren: en los Caputxins; Rambla, y Cathedral era en gros numero la Gent de ambos Sexos de totas clases, Edats, y Condicions.” (Emphasis mine.) AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 8 II 1770. 302 “Dia 14 de febrer de 1770. [The pregaria of ] La comunitat de Sant Miquel y axi de las demes Parroquias. Amb lo motiu de las Pregarias per la desitjada Pluja y quedar Santa Madrona en la Cathedral, quedan suspesas las diversions publicas se prometian en est Carnival.” AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 14 II 1770.

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The solemnity of these processions and the desperation for rain even threatened to cancel

the gaiety of Carnival (celebrated on the weekend, Monday, and Tuesday before Lent

commenced). As late as March second of that year, Maldà records rogation processions

for rain. The interesting part of these processions is that the greater community of

Barcelona was involved—the bishop, parish priests, guild-members, even the city

council. Clearly, the foundation of Barcelona society had remained a religious one, and

this sense of Catholic community brought lay and religious leaders together in

procession, united by their common belief that Catholic devotion was corporate rather

than individual in nature and that supplication to God (or to the patron saint Eulalia) for

rain could only be done as a community.303

Such rogation processions had been part of Spanish religious culture for centuries.

The fact that they are recorded in Calaix de Sastre as taking place in the city of Barcelona

in the late-eighteenth century shows the continuity of Catholic belief in the age of

Spanish enlightenment. The following description of rural sixteenth-century local

religion by William Christian is still helpful in explaining eighteenth-century events in

Calaix: “In the case of droughts, the most common attempt to alleviate a disaster would

be a petitionary procession, sometimes called a rogativa, to a local chapel or district

shrine. These processions sought help from saints who had shown their intercessory

powers in the past.”304 In Calaix, Maldà describes Barcelona’s continued petition to

Saint Eulalia, the city’s long-time patron (or rather matron) saint:

303 See Christian, Local Religion, pp.20-24. Christian describes how Spanish local religion was such that divine-human relations were experienced as contact between communities and their saints (or the divine) rather than individuals and the divine. This corporate characteristic of Spanish local religion gives way to the religion of individuals by the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 304 Christian, Local Religion, p.63.

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The thirteenth of May, 1778: The Illustrious Cathedral Chapter and clergy go in procession from the cathedral at four o’clock in the afternoon to the church of the Capuchin fathers, carrying the body of the Holy Matron [Eulalia] because of the urgent need for rain, with the attendence of our city council, going along in said procession of petition [Pregaria] the Image of Holy Christ of the Blood with the Confraternity members and prohoms [prominent Lords] of the Confraternities. While going to look for the Glorious Saint [Eulalia], the drummers on horseback did not go in the procession nor did the music of the City and the Hawks…. On the twenty-ninth of May, 1778, they returned the body of the glorious Holy Matron [Eulalia] in procession to the Capuchins’ [church] at nine in the morning, having sung the Te Deum before very solemnly with the chime of the three big bells of the Cathedral in thanksgiving to God on High for the desired rain, etc.305 (emphasis mine) Rogation or petitionary processions are vivid illustrations of lay piety, but Calaix

also narrates other processions that occurred annually. The most celebrated processions

in Barcelona were linked to the holy days of “Holy Week” (Setmana Santa) leading to

Easter and those of Corpus Christi (eight days celebrated eight weeks after Easter).

While not as extensive as those of Seville, Barcelona’s processions of Setmana Santa

(specifically those Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday) were important in

local religious life as the holidays surrounding the high point in the Christian calendar—

the resurrection of Christ.

Palm Sunday begins Holy Week. The biblical event was of the “triumphal entry”

of Jesus in Jerusalem as onlookers waved and laid down palm branches in his path to

honor him, and so the commemoration of this event each year involves palm branches.

305 “Dia 13 de maig de 1778: anà l’Illre. Capítol i clero en professó des de la catedral a quatre hores de la tarda a la iglésia de pares Caputxins, per dur-se’n lo cos de santa Matrona, per la urgent necessitat de pluja, ab assistència del nostre ajuntament, anant a la dita Profeso de Pregaria la Imatge del Sant Christo de la Sanch ab los Confrares y Proms [sic] de las Confrarias, al anar a buscar la Gloriosa Santa, no hi anaban los timbalers a caball, ni la musica de la Ciutat y del Cegos … Dia 29 de maig de 1778 tornaren en professó als Caputxins a les nou hores del matí lo cos de la gloriosa santa Madrona, havent-se cantat abans molt solemne lo Te Deum, ab toc de les tres campanes grosses de la Seu, en acció de gràcias a l’Altíssim Déu de la desitjada pluja, etc.” (Emphasis mine). Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.68. Another rogation procession for rain is recorded in the original manuscript on 22-25 April 1780 (fol.191-2).

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As in other Catholic regions, Barcelona’s celebration of Palm Sunday begins with the

“benediction” or blessing of the palms by the bishop at the door of the cathedral.

Bringing palm branches that serve throughout the coming year as symbol of divine

protection for the family, masses of parishioners come for the event. Maldà explains the

event in 1777: “the palms and branches are blessed, those which later …are put in high

places such as the belfry of the Cathedral, the Pi, Sant Just, etc., and also in many roofs of

houses, balconies, terraces, and windows, for the blessed palms being appropriated in the

cause against lighting and hail.”306 Soon after the blessing of the palms the procession

starts. From 1770-1775, however, this procession along with all of those of Holy Week

were prohibited by royal decree (the pragmática verbo professons). Thus, in 1776 when

the processions resume for the first time on Palm Sunday, Maldà relates how “the people

that came to see it, principally from outside of the city, were a great number since the

said Processions had been suspended since the year 1770.”307 But what had changed to

allow for the resumption? The most explicit and important guideline by “Superior

Order” (royal pragmatic) was that the processions finish before sunset—this in order to

prevent mischief (escandols, qüentos, or quimeras in Maldà’s words on Palm Sunday,

1779) in the city streets that might be caused by so many people “on vacation”

celebrating all day with lots of eating and especially drinking. But an additional change

306 “En est dia se beneeixen los rams I palmes, los que, luego de beneits al dematí en les iglesies, se posen en parts altes, com són en los campanars de la Seu, del Pi, Sant Just, etc, I també en moltes de les torratxes de cases, en balcons, terrats I finestres, per ser apropiats los llorers I palmes beneides contra los llamps I pedra.” Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.57 (23 III 1777). 307 “La Gent que la anaren a veurer, principalment de fora, fou en gran numero ab lo motiu de la Suspensio hi havia de las ditas Profesons desde lo any 1770.” AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A, 31 III 1776 (fol.44).

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Maldà recorded was that the penitencies and disciplinats were missing. (These were men

who flagellated themselves in processions but were now forbidden by the king to do so

publicly in processions throughout Spain—somewhat of a royal offensive against

Baroque piety.)

For an idea of what these processions would have looked like, it is impossible to

create a complete picture since after all these were performances which, even though

performed annually, were never quite the same. What can be gathered is that they were

extensive. Maldà notes that just the men of congregations numbered 180 in the Palm

Sunday procession in 1777, and the procession’s trajectory started next to the Cathedral,

went around it, crossed over to the Born neighborhood, down to the Captain General’s

palace, and back to the Cathedral.308 As in all processions in eighteenth-century

Barcelona, the participants were almost always men, either clerics or confraternity or

congregation members. In Palm Sunday of 1782, Maldà states that this year the

congregants would not be walking barefoot, a change from other years:

The twenty-fourth of March, 1782, Palm Sunday, the sparkling Procession of Holy Week occurred in the [church of] Good Success with the greatest devotion in all the individuals, mostly those Congregants and the regular clergy of the Comunity of Servitas, singing the Stabat Mater [Stable Mother]. Even though in the morning it rained a little bit, the sky cleared toward mid-day and continues to clear all afternoon and night, enabling said Procession to take place; if because of the cold it becomes late, the congregants who carry cross and chain will not go barefoot. People of each sex, of all Classes, ages, and conditions inundated all the streets and squares of the City where the Procession was due to pass, and no fewer [number of people] in the balconies of the houses, windows, and store fronts. The same day printed papers have gone out that narrate all of the Sunday Procession and the stations of each mystery, disseminating many [such papers] whose profit will serve the maintainance of the Hospice, having once again collected the Poor

308 Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.57 (23 III 1777).

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Beggars on the twenty-second of March by superior order having gone out on stamped Papers that were presented to the Public.309

While there is some description of the procession (crosses, chains, the representation of

the “mysteries”), the majority of the passage pertains to the crowds, conveying the image

of city streets and windows overflowing with onlookers to see this worthy event.

The processions of Maundy Thursday were to commemorate the biblical event of the

Lord’s Supper and Jesus’ arrest later that evening. Since the event was not the jubilant

triumphal entry of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday’s processions were more solemn. In

the description that follows, the references focus on the linen covering the coffin, the

“Holy Sepulchre,” and black costumes. There is no mention of the crowd.

In the Procession of Maundy Thursday, first goes renewed the Pass of the Lord’s Supper with the tomb [coffin]. The Apostles newly dressed, Seated, and in addition finely guilded with a lot of carving, etc. The pass of the Holy Skeleton that Holiest Mary carried in her arms, [Mary’s head] surrounded by a beautiful sun, no more fit because of the embroidery on the drape of the tomb, tassels and some Silver Vases; how much the rest of the Procession was like in past years, only that the main body of the Reverent Community of Chaplains of the Pi went behind the Holy Sepulchre and four chaplains behind [that] without their altar boys as [they had] in the past. The confraternity brothers of the Blood will not take communion in the service of Maundy Thursday in the Parish Church, dressed in vests and Whigs with lines of curls as before, with black robes, etc.310

309 “Dia 24 de Mars de 1782, Diumenge de Rams, se feu la Profeso lluhida de la Semana Santa en el Bon Succes ab la major devocio en tots sos Individuos, majorment dels Congregants y Comunitat dels Religiosos Servitas, cantant lo Stabat Mater. Encara que al demati plogue un poquet, se serena lo cel, enves mitgdia y continua la serenitat en tota la tarde y nit per poder ferse dita Profeso, si be que a causa del fret esdevingue tarda, no anaren ab peus descalsos los congregants que portaban creu y cadena. De gent de un y altre sexo de totas Clases, edats, y condicions abundaba en tots los carrers y plazas de la Ciutat per las que devia pasar la Profeso y no menos en los balcons de las casas, finestras, y portals de botigas. Item han eixit papers impresos que narran tota la Profeso del Diumenge y los estaments de cada misteri, despatxantse’n molts y son lucro serveix per la manutencio del Hospici, haventse altre vegada recullits als Pobres Mendigos dia 22 de Mars ab ordre superior havent eixit Papers estampats que ho fan present al Public.” AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 24 III 1782 (fol.230). 310 En la Profeso del Dijous Sant ana ab ataud y renovat lo Pas de la Cena del Senyor primerosament. Vestits de nou los Apostols, Asientos, y demes dorat de primor ab molta escultura, etc. Lo pas de la Santa Espina que portaba Maria Santissima en sas mans, rodeada de un hermosisim veril o sol, no cabia mes per la brodadura del drap del Ataud; borlas y uns primorosos Gerros de Plata; en quant a lo demes de la Profeso fou com en los demes anys, si sols que lo major cos de la Rt Comunitat de Capellans del Pi anaba detras del Sant Sepulcre y quatre Capellans al devant sense los escolans com antiguament. Los Confrares de la Sang

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Besides solemnity, richness is another aspect of the procession. For the

confraternity annually performing the Thursday processions, the Confraternity of the

Sang, its members all wore traditional vests and wigs with neat rows of curls. In 1779,

Maldà records 201 men of the brotherhood and that the new costumes for the Roman

captain and his soldiers (capità manaya i los armats) “must have cost 1000 [Catalan]

pounds.” 311 As mentioned above, processions were an opportunity for the confraternities

to display their religious devotion by means of lavish presentations. While in one sense

these lavish displays symbolize the depth of their religious devotion, they were also ways

for confraternities to demonstrate their status amongst others.

Plate 3.5: The “capità manaya i los armats”312

On Good Friday, the day commemorating Christ’s crucifixion, the Confraternity

of Jesus of Nazareth annually held processions. As the members were mainly of the

no combregaren en lo ofici del Dijous Sant en la Parroquial Iglesia, vestits ab vesta y Perucas ab Cayrell com abans, si que ab casacas negres, etc. AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 27 III 1777 (fol.82). 311 “se diu haver costat 1000tt.” AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 22 III 1779 (fol.154-5).

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nobility, the participation of nobles and the high ceremony of the affair is evident. In

1776, Maldà writes that the Marqués d’Alfarràs held the picture of Christ and lists five

new nobles as other participants, one being a son of the Intendent Castaños (the governor

reporting to the king), along with five or six new dragoons (soldiers).313 In 1777, the

military element of the procession is even more pronounced:

…said Procession of Jesus of Nazareth consisted of many soldiers who form it and principally the Body of Spanish Guards, all carrying torches in their hands, accompanying the Sacred Image of the redeemer which goes at the end of a Mystery of the Tomb is a Painting serving as a [congregation] Flag at the front of the Procession and a Banner before the music of the Palace and community of Regular clergy, being the Image of Jesus of Nazareth that they carry from the pole the same one that they venerate in his Altar.314

From the words of Maldà, an onlooker would immediately notice the wealth and nobility

of the processants. But in case one was unaware, the commentary found in Calaix

advertises the nobility’s expense in showing their religious devotion. In 1784:

On Good Friday in the morning was the Procession of Jesus of Nazareth of the Church of the Discalced Trinitarian Fathers with the same sparkling show of Torches and number of Congregants dressed in purple with tall, pointed caps. The properly dressed [Roman] soldiers going in front of the Procession [hanging] from the Pole the Sacred Image of the Redeemer with the rich vestments that were made at the expense of the excellent Marquesa of Penyafiel. (emphasis mine)315

312 APP, Section: Confraries, Sang, “Notes Històriques de la Reial i Il.lustre Arxiconfraria de la Puríssima Sang.” 313 AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A, 5 IV 1776 (fol.46-7). 314 “…consistia la dita Profeso de Jesus Nazareno ab molts militars que la componían y prinicpalment del Cos de Guardias Espanyolas, portant tots atxa en la ma, acompanyant a la Sagrada Imatge del redemptor que va al ultim en un Misteri de Ataud va un Quadro a manera de Guió al devant de la Profesó y un Pendò devant de la musica del Palau y comunitat de Religiossos, sent la Imatge de Jesus Nazareno que portan sota talam, la mateixa que se venera en son Altar.” “…consistia la dita Profeso de Jesus Nazareno ab molts militars que la componían y prinicpalment del Cos de Guardias Espanyolas, portant tots atxa en la ma, acompanyant a la Sagrada Imatge del redemptor que va al ultim en un Misteri de Ataud va un Quadro a manera de Guió al devant de la Profesó y un Pendò devant de la musica del Palau y comunitat de Religiossos, sent la Imatge de Jesus Nazareno que portan sota talam, la mateixa que se venera en son Altar.” Ibid, 28 III 1777 (fol.82-3). 315 “Lo Divendres Sant se feu al demati l Profesó de Jesus Nazareno de la Iglesia de Pares Trinitaris Descalsos ab lo mateix lluhiment de Atxas y numero de Congregants vestits de morat ab Cucurulla. Anant

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Corpus Christi is the feast of the body of Christ and is held on the Thursday after

Trinity Sunday—the first Sunday after Pentecost, instituted to honor the Trinity—

celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church to commemorate the institution of the Eucharist

(or “Lord’s Supper”). The “feast” or holiday continues until the next Thursday, and in

the city of Barcelona, since 1319, these eight days have been known for their processions

and extravagant floats and figures in them. As the city’s guide to its holidays and

festivals reads,

…the procession of Corpus gave origin to the majority of para-theatrical performances, dances, music and mythical figures that are actually one of the main sources for all the festive celebrations in Catalonia and in Barcelona. It is necessary to keep in mind that until the end of the nineteenth century the gegants [giants], dragons, devils, and other farces [interludes] only appeared in the Corpus procession. …Corpus, in its original complex structure, has another important expressive element complimenting the processions which are the woven palm branches, the construction of carpets made of flowers, and the decoration [adornment] of the streets.316

This is what Dorothy Noyes has described as “performances of facade.”317 The most

renowned figures are the gegants, or “giants” who reach around 12 feet in height and

resemble different figures in Catalan history.

los Armats propriament vestits al devant de la Profesó y sota del Talam la Sagrada Imatge del Redemptor ab la riquisima vestidura feu fer a sas expensas la exma Marquesa de Penyafiel.” (emphasis mine) Ibid, 9 IV 1784 (fol.322). 316 “…la processó del Corpus es van originar la majoria de representacions parateatrals, balls, músiques i figures mítiques que actualment són una de les bases de totes les celebracions festives a Catalunya i a Barcelona. Cal tenir present que fins a la fi del segle XIX els gegants, dracs, diables, i altres entremesos només sortien a la processó del Corpus. … El Corpus, en la seva complexa estructura inicial, té un altre element expressiu important complementari de les processons, que són les enramades, la construcció de catifes de flors i el guarniment de carrers.” Jordi Pablo, Les Festes de Barcelona (Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona-Random House Mondadori, 2003): pp.72-73. 317 Dorothy Noyes, Fire in the plaça: Catalan festival politics after Franco (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003).

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Plate 3.6: Photo of the Gegants of King Jaume I and His Queen

The actual processions these figures belonged to are described in Calaix de

Sastre. The general schedule was for Thursday, the day of Corpus Christi, an afternoon

procession around the Cathedral; Friday afternoon, around the parish church of Sant

Jaume; Saturday afternoon, around the parish church of Sant Miquel; Sunday morning,

the procession of the Hospital General, and in the afternoon, those of Santa Maria del

Mar, the church of Santa Catarina dels estudiants, and the parish of the Pi; Monday

afternoon, those of the Trinitats Calsats de Santa Monica, of the Mother of God of la

Mercè, and of the Palace; Tuesday morning, that of the church of Sant Miquel of the

Barceloneta, and in the afternoon those of St. Francisco de Paula and St. Cugat;

Wednesday afternoon, those of St. Agustí, the parish of Sants Just i Pastor, of the

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Capuchins (inside their cloister), and that of St. Francesch outside the city walls; and

Thursday, the last day of Corpus, in the morning, the procession of St. Pere and in the

afternoon, no processions except those outside of the walls of the churches of Carme and

Bonsucces. The celebrations of Corpus stretched to every last inch of the city and were a

spectacle for all people, rich or poor to enjoy. Maldà compares the amount of axes and

banners as well as their respective lengths when commenting on these processions. His

tone emotes the beauty and impressive visual image that the festivities provided:

The Churches of nuns and of other regulars of the reform each hold their own procession during the eight days [of Corpus], being of all the referred to processions the longest ones after that of the Cathedral. They are so concerning the number of Flags of the Guilds of Barcelona, the Procession of the Hospital, of Saint Peter, Saint Monica, etc. And the number of torches in addition to the many flags: those of Saint Augustine, Carmen, and the rest. …The official Banners of each Parish go before the Procession of the Cathedral.318

The next year 1777, Maldà’s description was much more intricate on the appearance on

the streets and the bustle of people crowding them. Just as important as the streets were

the chapels and processions central to the celebration of the last day of Corpus.

On Thursday, the Eighth day of Corpus, the Procession of Saint Peter occurs in the morning. And throughout the course of it there was a large gathering of people of each sex because of the show every year in the two streets of New Gate/lower Saint Peter [parish], part of the highest and lowest streets of Indianas. Various exquisite fabrics of handkerchiefs and scarves as well as cotton clothes, etc. adorn the balconies and walls of the area at the top; below, awnings for shading the sun from one or the other house; Chapels finely adorned, some compete with others, especially the Chapel of Vilaró that has exquisite Images [de barro] in the Lowest Street of Saint Peter where there was a lot to repair, etc. In the afternoon, the Processions of [the Church] of Carmen and of Good Success occurred. Also on such day the procession of the Capuchins occurred at three in the afternoon, that which left outside the Rambla up to [the Rambla] of the

318 “En las Iglesias de monjas y de altres religiosos de la reforma fan dins de la Octava sa profesó, sent de totas las referidas las mes llargas despues de la de la Seu. Son pues en lo tocant al numero de las Banderas dels Gremis de Barcelona La Profeso del Hospital, St Pere, Santa Monica, etc. Y en quant al numero de atxas ames de las moltas vanderas: Las de St. Agusti, Carme, y demes. …Los Ganfarons de cada Parroquia van al devant de la Profesó de la Seu.” AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A, 6 VI 1776 (fol.52-3).

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Comedies where naturally there would be a Chapel. Another Chapel was decorated there…. All the Churches had a procession for it being the Eight days of Corpus. 319

While there is no specific mention of the gegants, they were present for certain in the

Corpus processions. As Maldà relates, by 1780 an order of the Court eventually

prohibited Gegants and other such figures in Corpus processions throughout all of

Spain.320 And so in the Corpus Christi celebration of 1781, Maldà speaks of the

improvisations or substitutions for the figures. The substitutions were either wax figures

or real people in costume, but all mentioned were biblical figures. The processions tell a

story or instruct the people about the meaning of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

In the lower floors of the House of the Duke of Sessa on Ample [Wide] Street, some finely-made wax Figures are shown of Christ in front of House of [the high priest] Caifas and another separate piece of the denial of Saint Peter, both made by a Catalan, from eight in the morning until one and from eight at night until ten o’clock. …The Gegants remaining prohibitted in the Processions of Corpus in this year of 1781 according to the order of the Court. They have added to the Procession of the Cathedral in this most Solemn Festivity twelve priests with which represent Melquisadic, twelve Deacons, and twelve vice-deacons in place of the Apostles and kings before because of the commotion started by most of the People. …[the fine of] four pesetas for any individual that went closed to the Guard House under the direction of the two regidors Don Francisco Novell and Don Cayetano Molinas who have the duty [of guarding] of the Gegants.321

319 “Lo Dijous, Octava del Corpus, se feu al mati la Profeso de Sant Pere. Y en tot lo curs de ella hi hague gros aplech de gent de un y altre sexo per causa del aparato de tots los anys en los 2 carrers del Portal nou = Basas de Sant Pere; part dels Carrers mes alt y mes baix de Indianas; Varias telas esquisitas de mocadors com tambe cotonadas etc, guarnits los balcons y parets de ellas de dalt; baix; velas per tapar al sol de una a altre de sas casas; Capellas primorosament adornadas unas a competencia de altras, especialment la de un tal Vilaró que treballa Imatges de barro esquisitas en lo Carrer mes baix de Sant Pere ahont hi havia molt que reparar, etc. En la tarde se feren las Profesons del Carme y del Bonsuccess. Tambe la dels Caputxins en tal diada se feu a las 3 horas de la tarde, la que isque fora a la Rambla fins a las Comedias ahont naturalment hi hauria una Capella. Altra Capella hi havia guarnida…. En totas las Iglesias la feren per ser Octava del Corpus.” Ibid, 5 V 1777 (fol.87-89). 320 “Ha vingut ordre de la Cort de la Prohibició dels Gegants y altres Figurons en los pasos de las Profesons del Corpus per tota Espanya (Axi se diu).” Ibid, 1 XI 1780 (fol.200-1). 321 “En los baxos o entresuelos de la Casa del Duc de Sessa en lo Carrer Ample se ensenyan unas Figuras de cera primorosisimas de Christo en lo Pretori de Cayfas y en altre Peza separada la negació de Sant Pere, fetas per un Català, desde las 8 horas del mati fins a la una y desde las 8 de la nit fins a 10 horas. … Quedant prohibits los Gegants en las Profesons de Corpus en est any de 1781 segons ordre de la Cort. Se

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While these major Catholic holidays of Easter and Corpus Christi as well as

Christmas are not unique to the local religion in the city of Barcelona, the passages and

points above attempt to spell out the local flavor of these universal religious holidays.

Besides these festes, the local religion of Barcelona included the celebration of various

saints’ days. For instance, days such as those of saints Steven and Anthony the Abbott

were specifically linked to major confraternities in the city. The seminary of Barcelona

celebrated the day of Thomas Aquinas (in late May or early June depending on the year)

with two consecutive days of special masses (after 1772 in the Church of Bethlehem)—

led by seminary students with music and sermons that a fair amount of people

attended.322 On the day of Saint Paul (January 25), the church of St. Felip Neri hosted the

cathedral choir and staged the drama of The Conversion of Saul.323 Other days such as

that of St. Sebastian or St. Eulalia were linked instead to the city as a whole and

celebrated by everyone. Many of these festes were linked to a vow that the city had made

to the particular saint. As Christian explains,

The vows of annual observance were made either when all previous devotions had been exhausted as a kind of invitation to a new saint to take interest in the town, or else after a saint, through a patent demonstration of interest in the town (by signs or responses to processions) showed that he or she would like to set up this kind of long-term relationship. A vow entailed a perpetual commitment of time and resources, and it was not entered into lightly.324

han anyadit a la Profeso de la Seu en tal Solemnisisma Festivitat 12 Presbiteros ab lo que figuraba Melquisedec, 12 Diacas, y 12 Subdiacas en lloch del Apostolat y dels reys abans, per lo bullici infundia a la mes de la Gent. …dexadas de las Parroquias per tal lloable fi 4 pesetas a quiscun de estos Individuos que anaban cerca de la Custodia a direccio dels 2 regidors Dn Francisco Novell y Don Cayetano Molinas que tenian la incumbencia dels Gegants.” Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.215-6 (13 VI 1781). 322 See AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 18 V 1776 (fol.51); 15 V 1779 (fol.159); 1-2 VI 1783 (fol.258). 323 Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.84 (25 I 1780). 324 Christian, Local Religion, p.66.

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Barcelona had made such vow to Saint Sebastian, celebrating his day (20 January)

every year, because he had helped the city against the plague (his well-known specialty)

many years back. “Because it being a day of grand Gala, there is turrat [different kinds

of taffy and fudge] in the St. Sebastian Square and in the afternoon a glittering parade of

Coaches. Being a vow of the city from the times of the Plague, every year this day in the

morning, the two illustrious bodies—the city Council and the clergy of the cathedral

Chapter—gather in a procession from the Cathedral to the Church of the Fathers of St.

Sebastian which faces Encants.”325 In this day then, the administrative clergy of the

diocese and the city council as “two bodies” came together in procession to honor the

vow the city (as a civic and religious entity) had made.

In the eighteenth century, the most important saint’s day in the city of Barcelona

was that of Saint Eulalia, the patron saint of the city. This female martyr lived and died

in fourth-century Spain, and her body (or relics) is buried under the altar of the Cathedral.

In times of drought it was not uncommon for the city to take out her relics (her tomb) to

use in a rogation procession, calling upon her to intercede with God for rain. Since her

day (February 12) some years falls close to or coincides with Carnival, the way in which

Barcelona observed her day changed from year to year. In 1785, Maldà describes it as

follows:

On the day before that of the Glorious Patron Saint of Barcelona, Saint Eulalia, according to the custom of every year, solemn morning masses are sung in the Cathedral, and the Lord Bishop not having stopped in the drawing room of the Presbytery indicates that he does not intend to celebrate tomorrow the “Pontifical”

325 “…Per conseguent dia de gran Gala hi ha turrat en la Plaza de Sant Sebastia y en la tarde lluhida rua de Coches. Per tal dia al demati tos Anys assisteixen en Profesó los dos Illres Cosos—Capitol y Ajuntament—desde la Seu a la Iglesia de Pares de Sant Sebastia devant dels Encants per ser vot de Ciutat del temps de la Pesta.” AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A, 20 I 1785 (fol. 364).

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[service]. The following day of the Glorious Patron Saint Eulalia the Illustrious Cathedral Chapter entered first at seven o’clock in the morning… Despite not having the “Pontifical” [service] because the day falls again on the first Saturday of Lent, and vespers were sung… In the afternoon at three-thirty the complete songs were sung and at four o’clock the songs that are sung on all Saturdays of Lent in Chapel of Saint Eulalia, finishing the Holy Day with an Oratorio service and Songs of Joy to the Glorious Barcelonese Saint….326 One saint’s day observance that Maldà is silent on is that of the Mother of God of

Mercy (Mare de Deu de la Mercè) on September 24. While the Council of One Hundred

elected her as a patron of the city in 1687, it is not until after 1870 that organized

celebrations in the city appear. (Today La Mercè remains the patron of the diocese and

her day has become the “festa major” of Catalonia.)327 But besides the saints of the city

and of confraternities, Maldà has other comments on various saints, linked either to a

particular neighborhood or church of the city, or in the case of Saint George (Sant Jordi)

to the entire “nation” of Catalonia. Maldà mentions in 1785 that this Catalan patron

saint’s day (April 23) found people in both the cloister of the cathedral (the location of

his chapel and fountain) and the judges’ chambers of the royal courts (Reial Audiència)

as well as circling the table of toasted bread in front of the Audiencia.328 On the day of

the Holy Cross (Santa Creu), Calaix contains an interesting detail about common

326 “En la vigilia de la Gloriosa Patrona de Barcelona, Sta Eularia, segons consuetut de tos los Anys, se cantaren solemnes matinas en la Catedral y no haventse parat lo estrado al Sr Illm en lo Presbiteri indica no tenir intencio de celebrar dema de Pontifical. Lo endema dia de la Gloriosa Patrona Sta Eularia entra lo Illre Capitol a prima a 7 horas del mati… no obstant de no haverhi Pontifical respecte recaurer la diada en lo primer disabte de Quaresma y comensarse a cantar las vespres antes del dinar, segons rubrica. En la tarde a 2 quarts de 4 se cantaren completas y a las 4 las que se cantan en tots los dissabtes de Quaresma, baix a la Capella de Sta Eularia, finint la Festa ab Oratori y Goigs de la Gloriosa Sta Barcelonesa, proseguint lo tretsenari ab lo mateix lluhiment dels demes anys ab ofici ab tota la musica, menos en los diumenges dins del tretsentari y oratori y Goigs en la tarde.” Ibid, 11&12 II 1785 (fol.368-9). 327 See Pablo, Les Festes de Barcelona, pp. 42 &158. 328 Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.143 (23 IV 1785).

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activities of children and teenagers that questions the amount of religious devotion behind

them:

The first day of May and the day of the Holy Cross, every year little lads and boys are accustomed to begging and bothering those that pass through the streets of Barcelona for a small coin for the Holy Cross, saying: “You, galant lord, you who has the face of a diamond.” Other youths of fourteen, seventeen, and eighteen, on one of these Sundays in May (I do not know which) on top of the city wall made of Earth, towards Saint Anthony [neighborhood], these girls crashing into those that pass by with excessive freedom, except for priests and people of authority in the city.329

On a more regular basis, Maldà describes the “fair” of St. Thomas Apostle (December

21) in the (middling to upper-class) Born neighborhood and the nearby Esplanada. Since

the saint was a missionary to India, the fair showcased the sale of chickens and “Indian

roosters” (turkeys in the English language) that would serve as the main course in

Christmas dinners. Artisans sold their goods in the streets, store-owners put painted or

otherwise more exquisite fabrics in their store windows, as did the shoe-makers, hat-

makers, and glove & stocking vendors showcase their most fashionable products. The

picture of Barcelona society is one of a bustling market place and, as in the passage that

follows, of people leisurely strolling about:

The day of Saint Thomas the Apostle, being every year the appointed fair of Barcelona, mostly of turkeys for eating them in the upcoming holy days of Christmas. ...everyone can go to buy chicken and turkeys in the Born and the Esplanada. Many people go to take a stroll and see them arranged, and the artisans to bring their merchandise to the doors of the boutiques, each one according to their line of work. For knowing: the Hat-makers, a collection of Hats; the shoe-makers, their shoes and other Leather goods; the stocking-makers, their fine silk stockings and other artifacts, etc. The turkeys and chickens remain

329 “Dia u de maig, i per la diada de Santa Creu, acostumen minyonets i nois tots anys captar i molestar als que passen per los carrers de Barcelona, per lo dineret per Santa Creu, dient: <<Vostè, senyor galant, vostè que tè cara de diamant>>. Altres minyons de 14, 17 i 18, en un d’estos diumenges de maig (no sé si lo segon) dalt a la muralla de Terra, envers Sant Antoni, ab summo desahogo, les tals xicotes, envestint als que passen, menos eclesiàstics i persones autorisades en la ciutat.” Ibid, p.133 (1 V 1784).

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in different quantities in the Esplanada here and there. The women, men, and children with long canes, like the lord parish priests when they teach Christian doctrine to the children of the masses. The People were of all classes, ages, and conditions on this morning, boiling over into the Streets of Moncada, square of the Moscas, Born, and Esplanada, which made sense since it was sunny and the sky clear with little wind [a quatuor ventis]. (emphasis mine)330

The city of Barcelona did not limit itself to celebrating only these days, and

Calaix de Sastre includes other saint’s day celebrations. Yet the above-mentioned

celebrations paint the wide range of saint’s day observances, exceeding the limits of

processions and mass. Calaix shows us a festive Barcelona, devoted religiously and

monetarily to commemorating religious holidays and saints.

Except for the nobility, Calaix de Sastre provides little information on how

people observed the sacraments. One cannot discern if masses are being attended by the

populace at large or if parishioners are working on Sundays. As Maldà is a noble, he

highlights the religiosity of the nobility, mentioning their attendance in mass, the

formality of their marriage ceremonies331, and the affairs of their funerals (e.g., the size of

their tombstones332). Because of his privileged status, he was a first-hand observer at

many of these events and so describes them. Silent on any “public” festivities related to

330 “Sant Tomàs Apòstol. Sent tots els anys la nomenada fira de Barcelona, majorment dels indiots per menjar-se en les venideres festes de Nadal …tothom poqué anar a comprar al Born i Esplanada polles i galls d’indi. Moltíssims a passejar i veurer-los concertar, i la menestralia treure ses mercaderies a les portes de les botiques, cada qual de son ofici. A saber: los Sombrerers, copia de Sombreros; los Sabaters sas sabatas y demes Cordovans; los Mitgers sas bonas mitjas de seda y demes artefactos, etc. Divertia a quants passaven pels carrers i places tanta varietat de mercancies. Los galls i polles quedaven en manades diferents en l’Esplanada, aquí i allí. Les dones, homes, i minyons, ab canyes llargues, com los senyors rectors quan ensenyen la doctrina cristiana a la quitxalla del poble. La Gent era de tota clase, edat, y condicio que bullia pels Carrers de Moncada, Plaseta de las Moscas, Born, y Esplanada, en tall mati en efecte plausible pues que feya sol y lo cel sere a quatuor ventis.” (emphasis mine) Ibid, 21 XII 1782 (p.98). For other descriptions, see also 21 XII 1778 (pp.73-4) and 21 XII 1784 (pp.139). 331 For example, Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, pp. 78-9 (15-16 VI 1779). 332 For example, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A, 25 IV 1780.

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Carnival, Maldà details the masquerade balls in several houses of the nobility,

distinguishing between first, second, and third class nobles, and other parties in those of

tradesmen (middling classes) reported with less interest.

In this carnaval, the number of private parties certainly arrives at ninety, being the most noted that of the lords and ladies that gather at the Alòs house, adjacent to the Ferran house—and they enter in up to more or less twenty-two houses—and that of those who go out, towards the Regomir [area], where there are also some lords [and ladies] gathered, but more of the second- or third-rank [of nobility]. The remainder of the private parties pertain to the artisans [middle-class]. (emphasis mine)333

From Maldà’s words, it also seems that nobility were privy to loans of images and relics

inside their homes. On January 17, 1784, attending morning mass at the cathedral, the

countess of Peralada with her “glimmering train, returned the image [de bulto] of St.

Eulalia, that she had had in her house for the duration of her illness, to the Cathedral by

means of her carriage.”334 On the basis of Calaix’s accounts, one could convincingly

argue that the ability to participate fully in Catholic activities such as mass, processions,

and festes was based on privilege, class, or social standing. In short, external expressions

of religious devotion (i.e., local religious practices) necessitated a certain amount of

economic well-being or social status. It seems even rural parishioners met this pre-

requisite while some of the city fell short during Holy Week:

Generally on all the Streets and even more so on those of the Arrabals, having arrived, as in every year, a lot of People from outside to look at monuments and see the Processions: on these two days of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday,

333 “En aquest carnaval, de saraus particulars en Barcelona arriben a ben segur a noranta, sent lo de mes nomenada lo de senyors i senyores [que] concorren a casa Alòs, al costat de casa Ferran—i entren fins al número poc mes o menos 22 cases—i lo dels marxants, envers lo Regomir, aon hi concorren també alguns senyors, pero mes del segon i tercer rang. Los restants saraus son de menestrals.” (emphasis mine) Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.66 (20 II 1778). 334 “l’Exma. Sra. Condesa de Peralada ab son lluit tren, tornant a la Seu dins de sa carrossa a la imatge de bulto de santa Eularia que tenia en sa casa en lo discurs de sa malaltia.…” Ibid, p.130 (17 I 1784).

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they find husbands accompanying their wives and more of the artisans and Peasants: The Coach-drivers dress as artisans, leaving them free since coaches are not running, except the carts for the work [of] the poor People, etc. (emphasis mine)335

Conclusions

Barcelona in the eighteenth century had a strong Catholic identity. On saints’

days, high holy days of the Christian calendar, and through lay groups such as

confraternities and congregations, the poble of Barcelona expressed their Catholic

devotion. In Calaix de Sastre, sincere Catholic faith abounded in the city of Barcelona,

but it was the only the middling and upper-classes that truly were able to observe all

religious celebrations since the peasants and urban poor could not afford the luxury of a

day off. Neither did they have privilege or an occupation that entered them into a

confraternity, guild, or congregation; they remain the onlookers that crowded the streets

for Maldà. Verified by both Calaix and “The Responses,” adhering to all the sacraments

and honoring holy days necessitated a certain amount of economic well-being that often

left the poor behind to work in the fields. In this sense religious life in Spain demarcated

lines of class, privilege, and social standing, and many communal religious gatherings

publicly indicated who could afford to participate fully in the Catholic Church. People

from the countryside frequently traveled into the city of Barcelona for religious

celebrations, especially Holy Week and Corpus, making it difficult for priests to know

the piety of their parishioners once they left their rural parishes (molts foresters i pagesos

335 “Generalment en tots los Carrers y mes en los dels Arrabals, havent arribat com en tots los Anys molt Gent de defora per seguir monuments, y veurer las Profesons: en estos 2 dias dijous y divendres sant, se troban als marits acompanyant a sas mullers y mes de la menestralia y Pagesos: Los Cocheros vesteixen com menestrals, dexant las libreas pues que no corren cotxes, except tals quals Carretas per lo treball, la pobre Gent, etc.” (emphasis mine) AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201 A, 25 III 1785 (fol.377).

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del pla de Barcelona336). What is clear from “The Responses” is that the expressions of

popular piety in the rural parts of the diocese were not always “orthodox” or consistent

enough with Catholic doctrine to please the clergy, even if the dances, processions, and

pilgrimages to rural shrines were all motivated by strong and long-standing religious

beliefs of parishioners. “To the reforming clergy, some of the traditional pieties of

Catholicism had become marginal—useful and aids to spirituality, but not central to the

faith, and in need of oversight. Processions, the cult of relics, and pilgrimages were

devotional exercises much loved by ordinary folk, so that censorious curés and ironical

philosophes were tempted to describe them as constituting their only religion.”337 And so

now it is to the ideas of the priests that we turn. By studying the beliefs and perspectives

of the clergy of Barcelona and their interactions with parishioners, we can form a more

complete evaluation of what role the church played in eighteenth-century Barcelonese

society.

336 “many outsiders/foreigners and peasants/farmers of the region of Barcelona” (Maundy Thursday, 1780), Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.87. Almost every year in Calaix de Sastre the description of Holy Week includes some reference to people “foreign” to the city coming in to see the processions. 337 McManners, 119.

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CHAPTER 4

PARISH PRIESTS AS PART OF THE POBLE IN BARCELONA

When discussing Barcelonese society, or the sense of community ingrained in the

term poble or pueblo (people) of Barcelona,338 it is the laity, whether nobles such as the

Baron de Maldà or confraternity members such as shoe-makers, that first comes to mind

rather than the priesthood. From poor to rich, common to noble, all were parishioners

and answered (ideally) to a parish priest who counted each person as a “sheep” in his

“flock.” While the previous chapter revealed what the Barcelona “flock” looked like in

the later eighteenth century, this chapter reveals the “shepherds” and how they fit in as

members of the same community. From the point of view of the clergy, the Church had

an ordained role and position in society, whether society took the form of large cities

such as Barcelona or rural villages and towns in the surrounding area. Yet, priests chose

different methods of implementing that role. Some brought varying degrees of religious

fervor to their work, and so to assume that the clergy is or was a monolithic entity acting

in unison is misleading. Partly depending on the type of priest he was and partly on his

theological (or even epistemological) orientation, a priest was not part of a homogeneous

body. And furthermore, politics within the Church frequently caused squabbles that kept

priests from their primary task of shepherding souls of the laity for Christ.

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The bulk of this chapter seeks to delineate the various differences that existed in

the clergy of eighteenth-century Barcelona—both in societal roles and in church politics.

The goal is to show how priests belonged (or did not belong) to the daily lives of

Barcelonese parishioners and what problems clergy commonly had with parishioners.

The picture resulting from this chapter is that the Church as an institution in Barcelona

was never capable of being an instrument of (religious) domination. Even if parish

clergy attempted to impose fines and religious mandates, their parishioners always found

avenues of resistence. Despite their sympathy with Bishop Climent’s enlightened desires

for increased education of the laity and for more uniformity in Sunday mass attendance,

the parish priests struggled to effect change in how Catholicism was practiced in front of

their own eyes.

By definition, parish priests were secular rather than regular clergy. Regular

clergy, for instance, emanated from various religious orders (e.g., Franciscans,

Dominicans, Jesuits, Benedictines) and lived by the regula or “rules” of the order’s

founder (e.g., Francis, Dominic, Ignatius, Benedict). On the other hand, secular clergy,

such as cathedral chapter clergy, parish priests, bishops, and archbishops, were so named

because they lived among the “sæculum” or lay people. They had a rigid hierarchy,

starting at the bottom with the lesser clergy of larger parishes who reported to the next

level, the parish priest, following upwards to the bishop, archbishop, a cardinal in Rome,

and then the pope. In rural and urban areas, secular clergy in the form of parish priests,

338 Most of the references in eighteenth-century documents mention the Ciutat i pla de Barcelona (city and region of Barcelona); poble and pueblo are used by parish priests when referring to their villages or communities.

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vicars, and bishops were the primary leaders of the local church and were responsible for

administering the Sacraments and providing religious education for their parishioners.

While in theory the pope handled all secular clergy appointments and

administered every last inch of the Catholic territory from Rome, the papacy had made

Spain an exceptional case. As a reward for its efforts in reconquering the Iberian

peninsula from the Muslims in the name of the Catholic church (the Reconquista), the

pope gave the crown of Spain the right of the Patronato Real. This “royal patronage”

was, in effect, a privilege of the crown over the secular clergy: the power to appoint the

majority of its secular clergy by nominating candidates to the pope who would all in

effect be loyal supporters of the Spanish monarchy.339 The privilege had lapsed under the

reigns of the last Habsburg monarchs in the seventeenth century, but the Concordat of

1753 between Pope Benedict XIV and Ferdinand VI restored it to the point that the

Spanish king controlled the appointments of all bishops, abbotts, etc., making the

Catholic Church in Spain subordinate first to the king and only second to the pope.

Sometimes secular clergy competed directly with regulars for influence over the

hearts of the laity and the Church in Spain overall. The most infamous conflict of

interests in eighteenth-century Spain was that between the Jesuit order (the Society of

Jesus) and the secular clergy as championed by the king of Spain, resulting in the order’s

339 The patronato real was even more important in the “New World” of the Americas where Spain was delivering millions of indigenous souls to the pope. In 1501, the king received the right to collect the clerical tithe, a portioning going to the Church while the Crown kept the rest. In 1508, the Crown gained the ability to offer three recommendations for all high appointments for clergy (all bishops) in the New World to the pope, and the pope would then choose from that list.

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expulsion in 1767.340 But such was the accumulated influence of the Jesuits in the realm

of learning—their presence in colegios and universities—and in the ministry—their

churches, convents, images, and other wealth—that the 1767 expulsion left the post-

Jesuit church in great need of reforms and a new epistemological breed of clerics to fill

the great vacancy left by the Jesuits. It is in this historical context that Bishop Climent

proposed to reform the clergy in Barcelona and to convene a diocesan synod there.

Since the sources see best the perspective of secular clergy, it is their story that is

discussed primarily, leaving the regular priests for later analysis in this chapter. For

parish priests, the resulting conclusion is that in both rural and urban areas they were less

important in practice than in theory. Compared to the local government—whether a

small town justice of the peace in the country or the capità general or Real Audiencia in

the city—parish priests perceived themselves to be in a position of little or no political

power in their proper localities. Denounced in the various eighteenth-century accounts,

this lack of co-operation from town leaders (secular justicia) in enforcing the law, such as

in keeping the Sabbath and prohibiting pre-marital co-habitation, left priests crying out in

desperation. The priests’ explanation of this lack of co-operation was that many times

the town leaders (justicia) were guilty of or touched by the same crimes which the priests

were trying to deter.

Parish priests also traditionally had problems with parishioners that related to the

collection of the tithe (or tenth of parishioner income), knowledge of church doctrine, and

the practice of church attendance. Rural and urban areas experienced these problems to

340 See Teófanes Egido Lopez and Isidoro Pinedo, Las Causas “Gravísimas” y Secretas de la Expulsión de los Jesuitas por Carlos III (Madrid: Fundación Universitaria Española, 1994).

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varying degrees. While in rural areas the parroco or rector’s main competition came

from rural chapels and shrines as well as from traveling to cities and other parishes for

sacraments, in the urban areas it came from the overabundance of priests as well as the

diversions city-life provided. The sources employed all concern the clergy and offer

unique perspectives on urban and rural parish life in Barcelona.

The Acta Synodorum Diocesanum Barcinonensium

Distinct from both “The Responses” and the Calaix de Sastre, the five volumes of

Acta Synodorum Diocesanum Barcinonensium (henceforth “synodal constitutions” or

“acts of synod”) demonstrate the issues pertinent to the Church between the sixteenth and

eighteenth centuries in the diocese of Barcelona.341 Decisions made in clerical

assemblies called “synods”, these synodal constitutions or “acts” are responses to

problems of priests and parishioners in the church of Barcelona. The constitutions as

written are normative in their language and represent the proposed solutions unanimously

approved by the bishop and parish priests after discussions of a problem area.

Unfortunately, the minutes of the synods do not include such discussions or the details of

the problems, and so the acts tell us some but not all of the “story” of what was occurring

at the time. On the other hand, the synodal constitutions do convey what issues were

important diocese-wide. Applied to the diocese as a whole, they convey the outlines of

341 ADB, Section: Sínodes. Acta Synodorum Diocesanum Barcinonensium celebratae, ab anno 1571 ad 1669. Vol.1 (The original cataloguer overlooked the inclusion of the 1566 synod’s minutes.) Las Constitucions Sinodals del Present Bisbat de Barcelona, Barcelona: s.n., 1673. 600 pp. Every synod after this one makes reference in the minutes to these constitutions, and Climent does as well in his pastoral letter of 26 May 1767, asking parish priests to read them in preparation for the synod he intended to convene. Synodi Diocaesanae Barcinone. Ab anno 1675 usque 1735 omnes inclusive; Synodi Diocesan de anny 1739, 1751 et 1755; the unpublished proceedings of the diocesan synod of 8-10 Feb 1751 (5 sessions held) by Bishop Emmanuel Lopez Aguirre, Sínodes, vols.3-5.

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what were both urban and rural problems. Written from the point of view of the clergy,

the acts of synod have a clerical bias that must be borne in mind when studying its picture

of local religion in early modern Barcelona and the priest’s place in it.

The five volumes containing the acts of 47 synods held from 1566-1755 form an

immense body of documentation—so immense that no one has attempted to study

Barcelona’s acts of synod en masse. While in his 1929 work the archivist of the

Diocesan Archive of Barcelona, Josep Sanabre, gave a brief history of each synod from

1566 through 1755 with some mention of acts passed, these accounts, while helpful,

serve as summary statements for each synod rather than a synthesis of the “synodality” or

culture of the diocesan church of Barcelona.342 When studied as a whole, the synodal

constitutions provide invaluable information about continuity and change in local

religious life in early modern Barcelona.

Thus, the acts of synod shed only an indirect light on popular piety because they

are normative rather than descriptive, telling us the goals or rules that the diocesan clergy

set for religious behavior but not the actual behavior or problem that they were meant to

rectify. They do, however, provide a view of the priests’ interaction with rural and urban

religious life (at least the issues in common) since the constitutions served as religious

laws or policies to be applied throughout the diocese. The conclusions on local religion

and the position of the priests at-large based on the synodal constitutions of the diocese of

Barcelona provide a synthesis of the rural and urban analyses, as well as showing how

Barcelona clergy saw their religious and societal role over the course of two centuries

(i.e., the culture of the Barcelona church).

342 Josep Sanabre, Los Sínodos en la diócesis de Barcelona (Barcelona: Fidel Rodríguez, 1929).

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Other Sources

“The Responses”, letters dated from the spring to the summer of 1767, represent

about 81% (168/207) of the parish priests of the diocese of Barcelona who wrote to

Bishop Climent about the (mis)education of their parishioners as well as problems they

saw within the clergy of Barcelona in order that Climent might better address them and in

preparation for the future synod.343 Most importantly, “The Responses” are letters in

which actual parish priests are speaking for themselves. Their words provide an excellent

source of information on their attitudes, or “fervor,” circa 1767 and in the aftermath of

the expulsion of the Jesuits. These attitudes towards their parishioners, the sacraments,

Christian doctrine, and towards other priests all work together to show the theological

and ecclesiological bents of parish priests and how they would have equated to allies or

opponents for Bishop Climent and his plan for reform in his own diocese.

Other documents also provide information on secular and regular priests and their

role in parish life among the poble of Barcelona. The notes or edicts recorded during the

bishop’s pastoral visitations communicate the issues the bishop and/or parish clergy

found most in need of correction in each parish.344 While not all parishes have recorded

edicts or directives in the notes on pastoral visitations, those that do exist shed light not

only on the bishop’s view of lay piety but also on his view of the clergy of the parish.

343 For the narrative of events in Climent’s episcopacy, see below in Chapter Five. For an explanation of the representation of parish priests, see above in Chapter Three. 344 ADB, section : Visites Pastorals. Seven Volumes: Visites Pastorals [of Bishop Manuel Lopez Aguirre] 1751, 1752, 1753, Vol. 81; Visitatio Eccles. Dieces. Barinon. Facta per Illustreimum Don Assensio Sales Barchinon Episcopiannis 1756, 1757, y 1758, Vol.82; Visitas Pastorales, Barcelona. (1770-1772) [by Bishop Josep Climent i Avinent], Vol.83 bis; Visites Pastorals, 1771 a 1774 [by Bishop Climent], Vol. 84; Visites Pastorals, 1771 a 1774 [by Bishop Climent], Vol. 85; Visites Pastorals, 1776 a 1778 [by Bishop Gavino de Valladares I Mena], Vol. 86; Visites Pastorals, 1778 [by Bishop Valladares], Vol. 87.

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Similar in nature to the “acts of synod”, the pastoral visitation notes are more normative

than descriptive of problem areas. In a comprehensive study of the eighteenth-century

Archdiocese of Tarragona, Barcelona’s neighbor to the south/southwest, Eugeni Perea

Simon takes the records of pastoral visitations there and from them draws conclusions

about the hierarchy of clergy within the parish, how priests regarded the parish church,

their masses and liturgical celebrations, the sacraments administered, their attitudes

towards popular devotions, and their knowledge of religion (theology, doctrine, how to

preach, evangelize, etc).345 This book demonstrates the extent to which pastoral

visitations can produce an image of society, and although they are not the visitation

records of the Barcelona diocese, their proximity in time and space to the records used in

this study make Perea Simon’s conclusions pertinent to discussion in this chapter.

In addition to the “acts of synod” of Barcelona, the “constitutions” of the

provincial council of Tarragona were referred to by parish priests in “The Responses.”

Compiled in Collectio novissima constitutionum provincialium tarraconensium, the acts

of Tarragona’s less frequent provincial councils provide insight into more universal

problems priests had with parishioners as well as into priests’ education/knowledge of the

Catalan church’s “constitution.”346 And finally, sermons are incorporated as they are also

the words of priests speaking for themselves. Both regular and secular clergy addressed

345 Eugeni Perea Simon, Església I Societat a l’Arxidiòcesi de Tarragona durant el Segle XVIII: Un Estudi a traves de les Visites Pastorals (Tarragona: Diputació de Tarragona, 2000). 346 J.D. Costa Borràs, Collectio novissima constitutionum provincialium tarraconensium, in Obras, Vol.VI (Barcelona: R. de Ezenarro, 1866). Two other works give insight into the larger history of provincial councils and diocesan synods in Tarragona. See Josep Raventós i Giralt, La sinodalitat a Catalunya, Síntesi històrica dels concilis tarraconenses (Barcelona: Abadia de Montserrat & l’Institut Superior de Ciències Religioses Sant Fructuós, 2000). Josep M. Marquès, ed, Concilis Provincials Tarraconenses, in Clàssics del Cristianisme, Vol. 50bis (Barcelona: Edicions Proa, 1994).

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the laity by means of sermons. Addressed to different types of parishioner groups, the

messages communicated were intended for a specific audience, such as parish

congregations, confraternities, or nobles in their private chapels.347

Parish Priests as Leaders of the Local Church: Dispensers of the Sacraments and

Tridentine Reform

Parish priests served as the backbone of religion and society in their parishes.

The discipline with which parish priests led parishioners in their faith affected how

sincerely Catholicism was observed. This observance, in turn, determined the level of

societal order, as the one thing that underpinned “Spanish culture” in the Early Modern

period was the Catholic Church. The main duties of a parish priest were to lead all

religious rites and ceremonies, to administer the Sacraments, and to teach and evangelize

his own parishioners. He did not usually undertake these responsibilities on his own,

unless the poverty of a parish left him as the sole employee of the church. Depending on

the wealth of the parish, “lower clergy” could be employed as well. A curate could be

appointed to help the parish priest in general administration of the parish; if so, he

remained directly subordinate to the parish priest and his orders. In some cases,

sacristans could be appointed as well. These men served inside the church proper,

keeping the building clean and preparing it for religious functions. Cleaning baptismal

fonts and filling them with water, dressing the altars with the appropriate linens, buying

oil for the lamps and lighting the church before services, keeping the religious robes in

the sacristry clean and in good repair—all of these were potential duties of sacristans.

347 Various eighteenth-century sermons are found at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (hereafter ACA)—e.g. ACA, Section: Monacales, Series: Universidad, Legajo 122—as well as at the Archive of the University of Barcelona (hereafter AUB)—e.g., eight sermons dated 1766-75, AUB, Signature: 0703B.

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The larger number of sacristans on one hand might make the job of the parish priest less

cumbersome and the running of the parish more efficient; on the other hand, however, the

more men he had to oversee the less control he had in administering the parish to his

liking and the more likelihood for relaxed attitudes among the curate and sacristans

regarding the Sacraments and knowledge of Christian doctrine. In the eighteenth-century

diocese of Barcelona, the proper observance of sacraments and Christian education

topped the list of parish priests’ concerns as represented by “The Responses”, acts of

synod, and records of pastoral visitations.

THE SACRAMENTS

The Sacraments were a common site of intra-clerical difference of opinion. The

differences mainly rested on “how” rather than “if” the Sacraments were observed, but

even so they affected the extent to which parish priests were leaders of the local church.

In short, the Sacraments were seven official ceremonies of the Catholic church that

marked different thresholds in the course of each parishioner’s life, i.e., rites of

passage.348 The Sacrament of Baptism marked one’s birth and initial membership in the

Catholic church. Confirmation, usually at about 12 or 13 years old, signified one’s

understanding of the catechism or Christian doctrine, and thus full membership in the

church (the ability to partake in the Lord’s Supper).349 The Sacrament of Penitence

involved a parishioner’s contrite confession of his or her sin before a priest and the

fulfillment of the resulting acts of penance that together washed the soul clean before

348 One sacrament only applied to those parishioners that chose to become clergy; when these men took their vows to become priests the Sacrament of Ordination was observed. 349 The age for the sacrament of confirmation was supposed to correspond the ability to have full use of one’s reason, and in Catholic doctrine, the guilt of original sin is removed with the sacrament.

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God, returning the parishioner to the Christian community. Penitence was a pre-requisite

for the Sacrament of Eucharist; by taking the wafer, signifying the sacrifice of the body

of Christ, one achieved a spiritual communion with God as Jesus Christ had instructed his

disciples before his crucifixion. In the late sixteenth century, the Council of Trent

reaffirmed marriage as a sacrament of the Catholic Church, meaning that henceforth

marriage contracts between men and women were strictly under ecclesiastical control and

required extras such as priestly admonitions, an official proclamation, parental consent, a

religious ceremony, and a social and religious commitment.350 Presupposing spiritual

preparation of the soul, the final rite of passage was Extreme Unction, viaticum or Viàtic

(or Viático in Castilian), the last communion before one’s death and the preparation of

the body to leave this world. In early modern Europe, the Catholic Church encouraged

the belief that the liturgical celebration of the funeral mass and the prayers said in it could

achieve salvation for the deceased soul.

These six sacraments applied to each parishioner and occupied a central place of

importance in people’s lives. Parishioners did not want to be denied them because these

rites of passage, besides keeping them in God’s good graces, also afforded opportunities

to make social alliances within their parishes, extending their social “safety net.” Since

priests administered all sacraments, they were also a central part of Barcelonese society.

The attitudes that a priest had towards administering sacraments determined how much of

a leader he would be in society or if he would just serve as a rubber stamp for

parishioners, dependent on their money.

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The acts of synods and councils provided the priests with guidelines for

administering the sacraments in their individual parishes. Perea Simon maintains (from

his study of pastoral visitations in Tarragona) that on occasions the sacramental

guidelines were established out of questionable motives. Since priests in “that era did not

always obey the rules that we today know of their vocation, and sometimes the desire to

accede to an occupation of social prestige and guaranteed financial security drove men to

the path of the priesthood,”351 Perea Simon emphasizes the priests’ desire to generate

more revenue for the Church by expanding service areas and catering to parishioners with

money. The age of one’s first communion—a solemn observance as mandated by the

Council of Trent—was one area the clergy targeted:

The twelve years recommended by the bishop Josep Sanchiz [of Tarragona] in the acts of synod of 1685 are reduced to seven years by his successor Josep Llinars; an age that in turn was reduced up to five years by the last archbishop of the eighteenth century, Francesc Armanyà. Llinars ordered that all little children that found themselves in danger of death take communion, but in the case that they die that they be taxed as baptized rather than confirmed children, in order to avoid the abuses of clergy who charge them the tariff of an adult. (emphasis mine)352

Certainly this perspective on the money-seeking clergy is a valid one and one held by

many, especially by parishioners across eighteenth-century Europe. However, when

350 See Session XXIV of the Council of Trent: canones super reformatione circa matrimonium, c.I 1, in J. Tejada, Colección de cánones y de todos los concilios de la Iglesia de España y de América, 6 vols (Madrid: 1849-1859). 351 “Per aquesta epoca l’accés al sacerdoci no sempre obeeix al que avui coneixem per vocació, sinó al desig d’accedir a una ocupació de prestigi social I de garantia economica. Algun autor ha parlat, amb no poca raó, d’una Esgleia “asil” per a la burgesia, els nobles I les classes privilegiades, perque aquesta els acollia I promocionava.” Perea Simon, p.37. 352 “Els dotze anys recomanats pel bisbe Josep Sanchiz [of Tarragona] en les sinodals de 1685, els rebaixarà a set anys el seu successor Josep Llinars; una edat que tornarà a rebaixar fins als cinc anys el darrer arquebisbe del segle XVIII, Francesc Armanyà. Llinars demanava que es combreguessin els xiquets que poguessin trobar-se en perill de mort, però en cas de defunció que fossin taxats com a albats, per evitar els abusos dels clergues per cobrar-los la tarifa d’adults.” (Emphasis mine) Perea Simon, p.259.

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reading the actual wording of the acts of Barcelona synods along with “The Responses”,

it is difficult to accept this position as a complete analysis. Many of the acts of synod of

Barcelona show evidence of being written from a canonical basis and emanating from the

spirit of Catholic reform created by the Council of Trent. Their writers wanted more

orthodox observance of the sacraments as stipulated by the Tridentine canons calling for

a more educated laity.

On the subject of Baptism, the parish priest of Hospitalet Felix Bover expressed

his desire for better-educated parishioners. Godparents (padrinos)—pre-chosen

witnesses of a child’s baptism, making a vow to God to instruct the child—must be

confirmed members of the Church, he argued. The problem was not that the godfathers

and mothers were non-Catholics; it was that they were usually so young that they

themselves had not received their first communion. Given the inter-familial alliances and

patronage systems at work in eighteenth-century towns and villages, using young

children as godparents helped to perpetuate those social networks. But this priest felt that

such practices went too far in that direction, being contrary to the words of past councils

which had established godparents as those who could serve as experienced and educated

guides in the Catholic faith and lead the baptized child in the path towards Confirmation.

His suggestion created more unpaid work for parish priests: they should be vigilant in

keeping separate record books for those baptized and for those confirmed.353 The priests

of Piera desired a similar qualification for godparents at the time of their godchildren’s

confirmation: they must be older and of the same sex of those confirmed. Clearly the

same societal tendencies were at play, causing parish priests to worry that those

353 Letter of Felix Bover rector del Hospitalet, “The Responses.”

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becoming full members of the church were not genuinely guided in the faith. In the city

of Barcelona, the priests re-iterated this desire for confirmed godparents, adding that they

“should know the [Apostle’s] Creed and articles [of faith], but knowing one of the two

would suffice.”354

Other suggestions on administering the sacrament of baptism were less clearly

designed to improve lay understanding of the Catholic religion. Regarding the costs of

the baptism mass, the city priests wanted to expunge one of the constitutions of the 1673

volume. The constitution stated that “for Baptism, it was custom for the priests to

provide a candle and some linen in exchange for a donation from the parents or

godparents.”355 In 1767, the priests opined that “today the donation is given in large and

small amounts according to the devotion of each one. And if more than the accustomed

amount is given, it is not out of force or cohersion, but out of pure freedom [on the part of

the parishioner] as a stipend for the Baptismal Mass.”356 In this case, it seems that the

city priests had developed something of a patronage system with financially solvent

parishioners. The priests were encouraged to produce an eye- and ear-pleasing baptismal

mass because they would be rewarded appropriately by their wealthy parishioners.

354 “haver de saber lo Credo y los Articles. Pues basta saber una cosa o altra de las dues.” Letter of Barcelona city parish priests, “The Responses.” 355 “per quant en la administració de aquest Sagrament del Baptisme, se acostuma offerir una candela, o atxa de cera, ab una offerta que fan los pares, o padrins, y la Capilla de lli; per lo tant estatuhim y ordenam, Synodo approbante, que lo que bateja puga pendrer [sic, prendre] ditas cosas tant solament, y no res mes, per raho de la administració de dit Sagrament.” Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor], Book II, tit.2, const.12, p.175. 356 “avui en dia se dona la offerta en diner major o menor segons la devoció de cada un. Y si se dona major de lo acostumat, no es per exacció sino per pura lliberalitat com succeheix en lo estipendi de la Misa.” Letter of Barcelona city parish priests, “The Responses.”

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The parish priests of Penedès, Piera, and Vallès all state their advocacy for

reforming the method of baptism. Signing the cross with water was not a sufficient

baptism; immersion or washing with water was necessary. Vallès and Piera both

mentioned their desire for the word primsenyar (to sign the cross with water) to be

stricken from all constitutions, quite possibly because it was too easy for midwives and

laymen to sign the cross with wet fingers on the forehead of the baby. For example, the

fifth constitution on baptism stated that “Baptisms be administered, not inside the homes,

but rather in the parish church unless there is an emergency. In such a case, infants can

be baptized or “primsenyats” at home by a layman or midwife.”357 The parish priests of

Vallès explained that “the term ‘primsenyar’ should be supressed, nor… haurían de usar

de ell los Parrocos parlant del Baptisme ministrando en cas de necesitat absque

solemnitate, sino del terme: batyar privadament para evitar lo error de alguns, que en

lloch de tirar la agua sobre lo cap de la criatura baptizanda, li fan lo senyal de la Creu ab

lo dit mullat, o aixut, com se diu haberse trobat alguna vegada.”358 The priests of Piera

showed concern for the validity of lay baptisms, leaving the sickly baby in mortal danger:

“regularly the babies privately baptized remain in danger of near death, and since such

baptisms are many times null and others dubious, it is important to bring such Infants to

Church as early [as possible] to ask for the Ceremonies and assure the value of the

357 “Los Baptismes no se celebren en casa alguna particular, sino en las mateixas Iglesias, (a) si ya no hi aura urgent necessitat; que en tal cas permetem que los Infants sian batejats, o primsenyats en casa per mans de un Llaych, (b) o de la Llevadora….” ADB, Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor], Book II, tit.2, const. 5, P.169. 358 “Se hauría de suprimir lo terme: primsenyar, ni… Translation. Letter of rectors del Deganat del Vallès, “The Responses.”

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Baptism with the direction of the Minister.” (emphasis mine)359 So it seems that what

was at issue is how, why, and by whom babies could be baptized outside of the church, if

at all. Even though midwives and laymen had in the past been able to baptize sickly

newborns when the priest was unavailable, these eighteenth-century priests did not want

to allow anyone besides professionals—ordained priests—to perform the sacrament. In

fact, the Piera priests also suggested moving up the date of baptism from eight days to

three days. (The reason they gave for this was because mothers were sleeping in the

same bed as the newborns and so might easily crush or suffocate them.) But if infant

mortality rates were high in general, priests could be concerned either about the babies’

souls or about other people infringing upon their wages. Maybe it was a little of both, but

the language of the acts of synod in combination with that of “The Responses” suggests

the latter. In the letter of the Penedès region, one parish priests asked that no baptismal

fonts be kept where there is no priest to be its custodian.360 Could people have used such

fonts to baptize their own babies to save money? While the letter does not tell us this, the

over-riding sentiment of the priests is that they sought to guard their professional

integrity and maintain standards that kept them the central brokers of sacraments, the

center of community religious life. In fact, the city parish priests asked that the Colegio

359 “Regularment las Criaturas privadament Batejadas restan en perill proxim de la mort, y Com dels tals Babtismes molts son nullos y altres dubtosos; importa portar quant abans los tals Infants a la Iglesia per suplir las Ceremonias y asegurar lo valor del Babtisme ab la direcció del Ministre.” (Emphasis mine.) Letter of rectors del Deganat de Piera, “The Responses.” 360 “No deberse tener fuentes baptismales ni reserva donde no hay sacerdote para la custodia.” Letter of Penedès, “The Responses.”

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of Surgeons in Barcelona not approve any midwives without prior parish priest

approval.361

The sacrament of penitence involved a parishioner’s recognition of guilt for

certain acts committed and confessing them in front of a priest. Since the Lateran

Council of 1215, the church obligated all adult members (or children who had use of

reason) to confess at least once a year. Despite the minimal nature of this requirement,

much resistance by parishioners occurred over the years due to the shame that confession

brought. In the worst case scenario of resistance, priests had to threaten parishioners with

eternal damnation in the case that they should die without having confessed. But because

confessions occurred in various places such as nooks of a church or in the very house of a

priest, some parishioners resisted penitence because of the familiarity of face-to-face

contact between confessor and penitent, sometimes even resulting in sexual solicitation.

Jansenist-influenced clergy pushed for audible confessions in which the pair would not

see each other. The Council of Trent had supported such audible confessions by creating

the “confessional”, a closed booth which assured the privacy of the penitent and his or

her physical separation from the confessor, employed first by Carlos Borromeo as

Archbishop of Milan.362 Because this Tridentine reform had not been effected in

Catalonia until the eighteenth-century, the sacrament of penitence was far from uniform

361 “Per quant es de difficil Observancia en esta ciutat la constitucio 6, convindria que de ordre superior so oridassen a examen totas las que actualment exerceixen lo office de llevadoras y que se procuras que en avant lo Collegi de Cirurgians no habilitas ninguna dellas pro temporalibus sens que aportas aprobacio del Ordinari segons la mateixa constitucio.” Letter of city parish priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.” 362 John Bossy, “The Counter-Reformation and the People of Catholic Europe,” in The Counter-Reformation: The Essential Readings, David M. Luebke ed. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1999): pp.85-104.

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in practice.363 Because of the various locations of confessions and scarcity of

confessionals in the eighteenth-century Tarragona, Perea Simon writes that “it was

necessary that in these places one act in a decent and pious manner and that doubts and

bad reputations [that were] popular were not supported: so that from the nave of the

Church the faithful would be able to observe the good behavior of the penitents and

clergy during the act of contrition.”364

The 1673-printing of Barcelonese acts of synod had warned priests that

“Confessors must hear confessions in Churches as much as in public places only, and not

in cellars nor in dark places, instead of very obvious ones, nor in private houses, unless it

is a case of illness or another necessity….”365 In 1767, the priests of the Piera region of

the diocese addressed the issue of confessionals. Regarding the above-constitution of

1673, they added, “[the constitutions] should express the obligation of hearing women’s

confessions with screens separating the women from confessors, warning those that build

confessionals not to make the screens too see-through.”366 The priests of Penedès warn

that still many churches had confessionals with “screens too transparent.”367 In

363 Perea Simon reports that the first hispanic reference to confessionals was in a letter to Charles I in 1547; a council in Valencia ordered their use in 1565; in 1614, Roman Ritual approved their usage in all parishes; yet, in Catalonia, it was not until 1716 that one finds an edict obligating women to be confessed in confessionals behind a screen. Perea Simon, p.257. 364 “cal que en aquests habitacles s’actuï de manera decent i pietosa i no es faciliti el dubte o les males interpretacions populars: des de la nau de l’esglesia els fidels podran així observar el bon comportament dels penitents i clergues mentre duri l’acte de la contrició.” Perea Simon, p.258. 365 “Confessors ojan las confessions en las Iglesias tant solament, en puestos publichs, y no en racons, ni en llochs obscurs, sino molt patents, ni en casas particulars, sino es cas de malaltia o altra necessitat….” ADB, Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book II, Tit.5, Const.2, p.195. 366 “…expresar la obligació de oir las Confessions de Donas ab rexas intermedias, advertint als que cuidan de la construció dels confessionaris, procuran que las rexas no sian demasiat claras.” Letter of rectors del deganat de Piera, “The Responses.”

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comparing the words of instructions of 1673 and the reports of 1767, it is apparent that

confessionals were more abundant and utilized by the mid- to late-eighteenth century,

reducing the chances of penitent-abuse, but at the same time they were less than the rule

(and goal) that the Council of Trent had sought to establish.

Although all the other letters of “The Responses” are silent on the subject of

confessionals and the proper priestly conduct during the act of contrition, many notes

from pastoral visitations and acts of synod over the eighteenth century addressed the

issue, demonstrating its ongoing significance. In “The Responses,” one priest—the same

who devoted so much of his letter to Christian doctrine and the ends of ensuring the good

instruction of his parishioners—showed concern for pious penitence. The parish priest of

Hospitalet not surprisingly asked that the Barcelona diocese better enforce the existing

constitution of 1673 stipulating that all adult confessants must know some Christian

doctrine in order to be absolved.368 Yet the relative silence of priests on their proper

confessional conduct in “The Responses” leaves open the probability that the issue was

too shameful for priests themselves to discuss.

The sacrament of marriage received much discussion in the previous chapter as

one of the most common complaints in “The Responses” was that engaged couples had

overt sexual relations, even overt co-habitation. While one of the biggest factors for this

involved the costs of marriage for peasant families, another contributing factor was

clerical inability to establish Tridentine reform. Marriage was not a clearly outlined

367 “las rexillas muy claras y anchas.” Letter of Penedès, “The Responses.” 368 Letter of Felix Bover rector del Hospitalet, “The Responses.” (Also on penitence: Barcelona city priests Lib.3 tit.1: Apar convidria privar la Administracio de penitencia y Eucharystia en Oratoris privats sens llicencia del Parroco.)

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sacrament of the Catholic Church until the Council of Trent reaffirmed it so in the

sixteenth century.

Until the Modern Era, thus, matrimony did not always have an exclusively religious form, at least for the lower classes in which economic obligations or important wealth was at stake, and for this same reason the unions could occur with a certain amount of spontaneity—the same as prematrimonial relations—without more consequences. Very different would be the act of marriage for the noble or bourgeois estate, because then in that contract the titles of property, riches, lineage, etc also weighted the matter. The Council of Trent was a sure dart [aimed] against that situation [of non-religious-centered marriage]….369

Not only was marriage as an exclusively religious rite a relatively new concept for

parishioners, it was also a new charge or responsibility for priests. While many books of

the Bible instruct on marriage and laws pertaining to adultery, divorce, and widowhood,

the Catholic Church did not have any clear or long-standing guidelines for priests to

perform it as an official sacrament before the Council of Trent. Eighteenth-century

records of pastoral visitations in the archdiocese of Tarragona still point to this condition:

“[The documentation on marriage] does not deal with warnings directed to the

population, to the parishioners, but rather fundamentally to the clerics, and for that same

reason they seem more like reminders of a new practical and mental reality [for the

priests on marriage].”370

“The Responses” illustrate that priests did not have a clear idea of how to go

about observing this sacrament in the most orthodox manner in their parishes. Since the

369 Fins a l’Epoca Moderna, doncs, el matrimoni no sempre tenia una formulació exclusivament religiosa, almenys per a les classes baixes, en què existien compromisos econòmics o de béns importants, i per això mateix les unions podien donar-se amb una certa espontaneïtat, igual com les relacions prematrimonials, sense més conseqüències. Molt distinta serà l’actuació de l’estament noble o burgès, ja que aleshores en aquest contracte també pesen els titols de propietat, la riquesa, les nissagues, etc. El concili de Trento és un dard segur contra aquesta situació….Perea Simon, p.261. 370 “No es tracta d’advertiments dirigits a la població, als feligresos, sinó fonamentalment als clergues, i per això mateix semblen més aviat recordatoris d’una nova realitat pràctica i mental.” Perea Simon, p.261.

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time of the Council of Trent, repeated synods, provincial councils, and pastoral

visitations had made the same denouncements against pre-marital sexual relations and

couples who failed to celebrate a “mass of benediction.” John McManners discussed the

same debate over administering the Sacrament of Marriage occurring among French

clergy in the eighteenth century.

The bishops did their best to end the practice [of pre-marital sex]. The Jansenist prelates who ruled Alet and Pamiers in the early eighteenth century banned the fiançailles [betrothal] altogether. In other dioceses regulations were issued: the ceremony must take place in the church porch, and no more than two or three days before the wedding. By canon law, the whole object of the fiançailles was to give time for the happy couple to achieve the right dispositions for receiving the grace of the sacrament; limiting the time interval sacrificed spiritual instruction to the need to set a hedge against fornication. There was, however, a better way of preparation: that was to make a confession and communion a few days beforehand, and some Episcopal statutes made this an obligation.371 The Acts of Synod from Barcelona and of the Provincial Councils of Tarragona

revealed a different path from the French one. Yet, the priests of “The Responses” had

found themselves incapable of imposing the penalties stipulated by their councils and

synods to prevent pre-marital sex; neither did they have a clear understanding of all the

stipulations. The provincial council of Tarragona in 1593, the Barcelona synod in 1673,

another provincial council of Tarragona in 1717,372 and many pastoral visitations from

then on all established constitutions and requirements that repeated the same words:

engaged couples must incur a penalty for co-habitating or consummating before receiving

the nuptial mass. The “penalty” was either not an effective deterrent or priests were

unsure about how to impose it. Looking at the list of constitutions over the span of two

371 McManners, vol.II: p.25. 372 See Appendix for various texts.

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centuries, one can see the clear mandate that the regional (archdiocesan) church gave

parish priests in marriage jurisdiction. Yet, it is unclear if parish priests en masse

perceived this mandate since many of “The Responses” do not specifically make

reference to any constitutions on the Sacrament of Marriage. And those that do only refer

to one act of synod or council, rather than the whole body of synodal or counciliar acts.373

Priests were unclear about their leadership role in marriage as well. Different

parishes and regions show this confusion. The parish priest of Hospitalet wished to

clarify that not only should the bride and groom be confessed before the ceremony as

Trent stipulated, but also that they should be examined in Christian doctrine—seemingly,

this priest’s favorite focus point. The parish priest of Hospitalet wanted clergy to have a

leadership role in bringing their parishioners together in marriage because the present

situation in his parish and diocese relegated priests to the role of a rubber stamp in

making marriage official.

But even if priests succeeded in mandating correct sacramental observance in

their parishes, parishioners could always resist their priests by going elsewhere to get

married. The parish priest of Hospitalet, those of Vallès, and the city parish priests of

Barcelona all suggested that people were going wherever and to whomever necessary to

get married. The letters of Hospitalet and Vallès urged that proper parish priest approval

or “license” be required for marriages of all their parishioners, suggesting that often the

parishioners’ parish priests were not the officiants. Furthermore, if married outside of

373 The letter of the Vallès region points to constitution 29 of the 1717 provincial council of Tarragona; the letter of Barcelona city parish priests refers to constitutions 3 and 4 of Book II, Tit.8 of the 1673 diocesan synod; the parish priest of St. Joan d’Orta refers all the way back to constitution 2 of Book IV, Tit.1 of the 1593 provincial council of Tarragona; and the priest of Hospitalet points to pastoral visitations in his parish from 1722. See “The Responses.”

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their parish, the couple should also have a license from that location’s parish priest, the

priests urged. The city of Barcelona served as a haven for couples who fled their

communities for whatever reasons. Because of the city’s large population of both clergy

and laity, it was difficult for parish priests to know if couples with whom they had

become newly acquainted were officially married by the church or were just saying so in

order to avoid problems in their new community. In the city priests’ letter, they asked

that priests of all orders or levels refuse to perform a wedding unless the couple presented

them with a license from their parish priest verifying that “the contracting parties are

single and know Christian Doctrine.” But this measure alone was not sufficient; the city

priests of Barcelona wanted to obligate landlords to acquire the parish priest’s

certification of sacramental marriage before leasing rooms to couples.374 In formulating

this demand, they referred to the synodal constitutions of 1673 stipulating that

As experience demonstrates that some foreign men and women, disregarding their own consciences and the Christian name they profess, come to inhabit places in our Diocese and treat each other as husband and wife, when in truth they are not, because they cannot live in such freedom and liberty in the villages and places where they are known [not to be married]; …we therefore order, synodo aprobante, that all parish priests, vicars, mass officiants, and all others who exercise the curing of souls to require all foreign couples who move to their parishes to provide authentic proof of matrimony so that they can be recognized as legitimately married.375

374 For priests performing weddings to ensure that “los contrahents son solters y saben la Doctrina Christiana.” In the city priests’ suggested requirement of landords, their literal words are “de ningun modo baix certa pena llogassen las casas a aquells que diuhen ser marit y muller sens que ans se certifiquen per medi del Parroco si los tals son o no casats en fas de Nostre Senyora Mare Iglesia.” Letter of Barcelona city parish priests, “The Responses.” 375 “Com la experiencia ensenya que alguns homens y donas forasters, olvidats de sas proprias conciencias y del nom de Christians que professan, per no poder viurer mes licenciosament en las Vilas y Llochs ahont son coneguts, sen venen a habitar en los Llochs de nostre Diocesis, tractantse en ells com a marit y muller, essent veritat que no son; …estatuhim y manam, Synodo approbante, als Rectors, Domers, Vicaris, y altres qualsevols excercint cura de animas, que quant en sas Parroquias arribaran alguns forasters pera habitar en aquellas, y no seran coneguts, los fassan amostrar la fe autentica de los desposoris, peraque legitimament conste que son casats.” Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book II, Tit.8, Const.4, p.248.

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Unfortunately for the parish priests, this constitution was not easily executed even a full

century later. Within the city of Barcelona, couples could also separate or divorce

without the intervention of clergy. So the city priests appealed for the synod “to order

that confessors not absolve those who are found to be divorced on their own authority,

guiltily enjoying ‘conjugal cohabitation’ until and before obtaining approval from Church

authority to be separated.”376 In effect, whether in rural or in urban areas, eighteenth-

century Barcelonese parishioners did not concede jurisdiction to priests over their sexual

relations and marital status.

The last rites a priest could give to a dying parishioner established priests as

important members of society, effectually making them religious leaders of parishioners.

Lay veneration reserved for the Eucharist was high and accompanied a strong belief in

the afterlife. Thus, when people were on their deathbed, the last communion and holy

oils that a priest administered assured the dying and their loved ones that they could

literally “rest in peace.” In the eighteenth century, this sacrament was connected to that

of penitence (confession). Frequently those who were dying were children (albats) who

had not yet taken their first communion and thus had not gone to confession. Yet, if

priests found a dying child to have come into full reasoning capabilities, knowing their

sins to confess, they could charge the cost of an adult, stirring up much resistance and

repugnance by the parents. Commenting on the situation in Tarragona, Perea Simon

notes not to overlook “that infant mortality was important during the second half of the

376 “Manar als confessors que no absolguessen aquells que trobarian haverse divorciat de propria authoritat, culpablement a Cohabitatione cum Conjuge fins y abant tinguessen llicencia del Ordinari per estar separats.” Letter of Barcelona city parish priests, “The Responses.”

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eighteenth century—circling around 60%. So grave was the problem that finally the

archbishop acknowledged the root of the problem and ordered parish clergy to bury them

[children] with requiem mass while collecting only the price of young children, in

accordance with acts of synod.” 377 With young children dying so commonly in

eighteenth-century Catalonia, parish priests wanted to ensure proper payment for the

desired funerary services. But parents who knew too well the life expectancy of their

children found this practice of priests opportunistic rather than motivated out of biblical

or doctrinal desires. By decrees and pastoral visitations, the bishops had to (re-) instruct

parish priests to offer the adult-services at the price of the child-services in order to quell

the outrage of parishioners towards their supposed “religious” leaders. Where priests

could wield power, they did, but sometimes at the expense of their larger influence and

respect in the community. (The dean of Penedès wrote that in some parishes neither the

parroco nor his vicar helped in easing death for parishioners. “There are parish priests

that want to defend [the position that] once the Sacraments of Viaticum and Extreme

Unction have been observed [the priest’ has not more obligation to the Sick Parishioner

and that the Lord Bishop can not demand more from them.”378) Sometimes, however, it

worked to their benefit in cases where they found Catholic doctrine more important than

money. The priest of St. Boi de Llobregat bragged about his parish to Bishop Climent in

his letter:

377 “No oblidem que la mortalitat infantil era important encara durant la segona meitat del segle XVIII—al voltant del 60%. Tan greu es aquesta questió que, finalment, l’arquebisbe admet l’arrel del problema i compromet els clergues parroquials a enterrar-los amb missa de rèquiem I percebent únicament els drets econòmics de pàrvuls, d’acord amb les sinodals.” Perea Simon, p.250. 378 “Hay parrocos que quieren defender que, una vez administrados los Sacramentos de Viático y extrema unción, no tiene más obligación con el Enfermo y que el Sr.Obispo no les puede mandar más.” Letter of

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Great admiration is caused in this town: The viaticum in articulo morbis [last communion before death]is administered to children from eight or nine years before [turning] twelve to thirteen years, even though the administration of the viaticum to them does not cause their parents a greater expense nor does the burial in the case that they die. In the Diocese of Vic there is an act of synod [regarding this] and practicing it has led to the admiration of all the parish priests.379 While the voyage to the afterlife was an important one for parish priest-

parishioner contact, the physical voyages or travels that parishioners made during their

life were also significant for parish priests as leaders of the local church. Many priests

used the expression that traveling prevented them as “shepherds” from knowing the

“sheep” of the flock they were called to lead. Parishioners were not traveling so

frequently; they remained in the parish most of the year. However, when holy days

arrived (whether Christmas, Easter, or particular saints’ days) parishioners might travel to

the city of Barcelona or other towns in the province, wherever friends and family drew

them. Since the administration of sacraments was the main source of priestly contact

with parishioners and many times coincided with holy days, priests found that the

required acquaintance with each and every parishioner enabling them to be religious

leaders was all but impossible. The sacrament of marriage was at issue. Parishioners

were getting married by other priests in and outside their proper parishes, allowing

couples to manipulate the bureaucracy of the Catholic Church to their favor. For

instance, even if one member of the couple was from a different town, meaning that the

officiating priest would at best know only one of the wedding couple.

Penedès, “The Responses.” See also the Letter of Piera (Book IV, Tit.3, Const. 1&4) that deals at length with logistical issues last rights and fees for albats dying outside of their parishes. 379 En esta vila gran admiració causa: se administre lo viatich in articulo morbis a Criaturas de vuit o nou anys abans dels dotse a tretse anys, encaraque lo administrarsels lo viatich no ocasione als Pares major gasto ni en cas morian lo enterro. En lo Bisbat de Vich hi ha constitució sinodal y practicantho tots los Rectors admiració nols causa. Letter of Sant Boi de Llobregat, “The Responses.”

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Noted in the preceding chapter, masses of foresters (outsiders or foreigners) filled

the streets of Barcelona during the high points of the relgious calendar, such as Easter and

Corpus Christi. While Corpus Christi is not mentioned many times in “The Responses”,

priests frequently discuss Easter and the Lenten days leading up to it since it pertained to

parishioners’ annual obligatory sacrament of penitence in preparation for their

observance of the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist). Since Easter was usually the only time of

the year that parishioners took communion, it was also the only time that parishioners

met with their parish priests individually. By traveling outside of the parish during this

time, parishioners could escape direct accountability to their parish priest in confession

and manage to receive Easter communion without his approval. In “The Responses”

some priests describe the “bulletins” or certificates (butlletins) that parishioners presented

to them. These certificates were issued by the various priests of the Cathedral of

Barcelona (or other cities) to verify that the individual had complied with the religious

precepts of Easter.380 But many priests did not trust the authenticity of the certificates, or

more importantly, the veracity of that parishioner’s Easter compliance. The priest of

Sarria writes profusely against them:

For as in the second constitution of chapter two on the Parish Priests and their residence in the acts of synod of the Illustrious Sotomayor, Parish priests were ordered to be vigilant so that the parishioners would comply with the Parish and Easter communion. For as the Parish Priests can complete this charge with more punctuality, it will probably be of more Sense and Divine Pleasure that in the synod your illustrious lordship demands and ordains that no Parish Priest should nor can accept Bulletins of the Cathedral Church of Barcelona (at least parish

380 In France, these bulletins were called billetes de confession. In the eighteenth century (ca.1749), they were a cause of scandal when the Archbishop of Paris Christophe de Beaumont used them in an effort to ferret out Jansenists within the clergy, making billets equivalent to acceptance of the Bull Unigenitus and requiring them for sacraments such as the last rights or viaticum for dying Jansenists. See McManners, vol.II: pp.486-508.

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priests from outside the city) because most of those that carry such bulletins do not comply with the precept [of communion] since they do not receive communion from the hand of a parish priest nor with the license of a parish priest—necessary circumstances which are expressed in Constitution 7, Chapter 4 of Eucharist, Book 2, Chapter 7 of said acts of synod—therefore they take communion Parocho contradicente [“contradicting the parish priest”]. It proceeds from this abuse that the parish priests cannot ascertain if the parishioners buy such bulletins, as it has occurred [in the past], that which could be easily ascertained by taking communion in their own Parish where they are known by all. Most of those that gather there regularly are not very devoted people, fearing God little, those which invite one or the other person on a given day to go look for a bulletin, and then with the Lord in the mouth [the Host or communion wafer consumed] they go to the taverns to have their coffees and foods while making jokes very contrary to what they come from doing.381 In the parish of San Assicho y Santa Victoria, the priest Francisco Miró felt that

only two issues were abusive enough to bring to Bishop Climent’s attention. The first

concerned outside priests seeking permission to participate in religious functions in his

parish. The second concerned the certificates of confession: “that the Certificates or

Bulletins that the See [Cathedral] of Barcelona gives to those that receive communion in

order to comply with the annual precept of Easter-time, they are not obligated to accept

them from those of parishes outside of Barcelona [city] for the end that the Shepherd

knows the consciences of his sheep at least one time a year and to avoid the many

381 Per quant en la constitucio segona tit.2 dels Parrocos y sa residencia dels dits sinodals del Illm de Sotomayor se encarega als Parrocos la vigilancia perque sos Parroquians cumplin la Parroquia y comunio Pasqual. Per tant poder los Parrocos cumplir amb mes puntualitat esta obligacio, sera molt del Cas y del Divino agrado que VSI en lo sinodo volent Deu celebrador maní y ordení que ningun Parroco deguí ni puga acceptar Butlletins de la Iglesia Cathedral de Barcelona (a lo menos los de fora ciutat) perque a mes que los que tals butlletins portan no cumplen tal precepte com no combreguin de manu Parochi, noque de licentia Parochi que son circunstancias necessarias com esta expres en la Const.7 tit.4 de Eucharistia lib.2 tit.7 de dits sinodals imo combregan Parocho contradicente. De est abus se segueix que los Parrocos no poden averiguer si los tals compran tals butlletins com ha succehit, lo que facilment se averiguaria combregant en sa propria Parroquia ahon son de tots coneguts. A mes que los que alli acuden per lo regular son personas indevotas, poch temerosas de Deu, los quals se convidan uns a altres per tal dia per anar a cercar butlletí y aixi ab lo senyor en la boca van a las tavernas a fer sos xafis o menjars fent bullas molt contrarias a lo que venen de fer. Letter of Anton Riera, rector of Sarria, “The Responses.”

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inconveniences that have occurred in this area.”382 The priest of Vegas demanded that

parishioners receive Easter communion only from their parish priest, clarifying that it be

the parish where his or her family lived.

The priest Pablo Organt of Molins del Rei had more criticisms of the certificates:

The Cathedral Church of this Bishopric (as a mother of the rest of the churches) has the prerogative of giving a bulletin to outsiders who go to look for it in compliance with the annual communion of Lent. In my church, it is the style to write down [the names of] all those who receive communion in a booklet, and at the foot of the Altar they receive the cross sign [from the priest] meanwhile they each give their name, and in this manner no one can escape without the Priest knowing it. However, even with this forethought, those that meet the terms [of the precept] with the referred to bulletin are many, and they resist presenting [the bulletin] to the priest in person. (It happened to me that two subjects made an agreement between each other not to present themselves to the priest in order to prove how far the powers of the Priest would reach in enforcing this obligation on them.) So that the Priests can know their sheep, as is the reasoning, it seems to me [that] it would be of more sense [that] they require those that meet the terms [of the communion precept] with the bulletin to present [the bulletin] to the Parish Priest in person, and during this time the priest examines them in Doctrine, and not finding them proficient, said bulletin would have no value. The motive behind this is that it can be presumed of such subjects that they receive communion without first confessing. I know from what happens to me in these years that I have in my Parish the dregs of every place in Catalonia.383

382 “Que los Certificats o Bollatins que dona la Seu de Barcelona a aquells que combregan para cumplir lo presepte annual del temps Pasqual no fossen obligatoris en admetrerlos per los Par.os foraneos del Barcelona a fi de coneixer lo Pastor las consciencies de sas ovellas, a lo menos una vegada en lo any y evitar molts inconvenients que en esto han sucesehit.” Letter of Francisco Miró, rector of St. Assicho y Sta. Victoria, “The Responses.” 383 “La Iglesia Cathedral del presente Obispado (como a matris de las demás) tiene la prerogativa de dar b[v]illete a los forasteros que van a buscarle para el cumplimiento de la comunion annual de la Quaresma. En la mia es estilo de escribir a todos los que conmulgan en una libreta y al pie del Altar se les hace cruz, dando cada uno su numbre y de esta suerte nadie se puede escapar sin saberlo el Cura. Sin embargo de esta providencia son muchos los que cumplen con el referido billete, resistiendo entregarle al cura por si mismos (me ha sucedido que dos sujetos se acordaron de no presentarle para probar a donde llegavan las facultades del Cura para obligarles). Para que los Curas pueden conocer a sus Ovejas, como es razon, me parece seria del caso obligan a los que cumplen con billete que por si mismos le entregassen al Rector y este sobra la marcha les examinasse de Doctrina y no hallandoles habiles (and not finding them able/capable), dicho villete [billete] fuese de ningun valor. La razon de esto es que de tales sux[j]etos se puede presumir [que] comulguen sin confesar. Yo sé lo que me sucede en estos anyos que tengo en mi Parroquia el peor de cada lugar de Catalunya.” Letter of Pablo Organt, cura of Molins del Rei, “The Responses.”

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The Joseph Closa rector of Sant Gervasi felt that the certificates of confession had

ruptured the religious bonds between parish priests and their parishioners to the point that

priests were scoffed at in public by their “sheep.”

With the experience of the Bulletin [Certificate] business, that no one can refuse, it remains seen in an all clear light. That your Lordship would order us that we should not accept them…. Indeed [the bulletin business] also makes fathers go to search for bulletins for their daughters and some husbands for their wives (pro Dolor)—could your illustrious lordship (without whom Reason is trespassed) present this deep shame to his holiness and order that perhaps one takes communion in his or her respective Parishes[?] For more than avoiding the offenses which those from outside Barcelona [city] commit by going to the city to take communion, as they say at the see [Cathedral of Barcelona], scoffs and jokes are made toward their own Parish Priests, and we cannot say: “I know My Sheep.” (emphasis mine)384

Unfortunately for the parish priests, this proposed violation of parochial territoriality was

unlikely to have gone anywhere as a planned area of reform.

TRIDENTINE REFORM AND CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Given the precedent set by the last council held by the Catholic Church, the

priorities of the Barcelona parish priests were surprisingly “Tridentine” in nature. The

Council of Trent, convened in response to the “Protestant heresy” from 1545-1563 and

consisting of delegates from all Catholic countries, had desired to modify Church

interaction with society, reorienting its focus towards the responsibilities involved in

pastoring its sheep. Thus, preaching and teaching became the new priorities for parish

clergy. The new objective for the Catholic Church was to make each Catholic aware of

384 “Amb la experiencia de negociar los Bolletins, que ningu la pot negar, se deixa veurer a tota llum Clar. Que podria VS manarnos que no’ls devem acceptar…. Si que hi també fan los Pares anar a buscar Bolletins a sas fillas y alguns marits a sas mullers (pro Dolor) podria VSI sens es trepit de Judici representar a sa santedat esta viva llastima, y manar que quizas combregas en sas respective Parroquias. Pues, a mes de evitar las ofens ab que es cometen en anar los de fora Barn.a a combregar, com diuen a la seu, se fa escarni y burla de sos propis Parrocos y no podem dir: ‘cognosco Oves Meas’.” (emphasis mine). Letter of Joseph Closa rector of Sant Gervasi, “The Responses.”

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the content of the faith he or she professed and a member of a well-defined and structured

ecclesiastical body. The Council of Trent made the parish church the center of lay piety.

After the cessation of Trent in 1563, the different national churches of Catholic

Europe were quick to receive the Tridentine decrees but were slow to put them uniformly

into practice. Part of this slowness related to the changing times in which temporal

power of the states were expanding their powers, growing in their sovereignty. In this

political environment, “Trent became a political symbol that largely superseded the

application of its own decrees. The king who would have received them as law of his

realm would have marked his definitive support of intransigent Catholic politics.”385 So

as Alain Tallon observes in his commentary on Trent, it was not until the second half of

the seventeenth century in which truly Tridentine aspects materialize in the Catholic

Church.

The same in all countries, seminaries supplied “good priests” who knew to utilize preaching and confession in order to inculcate the principles of Catholic Reform in their sheep. But within each diocese—it understood by the most zealous bishops and in [the diocese of] Milan—the conciliar measures needed time in order to be put into practice.386

While conveying the impression that they as parish priests should be the sole suppliers of

these needs, the parish priests writing in “The Responses” emphasize the need to preach

Christian doctrine and educate their parishioners better on the meaning of sacraments.

Yet this would only reflect the success of the Tridentine influence in their seminary

385 “Trent devint un symbole politique qui dépassait très largement l’application des décrets eux-mêmes. Le roi qui les aurait reçus comme loi du royaume aurait marqué son adhésion définitive à une politique catholique intransigeante.” Alain Tallon, Le concile de Trente (Paris: Les éditions du Cerf, 2000), p.86. 386 Les seminaires fournissent de “bon prêtres,” même dans les campagnes, qui savent utiliser prédication et confession pour inculquer à leurs ouailles les principes de la Réforme catholique. Mais dans chaque

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training. In fact, historian Ignasi Fernández Terricabras finds that Phillip II was very

meticulous in establishing diocesan reform in the spirit of Trent, taking initiative to

redraw diocesan boundaries and set up a seminary in each one.387 The Council of Trent

had galvanized priests into the conviction that “All competing sacrality was impious or

superstitious, which explains the vigor with which Tridentine pastoring fought against all

piety that was not promoted or introduced by clerics.”388

Representing this trend in Tridentine Catholicism, the main initiative that parish

priests take as leaders of the local church in “The Responses” is to show their desire and

highlight the need to improve their parishioners’ knowledge of Catholic doctrine. The

parrocos/rectors of the regions of Vallès, Penedès, and Piera as well as the city of

Barcelona, near-by Badalona, and el Hospitalet all address the need to teach the

catechism. The priest of Badalona thought the knowledge of doctrine would increase if

in all masses (private or convent) chapels, in addition to the parish church, the officiating

priest was required to explain some doctrine. Those of Vallès spent over half of their

four-page letter on how to improve education in Christian doctrine for their parishioners.

(Issues pertaining to the sacraments, holy day observance, and priestly conduct combined

to fill the same amount of letter space). They thought a one to two o’clock afternoon

session devoted to Christian doctrine for children every Sunday (Sunday school, if you

diocèse, y compris dans ceux des éveques les plus zélés, y compris à Milan, les dispositions conciliares eurent besoin de temps pour entre dans la pratique. Tallon, Le concile de Trente, p.88. 387 Ignasi Fernández Terricabras, Felipe II y el clero secular: la aplicación del concilio de Trento (Madrid: Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de Felipe II y Carlos V, 2001). 388 “Toute sacralité concurrente est impie ou supersticieuse, ce qui explique la vigueur avec laquelle la pastorale tridentine lutte contra toute piété qui n’est pas promue et encadrée par les clercs.” Tallon, Le concile de Trente, p.97.

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will) would help relieve ignorance in parishioners. Discussing at length several ideas for

reform in education like strategic times to preach to the parents and elderly, these parish

priests added that some of them were already holding catechism classes for children

every day for the first three or four weeks of Lent, finding this experiment effective for

the children to learn and retain information. For priests who could afford to spend a little

extra, prizes were a helpful incentive for children to learn their catechism, mentioned by

those of Piera and Vallès. The city rectors of Barcelona suggested that all preachers in

the city be threatened with suspension of their preaching license if they did not clearly

explain at least one point of catechism.389 The priests suggested that confessors offer an

incentive to keep lay understanding of the Sacrament of Penitence high: “It also seems

that all Confessors should be ordered to ask questions of all the Penitent on doctrine if the

confessors are not morally certain that they know it, and Indulgences should be awarded

to the confessor that asked the questions on doctrine and to the Penitent who knew the

doctrine.”390 The Barcelona city priests made another bold suggestion: outright public

preaching in the city’s streets and factories. “What appears could be achieved by way of

moral conferences is that on certain days of the week they could teach doctrine in the

patio of the Palace before [the hour]that Charity is made and in the factories and sewing

houses by means of some brief catechism that would be able to work towards this end for

uniformity.”391 While none of these above suggestions touch exclusively on their own

389 The catechism of the Council of Trent experienced difficulties in its introduction to Spain, and in Castillian it was not available until the 1770s. See Pedro Rodríguez’s treatise El Catecismo Romano ante Felipe II y la Inquisición española (Madrid: Ediciones RIALP, 1998). 390 “També apar se podria manar a tots los Confessors que preguntassen als Penitens la doctrina si no estan moralment certs que la saben y se podrian concedir Indulgencias al confessor que la preguntaria y al Penitent que la diria.” Letter of Barcelona city parish priests, “The Responses.”

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jobs and responsibilities as parish priests, they were pushing for a more active and

educating clergy among the laity, one that would leave the edifice of the church and enter

the proto-industrial workplaces to engage parishioners there or take a bit more time in

distributing alms to the poor by beginning with some preaching.

Another indication that parish priests wanted to connect with the everyday

parishioner was their emphasis on using the Catalan language for instruction. A romance

language closest to French, Italian, and Castilian, Catalan was the only language most

parishioners spoke. The well-to-do who could afford education in a colegio (and a few

who possibly migrated from other parts of Spain) knew Castilian and might be prone to

use it as a way of setting themselves apart from the common people and women in

eighteenth-century Barcelona.392 There seemed to be a tension between the two

languages even within the Catalan church. Even though kings of Spain had allowed the

church to use Catalan as a pastoral language (the Bourbon kings suppressed the use of

Catalan otherwise), as early as the Tarragona council of 1636 priests were having to

become advocates for the use of Catalan since so many preachers preferred the more

elegant style of Castilian. The use of Castilian left especially women and children

ignorant of Christian doctrine.393 Thus, the fact that the regions of Vallès and Piera as

well as the parish priest of Hospitalet specifically recommend the use of Catalan in their

391 “Lo que apar se podria lograr per medi de las conferencias morals que certs dias la semana podrian ensenyarla en lo Pati de Palacio ans de ferse la Caritat y en las fabricas y custuras per medi de algun catecisme breu que se podria treballar a est fi [end] per la uniformitat.” Letter of Barcelona city parish priests, “The Responses.” 392 See Chapter 8 “Signs of Identity” in James Amelang, Honored Citizens of Barcelona: Patrician Culture and Class Relations, 1490-1714 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986). 393 See Amelang, Honored Citizens, p.151; and Costa Borràs, Novissima Coleccio.

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1767 letters demonstrates that language choice was still an important issue in the

Barcelona church and called for some correction.

The rectors of Vallès most of all wanted uniformity in education of Christian

doctrine: every parish priest should use the vernacular language for teaching purposes as

mandated by the Council of Trent.

The confusion among country folk caused by the various styles of Parish Priests in the teaching of Christian Doctrine could be avoided. If one [pre-] determined Catechism was marked or a new one was composed in the common language [vernacular] in the form of a Dialogue, in which Christian Doctrine was contained with the greatest brevity and clarity that could be used in questions and answers, to which all Parish Priests and Vicars of the Diocese would be made to conform in a style of asking and making the responses about all points of Doctrine that are obligatory to know.394

If the common language was Catalan, then Catalan should be used by the priests. Felix

Bover, parish priest of Hospitalet, expressed the same sentiment. Fortifying his position

with more than just Trent’s canons, he mentioned historic supporters of his position such

as Pope Clement VIII and Cardinal Robert Bellarmine.395 The rectors of Piera added that

even the acts of synod should be published in “the Catalan language” for those

parishioners who could read because

394 “Se evitaría la confusio que causa en la gent rustica el estil vario que tenen los Rectors en la ensenyança de la Doctrina Christiana. Si se senyala`s un Catecismo determinat o se’n compongues un de nou en lengua vulgar en forma de Dialogo, en que se contingues la Doctrina Christiana con la mayor brevedat y claridat que se puga usar en las preguntas y respostas al qual se haguessen de conformar tots los Parrocos del episcopat y sos Vicaris en el estil de preguntar y fer responder sobre tots los punts de Doctrina que es obligat saber.” Referring to Session 24 of reformatione Ch.7 in the proceedings of the Council of Trent. “Apuntaments…del Deganat del Vallès”, “The Responses.” 395 Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) was a Jesuit theologian, author of La Doctrina Christiana, whose writing was used all over Counter-Reformation Catholic Europe as part of the catechism taught to parishioners in different dioceses. Pope Clement VIII made him his personal theologian in 1597, and Bellarmine’s Molinist theology had a lot of influence in deciding the church’s position on efficacious grace at the time. McManners says of Bellarmine, “The Council of Trent had seen the sacraments as the mysteries of the Church, but Bellarmine had shifted the focus: they are essentially the means of grace within the Church.” McManners, vol II: p.14. Eusebi Niremburg is also mentioned by Felix Bover, Letter of Hospitalet, “The Responses.”

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many of the acts of synod pertain to laity who know no Latin and for whom it would be easier to convince them of their erroneous judgement by giving them the Constitutions to read. In this way, they would probably be more accepting of the universal intelligence of all the clergy and therefor would be more easily attracted to reading them.396

But how were concerns regarding Christian education and the catechism covered

in Barcelona’s acts of synod or Tarragona’s acts of provincial council? Several writers of

“The Responses” point to constitutions of the Catalan church that needed reiteration.

Evidently their concerns were not new ones, and although priests convened in

deliberative bodies (simply “councils” below) had affirmed guidelines for proper priestly

performance over the years, uniformity in observing these guidelines in 1767 was far

from satisfactory. The conclusion made from reading these letters and their references to

specific councils in history is that such meetings of clergy were necessary (even if they

only occurred every so many years) since priests did not always follow through with what

the church had resolved to do as a diocese or province. Councils served to remind clergy

of their duties and re-instill fervor so that parish priests’ (professional) discipline would

remain high. The parish priests who mad reference to specific conciliar constitutions,

quoting them many times or even citing their page numbers, showed their intimate

knowledge of and education in Barcelona church history (or “policy”), conveying as well

that many “abuses” were not new ones. Either their fellow priests were ignorant or

negligent of these acts of councils, or parish clergy in general lacked the political power

or social influence to enact and enforce the church laws.

396 “Moltas de aquellas pertanesaran a personas laycas ignorants de la llengua Llatina a las quals será mes facil desimprecionarlas de sos erroneos judicis donantlas a llegir la Constitució ja perque estarán mes acomodadas a la universal intelligencia de tots los Iglesiastichs y perso los atrauran mes facilment a sa lectura.” Letter of the Dean and parish priests of the Deganat de Piera, “The Responses.”

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The parish priests of the region of Piera, after “having looked attentively at all the

Constitutions of the Synod of Sotomayor” from 1673, suggested revisions for two

regarding the teaching of Christian doctrine. The first one read as follows:

Doctrine being so necessary for achieving eternal good fortune, as is above stated conveying that all Catholics be instructed so that they know what they should believe and work [for]: We therefore order, Synodo approbante, that all Parish Priests, Chaplains, and Priests every Sunday (since most on Sunday they are obligated to teach the people in Mass, be it by precept or by consultation) they, indeed can—or if they cannot because of some just impediment, by way of their Vicar, or lacking him, by one of the most instructed Children—can oversee the Children’s instruction and repeat many times the Christian Doctrine—be it outside or inside the Church from one o’clock until two in the afternoon or another hour more agreeable—having one bell chimed so that the Children gather. For this we send Rosaries, Images, and other Engravings, in the mode of prizes to all Parish Priests in order to excite the souls of the Children, at whose age, not entirely uncapable, but (as experience teaches) very well accommodated.397

On this first constitution, they suggested that other sorts of indulgences should be granted

to all those who participate in class and seem to be learning. They also wanted to it

inserted that “parish priests, whenever they can, should give some prizes in order to

encourage attendance.” Parents in Piera did not make their children go to Sunday school,

perhaps needing them to do work at home; the priests needed to “bribe” the children to

come and participate, offering incentives such as toys or indulgences.

Piera priests also found that, even though the second constitution on Christian

doctrine asked that “the masters of reading and writing and literate women who everyday

397 “Essent la Doctrina tan necessaria pera alcançar la eterna benaventurança (a) com dalt està dit, en la qual conve que los Catholichs sian instruits, peraque sapian lo que deuhen creurer, y obrar: Manam perço, Synodo approbante, a tots los Rectors, Domers, y Curats, que tots los dies de Diumenge (a mes del que estan obligats ensenyar al poble en la Missa, ja sia per precepte, o per consultut) ells per si, o si no podràn per causa de algun just impediment, per medi de son Vicari, o faltant aquell, per algun Minyò dels mes instruits, fassen ensenyar als Minyons, y repetir moltas vegadas la Doctrina Christian, (b) ya sia fora o dintre de la Iglesia, desde la una fins a las 2 horas passat mitg die, o altra hora mes acomodada: tocada primera una campana, (c) peraque se ajunten los Minyons. Per lo tant enviarem a tots los Rectors, Rosaris, Imatges, o altras Estampas, a modo de premis, pera excitar los animos dels Minyons, en aquella edat, no

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care to teach boys and girls respectively Christian Doctrine not permit the pupils to read

profane books, but rather [require] devotional ones that teach religion and good

behavior,”398 it was not having effect. The reason for this they said was that

in many Villages, the town councillors given [teaching posts] because of bonds of kinship and friendship or otherwise without considering the sufficiency, life, and behavior of the Masters from which results grave damages. Thus, it seems it will be good to stipulate that no Village receive as a Schoolmaster, as much one of grammar as one of reading and writing, who is not first approved by the diocesan authority, Dean or another well seen by Your Illustrious Lordship. 399

Those who employed school-masters were hiring them based on family ties and social

alliances; priests found that this nepotism created a deficiency in teachers who were also

supposed to be Christian role models and moral leaders for impressionable youth.

The parish priest of Hospitalet compiled a whole gamut of church acts from Trent,

Rome, Tarragona, and Barcelona. Each decree, constitution, or concession supported the

same goal: the fulfillment of the pastoral obligation of preaching the Gospel on every

Sunday and solemn holy day. The third Barcelonese constitution on “Christine Doctrine”

of Sotomayor’s book required that the priest use a Gospel passage to explain “a

Sacrament or article of faith.”400 The Tarragona provincial council of 1727 added that on

deltot inhabil, ans bè (segons ensenya la experiencia) molt acomodada.” Las constitucions synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book I, Title 2, Constitution 1, p.151. 398 “los Mestres de llegir y escriurer, y Donas que tenen cultura cuyden de ensenyar tots los dies als minyons y minyonas respectivament la Doctrina Christiana, (a) no permetan que los dexebles lligen llibres profans, sino devots, que ensenyan religió y bons costums”. ADB, Las Constitucions [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book I, Tit.2, Const.2, p.153. 399 “Apar seria be procuran altres indulgencias per tots aquells que ensenyan y aprenen la doctrina Christiana, responent, oyint etcetera. Amonestant en dita Constitució als Parrocos que quant pugan a fi de mourer a la assistencia donen alguns premis.”(Emphasis mine); “…en molts Pobles, donar los Atagisteris, per respecter deparentius, amistats, o altrament sens atendrer la suficiencia, vida, y costums dels Mestres de que resultan gravissims danys. Perso apar será bé disposar que ningun Poble puga rebrer per Mestre, tant de gramatica com de llegir y escriurer, que primer no sia examinat y aprovat per lo ordinari, Degá o altre ben vist al VSI.”. Letter of dean and parish priests of Piera, “The Responses.” 400 “aplicant lo Evangeli de aquell dia, a un Sagrament, o Article de la fe;” Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book I, Tit.2, Const.3, p.153-4.

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this point parish priests should realize the necessity of “catechizing” incessantly. The

council attendees also took initiative in writing to then Pope Benedict XIII about

reducing the number of holy days during which work was prohibited.401 In 1728,

Benedict XIII granted the request. The point was to enable their struggling parishioners

to work without penalty on more days, hopefully enabling them to observe the remaining

holy days (including Sundays) by attending mass during which the gospel and Christian

doctrine would be taught. The priest of Hospitalet finished the presentation with the

mention of the 1743 decree of Bishop Vintimilla of Barcelona that all priests celebrating

mass on a holy day read Christian doctrine. Together these acts and decrees demonstrate

the priest’s knowledge of church tradition and sophistication in synthesizing years of

deliberations on priestly preaching responsibilities. Above all it shows that in 1767,

priests were looking back on these councils as a fundamental feature of Barcelona church

history and tradition. But on the other hand, the mention of acts and decrees, such as in

the letter of the Hospitalet parroco, also demonstrates that no matter how fundamental

councils were, their resolutions did not “resolve” issues for very long. The next council

convened might have to deliberate on the same issue again.

Eugeni Perea Simon describes some of these continual problems in his book. On

the persistency of lay ignorance he says,

It appears that the crux of the matter rests in the very ecclesiastical structures. The clerics were more it in function than some incomes that not for a service vocation, and this instruction—not directly rewarding—was due to be for them uncomfortable to put together. Because of this, often they delegated it [instruction] to their vicars, religious orders, headmasters, etc. And one other very interesting matter is the type of pedagogy chosen. It dealt with memoristic

401 Costa Borras, p.245.

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learning, in Latin or Catalan, without the possibility of discussion about the mysteries of the faith, and taught and received as a routine in order to pass the exam. If it were not so they would not understand the continual allusions to religious ignorance or to manipulation of liturgical texts. It is evident that during the eighteenth century a true doctrinal permeability did not exist among the masses, and the reason is found in the lackings in teaching. Illiteracy of the faithful impeded their access to books that schoolmasters recommended…. Similar types of readings were left, limited to a limited number of faithful who pertained to the bourgeoisie and the nobility. 402

In the acts of synod and in “The Responses,” the continual allusions to lay religious

ignorance support the conclusion that most parish priests did not have the fervor or

dedication to teach and preach doctrine in a way that would eradicate such ignorance.

Yet, “The Responses” do not support the conclusion that parish priests were only

interested in collecting money. While enough apathetic priests surely existed to

perpetuate the problem of lay religious ignorance, the parish priests writing in 1767

demonstrate that parish clergy were not a group of priests united in apathy. There were

intra-clerical struggles and disputes such as implementing effective Christian education

that reveal the complex relationships within the secular clergy of Barcelona (i.e., the

institution of the Barcelona diocesan church).

Other areas of priestly concern

Administering the sacraments served as the most important official function of

parish priests in relation to their parishioners. Yet other areas of parishioner life moved

402 Sembla que el nus de la questio rau en les mateixes estructures eclesiastiques. Els clergues ho son mes en funció d’unes rendes que no pas per una vocació de servei, i aquest ensenyament—no remuneratiu directament—els devia ser incomode de fer. Per aixo sovint el deleguen en els vicaris, ordes religiosos, mestres, etc. I una altra questió prou interessant es el tipus de pedagogia elegida. Es tracta d’aprenentatges memorístics, en llatí o catala, sense possibilitat de discussió sobre els misteris de fe, I ensenyats I rebuts com una rutina per passar l’examen. Si no fos així no s’entendrien les contínues al.lusions a la ignorancia religiosa o a tergiversació o manipulació dels textos liturgics. Es evident que durant el segle XVIII no existeix una vertadera permeabilitat doctrinal de les masses, I la raó es troba en les mancances de l’ensenyament. L’analfabetisme dels fidels impedeix l’acces als llibres, com recomanaven els mestres de la talla…. Semblant tipus de lectures resten, pero limitades a un nombre de fidels limitat, els pertanyents a la burgesia o a la noblesa. Perea Simon, Chapter 10, p.357.

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priests to seek more involvement with their flock and correct other problems priests felt

were damaging the moral fabric of society. While some of these areas such as working

on holy days and pre-marital sexual relations have already been discussed, in the

following pages, areas pertaining more to the maintainance of the church and its priests

are the central focus.

The tithe is also mentioned by several parish priests as an “abuse.” In the Bible,

God instructs his followers to give back to him ten percent of all they earn. The Catholic

Church officially collected this ten percent, or “tithe”, and over the years the tithe became

something of a church tax. The tithe was not necessarily the income of the parish priest,

who depended more directly on charges for masses and sacraments; in fact, most tithe

money went directly to the central administration of the diocese or to laymen who were

assigned to collect it, all sending a portion to the Spanish government. (The main abuse

centering on the tithe in the eighteenth century was that it was appropriated by

monasteries, cathedral chapters or area laymen who then gave only a pittance of it to the

parish priest whom it was supposed to support.) Nevertheless, the parish priest and his

clergy had the responsibility of collecting some tithe money and a numerous amount of

other fees from the laity for their religious services. Those who collected this money had

to be cautious in achieving the right balance: while a relaxed style of money collection

could cause problems with their superiors, a meticulous collection could result in very

volatile relations with their parishioners. The diocese of Barcelona had historically tried

to establish a peaceful balance for parish priests:

In order to avoid all types of hate and rancor between Parish Priests of this our Bishopric and their Parishioners, we establish and order, Synodo approbante, that all Parish Priests, chaplains, and priests—which because of their Churches will have to charge their Parishioners some sorts of costs, interests, tithes, first fruits,

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or service charges, and whichever other wages—in the case that said Parishioners do not wish to pay them, the priests report it to Us or our General Vicars so that said money collection does not run in the name of said Parish Priests, but rather in that of our Court Lawyer.403 (Emphasis mine)

The church of Barcelona had its own lawyer to whom parish priests could report their

delinquent tithe- and fee-paying parishioners. Yet, the parish priests of Piera and those of

Papiol, Castellbisbal, Rubí, Villastrell, Valldoreix, and Santa Creu d’Olorda all note that

in relation to the above constitution more complications were arising in the course of tithe

collection from wheat farmers on their baleigs or baleixs (the wheat grain after its

separated from chaff when harvesting a field of wheat). The priests of Piera found that

For since in our Bishopric the abuse of not entirely paying the tithe and first fruits is well introduced and continues to be introduced more and more, fraudulent in various ways: a few from taking out the expenses, others the sown seeds turned small plants, that they sow every month making the industry a great sum of sifted wheat grains that they commonly call baleixs from which they obtain later a notable number of quarteras [Catalan grain measure, value varying by locality] of grain, [and] others paying out of the damaged, spoiled fruits. Thus, after the said Constitution it is important to apply some effective measure for avoiding so many pernicious damages.404 (emphasis in original)

Commenting on wheat collection, the remainder of the parish priests called it a

“damaging abuse” that parishioners were not paying the “Tithe or the First Fruits of the

403 “Per a evitar tot genero de odi y rancor entre los Rectors de aquest nostre Bisbat y sos Parroquians, estatuhim y ordenam, Synodo approbante, que tots los Rectors, Domers, y Curats, los quals per rahó de sas Iglesias hauran de cobrar de sos Parroquians alguns censos, censals, reddits, parts de esplets, delmes, primicias, o servituts, y altres qualsevols emoluments en cas que dits Parroquians nols vullan pagar, ho denuncien a Nos, o nostres Vicaris Generals, peraque dita cobrança no corra en nom de dits Rectors, sino de nostre Procurador Fiscal.” (emphasis mine) Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book V, Tit.4, Const.2, p.335. 404 “Per quant en nostre Bisbat está tant introduhit y va introduhirse mes y mes lo abus de no pagar entegrament los delmes y primicias, de fraudant de varias maneras: uns de trahent las expensas, altres la llavor, que sembran al mes fent de industria un gran cumulo de garbelladuras que vulgarment diuhen baleixs del que trauhen despres un notable numero de quarteras de gra, altres pagant dels fruits deteriors. Perso despues de la predita Constitucció inporta aplicar algun medi eficas para evitar tants perniciosos danys.” (emphasis in original) Letter of dean and rectors of Piera, “The Responses.”

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Baleigs fraudulently made and the [abuse] of extracting the quantity of grains

corresponding to that of the seeds sown before paying the First Fruits and Tithe in the

occasion that this abuse is already presumed by law or civil and Ecclesiastical

arrangement.”405 Disputes over correct tithing and the proper measurement of grains

became a chief area of contention and conflict between priests and their parishioners.

Such disputes give rise to the notion that priest-parishioner relations were less than

harmonious in mid- to late-eighteenth-century Barcelona.

Ideally priests wanted their unmarried parishioners to be segregated from the

opposite sex at all times when outside of the home. If practiced, this norm would have

promoted sexual purity before marriage for both sexes, and since the priest dispensed the

sacrament of marriage, it would have ensured that parishioners pass through the priest

and church in order to engage in sexual relations. In effect, it was not until the era of

Catholic Reform (beginning in the sixteenth century with the Council of Trent) that

bishops and their clergy began to insist upon the division of the sexes “so that there

would not be currents of contamination of the body or of language.”406 Not just in

Barcelona, but throughout the Catholic world, clergy found the intermingling of the sexes

to be “an indecent promiscuity,” especially in church pews.407 Observing men and

405 “Decima ni Primicia dels Baleigs fraudulentment fets y el de extraurir la quantitat de grans corresponent a la de Llavó sembrada abans de pagar la Primicia y Decima en ocasió que aquest abus esta ja presingut per Lley o Disposició civil y Eclesiastica.” Letter of Jaume Riera rector of Papiol, Agusti Pages rector of Castellbisbal, Francisco Terradellas rector of Rubí, Anton Llupart rector of Villastrell, Eudalt Puigcarbó rector of St. Cypria de Valldoreix, and Pau Torrents rector of Sta Creu de Olorda, “The Responses.” (dated 24 July 1767) 406 “…de manera que no hi hagi corrents de contaminació corporal o de llenguatge.” Perea Simon, p.411. 407 “A principis del segle XVII l’arquebisbe [of Tarragona] Joan de Moncada, en ruta per les parròquies de la plebania de Montblanc, es lamentava el costum d’asseure’s les dones als bancs dels homes, en les celebracions d’ofici dominical, i considera aquesta pràctica una promiscuïtat indecent.” Eugeni Perea

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women bathing themselves together in a fountain close to the chapel of Saint Arnold

(Arnoux) in the French diocese of Vence, a French traveler denounced the act as a two-

fold sin: belief that being close to a sanctuary would be able to cure people of their

illnesses and concupiscence in relations.408

In “The Responses” of 1767, parish priests expressed their discontent with their

unmarried parishioners’ sexual relations that went on behind closed doors, but a lot of

their frustration came from the realization that they had little power and influence over

such private affairs of parishioners. Improper sexual conduct that occurred in the church

itself or in religious functions was entirely another matter. Priests felt that as leaders of

the local church they should be able to maintain a certain level of sexual propriety in their

flock’s public religious conduct. For those priests who worked in the spirit of Reform

Catholicism this conviction spelled the separation of the sexes in churches, hospitals,

public establishments, and even in public religious acts such as dances and processions.

Sexual conduct in dances received a fair share of discussion in the priests’ letters

because it seems that sexual separation in these dances was far from established by 1767

in Barcelona. Explaining the difficulty in effecting such separation of the sexes, Perea

Simon opines in his study of the parishes of eighteenth-century Tarragona that “the

unawareness between the mentality of the reformer who saw in that [the mixing of the

sexes in church] a moral danger and the mentality of the people who saw it as a natural

thing is seen clearly when the response to the decrees [of the Church] was the most

Simon discusses the same phenomenon in the neighboring region of Tarragona, here in connection with the pastoral visit made to the parish of Montblanc, p.411. 408 M.-H. Froeschlé-Chopard, “Une définition de la religion populaire à travers les visites pastorales d’Ancien Régime,” in Dubosc, Plangeron, Robert (ed), La Religion Populaire, Paris: 1979, p.190-191.

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radical indifference.”409 Thus, the parishioners’ indifference to separation of the sexes in

eighteenth-century Barcelona is a sign that if parish priests had already attempted any

reform efforts in the seventeeth or eighteenth centuries, they had been relatively

unsuccessful in reforming local religious practices.

A common complaint in “The Responses” was the spectacle of men and women

freely dancing together during the extensive holy day celebrations in the town

plaza/plaça. This prompted the disdain of parish priests who desired gender relations in

such religious scenarios to be one of complete gender segregation, the only possible

exception being the case of married couples. The parish priest of St. Vicents dels Horts

expressed his view of both sexes united in dance and the controversy it created:

In many principal festes certain types of dances are held in the town squares in which the arms of men and women interlink, …actions which are …decomposing the modesty of those around that observe this step in the woman. I do not know if it would be better remedy for such an excess to order the mayors of towns not to permit such dances in the squares and that they take care in ordering musicians to abstain from playing in such dances.410

For the priests of “The Responses,” not only were the men and women dancers engaging

in a sexually promiscuous dance, they were also whetting the sexual appetites of on-

lookers by showing some female leg. The parish priest of St. Vicents dels Horts

expressed uncertainty as to whether the clergy alone could control their parishioners’

desire for provocative dancing as part of the celebration of religious holy days. Some felt

409 “La desconexió entre la mentalitat del reformador, que veu en això [mixing of the sexes in church] un perill moral, i la del poble, que ho veu com un fet natural, es veu clar quan la resposta als decrets és la indiferència més radical.” Perea Simon, p.411.

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that mayors had more effective power over religious celebrations outside of the church

than did parish priests.411

But even inside of the church, the clergy of Barcelona had had to enact in synod a

constitution expressing the need to keep men and women separated. The 1673 book of

synodal constitutions reads:

For since the decay of many has arrived at the profaning of Churches, speaking and making gestures and other actions inappropriate for the consideration and respect that Churches should have in them (from which God our Lord is gravely offended): We establish and order, Synodo approbante, that in the Churches, processions, and [religious] stations men are not among the women, that they do not speak or converse with them about profane things, nor make gestures, nor any other indecent acts.412

The parish priests of San Marti de Torrellas, San Estevan de Cervelló, and Santa Coloma

de Cervelló all wrote together regarding this constitution, lamenting that “we see the

opposite practiced at least in Barcelona.” It was not necessarily that priests were ignorant

of the acts of synod; on the contrary, “The Responses” show many priests’ intimate

knowledge of them. While some priests may have been plainly uninterested in enforcing

sexual segregation in churches and processions, the authors of this complaint also

410 “En moltas festas principals se fan en las plazas certa especie de balls en que encrusan los brassos home y dona y donan desta manera una volta amb violencia, las quals accions no sols son incentivas en los que ballan, sino que offerer la modestia dels presents amb ha descompostuia que se observa en aquest pas en la dona. No se si seria lo millor remey per dit exces manar als batlles dels pobles no permeten tals balls en las plazas y que cuydassen de manar als musicos se abstinguessen de donar/sonar per semblants balls.” Letter of Ignasi Roig rector of St. Vicents dels Horts, “The Responses.” 411 The rector of Olivella asserts another way in which civil and church authorities must come together in order to maintian the sexual propriety of Spanish Catholics: “Se deben prohibir con gran rigor los Osculos More Patria que se introducen en nuestra España.” (Most likely this was a book of sensual poetry.) See letter of Penedès, “The Responses.” 412 “Per quant la descompostura de molts ha arribat a profanar las Iglesias, parlant, y fent senyals y altres accions agenas de la consideració y respecte que deuhen tenir en ellas (de que Deu Nostre Senyor se offen gravement): Estatuhim y manam, Synodo approbante, que en las Iglesias, professons, y estacions, no estigan los homens entre las donas, no parlen ni conversen ab ellas cosas profanas, ni fassan senyals, ni altres qualsevols actes indecents.” Las Constitucions synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book 1, Tit.3, Const.4, p.159.

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maintained that it was because the acts of synod lack “the strength or force of law.”

Either the acts were not uniformly enforced for whatever reason, or they contained words

that only carried the “strength or force of a precept and that may only be enforced by

means of exhortation.”413 Even if individual parish priests attempted to uphold the level

of sexual propriety called for in the mass and the church sanctuary, the parish clergy as a

body lacked the solidarity to uphold acts of synods as laws. Over the years in the diocese

of Barcelona, some parish clergy continued to see the acts as guidelines rather than laws,

weakening the institutional integrity of the diocesan church of Barcelona and the

authority of parish priests as local religious leaders who tried to enforce acts of synod.

In contrast with the evidence of “The Responses,” the eighteenth-century pastoral

visitations that Perea Simon studied show that the archdiocese of Tarragona had a

different policy and because of it men and women, married and single, were effectively

separated—at least in churches. The difference lay in the fact that a hefty monetary

penalty threatened parish priests if the archbishop found that men and women

intermingled in the church pews. As recorded in pastoral visitations as early as 1718,

rectors were fined 3 pounds if found permitting men and women to sit together in church.

The fine was “a rather considerable quantity for the time, considering that the average

salary [for parish priests] in Tarragona at the end of the eighteenth century was eight rals

[or two-thirds of a pound].414 The desired separation inside the churches was for men to

413 “Vemos practicar lo contrario a lo menos en Barcelona.” Instead of “fuersa de ley”, they had only “fuersa de precepto y que únicamente se impriman por modo de exortación.” Letter of Thomas Prat rector of St. Marti de Torrellas, Bernardo Vilaseca rector of San Estevan de Cervelló, and Joseph Antigas rector of Santa Coloma de Cervelló; “The Responses.” 414 “Una quantitat prou considerable per a l’època, atès que el sou mitjà a Tarragona a les darreries del segle XVIII era de 8 rals.” Perea Simon, p.411 (note 28 makes reference to the book of “Visitas” dated June 23,

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sit on the left and women on the right “de cara al presbiteri” (when facing the

presbytery). Churches in Tarragona observed this order so well that in visitation notes

one finds that the only mention of the contrary is when the order was reversed or inverted

in any way. Yet the separation remained intact. The parish church of Sant Miquel de

Forès had two entrances—one for women and one for men. Since Perea Simon states

that this parish’s population oscillated between 100-170 people during the eighteenth

century and that they were solely farmers and ranchers (cattle-raisers) who naturally

would have a lot of contact with each other in order to survive as a community. Thus,

that men and women split up into two groups with such discipline in the parish church

“was owing more to ecclesiastical imposition than to sactionable reasons, and because of

this the results were purely artificial: upon exiting the church, the mixing of genders was

undeniable.” Most importantly, however, what might not have occurred in Barcelona but

did in Tarragona had other consequences: in such a context of gender separation, the

Tarraconense church cultivated a distinct, albeit unconscious, mentality of gender

relations. “Between men and women, distrust grew between them as well as the

conviction that their relations could be dangerous, mortal, or sinful.”415 Since Barcelona

did not witness as much gender separation in church, the consequences of separation for

lay gender relations are not as significant in Barcelonese society. Yet, that many parish

priests held to this goal of Reform Catholicism in Barcelona speaks to the profound

1718). The information on eighteenth-century Catalan money and coins can be found in Felipe Mateu y Llopis, Glosario Hispánico de Numismática [Barcelona: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Sección de Estudios Medievales de BCN), 1946]. 415 “Devia obeir més a raons d’imposició eclesiàstica que no pas de motivacions sancionables, i per tant resultava artificial: en sortir del temple la mescla de gèneres era inqüestionable.” “Entre homes i dones creixia la desconfiança i el convenciment que llur relació podia ser perillosa, morbosa o de pecat.” Perea Simon, p.411-412.

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extent to which the post-Tridentine Catholic Church desired to change the fabric of

Catholic society at the grass roots of male-female relations.

Pointing to another area for reform, Barcelonese priests recurrently expressed

their displeasure with parishioners frequenting rural shrines instead of the parish church.

Some parish priests felt that attacking the illicit use of bells at these sites was the answer,

since parishioners associated the chime of church bells with a call to worship, leading

them to the conclusion that they should convene within that church.416 For parish priests,

the popularity of rural shrines and chapels competed with their role as leaders of the local

church. In order to have religious leadership and influence over their parishioners, each

parish priest needed to have the ears of his parishioners, at least in the form of their

attention on Sundays and major holy days. Rural chapels, shrines, and even privately

owned chapels—any popular place for religious devotion on days of festa—impeded

parish priests in their effectiveness as the local religious leader because they detracted

numbers from their audience. In Castelldefels, the parish priest Dr. Ambrosio Lexidor

felt that parish clergy could attain the desired level of effectiveness if Bishop Climent’s

upcoming synod would add a constitution “that forbids all processions that travel a great

distance, especially those beyond the parish limits, and on solemn [holy] days, in which

416 In the spirit of Trent, to establish the parish church as the main house of worship on Sundays, Saturday evenings, and vigils of holy days, the diocesan clergy of Barcelona had established as a constitution that in “all the parish church of this our bishopric…at the most convenient hour, the parish priests, curas, and other clergy ring the bells to bring together and convoke the people…and because with utmost devotion and attendance one fulfills this, we concede, with grace in the Lord, 40 days of Indulgence to all who find themselves present.” See Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book III, tit.3, const.1, p.266. [“que en totas las Iglesias Parroquials de aquest nostre Bisbat…a la hora mes convenient, los Rectors, Curats, y demes Capellans fassan tocar las campanas pera juntar y convocar al poble…y perque ab major devoció y assistencia se cumpla, concedim misericordiosament en lo Senyor 40 dias de Indulgencia a tots los que si trobaran presents.”] The priest Manuel Cortada found this lacking in his parish of San Andreu de la Barca. See his letter and those of Sant Joan d’Horta and Sarriá in “The Responses.”

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Parish Church attendance is required, and to solemnize the festa and frequent the

sacraments [of penitence and Eucharist], they are not absent from her, nor make

commotion in the name of devotion.”417 Rather than attacking the rural chapels directly,

this priest desired boundaries on the distances of processions. Put into practice, this

constitution could have helped to achieve the same goal as prohibitting priests from

giving Sunday mass in any other building besides the parish church, in the process

limiting parishioners’ worship options. In this case it is difficult to envision how parish

priests would have enforced the proposed constitution. Even if enforcers were to block

the progress of processions by standing at the parish boundary, it is hard to image how

the attention and devotion of the parishioners would thereby have been enhanced since

they would find that the new restrictions barred their desired means of Catholic worship.

On the whole, parish priests had an entirely different vision for Catholic worship

than their parishioners. Because of their seminary education and knowledge of the acts

of Barcelona synods and Tarragona councils, many parish priests felt compelled to

adhere to this “orthodox” and “Tridentine” definition of Catholic piety. Parishioners’

avoiding sacraments, particularly marriage, plus their processions to and gatherings at

rural chapels and shrines, as well as their lack of sexual propriety in religious functions

all show this discrepancy between local Barcelonese religion and Tridentine catholicism.

This discrepancy could also be described as the incompatibility inherent between

traditional Catholicism of early modern Spain and the modernizing tendencies of Reform

417 “…que prive totas las professons demasiadament distants, en especial fora dels limits, de la Parroquia, y en dias solemnes en que se ha de asistir a la Igla Parroquial per solemnisar la festa y frequentar los sacraments no ausentarse de ella ni fer bulla ab titol de devoció.” Letter of Ambrosio Lexidor rector of Castelldefels, “The Responses.”

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Catholicism as exemplified by the reforms of the Council of Trent.418 The jurisdiction of

the church in eighteenth-century Spain was not great enough to eradicate the discrepancy

and bring about religious harmony, since much of ecclesiastical authority was subsumed

under the power of the absolutist state.

The letter of Saturio Romero y Palacios, Rector of Sant Feliu de Codines, a parish

in the region of Vallès, demonstrates the conflict between Reform Catholicism and

traditional Catholic practices in the description of the Maundy Thursday procession in his

parish. Rector Romero y Palacios used pejorative words to describe the solemnity and

holiness with which a certain confraternity conducted itself. Commemorating Christ’s

Last Supper, arrest, and trek to Calvary with the cross on his back, the confraternity

members called disciplinants used palm branches to whip and beat themselves in order to

bleed in procession. But this priest found it outrageous because he felt that the

disciplinants thrashed themselves not in order to remember the Passion of Christ but

instead to showcase their piety. (See the excerpt on page 178, note 263, of Chapter

Three.)

While the local community saw in the act Catholic piety and a solemn observance

of the Passion of Christ, Priest Romeo y Palacios maintained, however, that if these

flagellants were truly pious and concerned about remembering the suffering of Christ,

they would not get drunk on wine before the procession. Evidently, the wine-drinking

418 John Bossy has described how Tridentine reforms throughout Catholic Europe sought to exclude lay people form autonomous religious action, with the goal of transitioning parishioners from active to passive religious expression. Parochial uniformity; keeping better records of baptisms, marriages, confirmations, etc; confessional booths; teaching the catechism to children (“Sunday schools”)—all of these were goals in Counter-Reformation Europe. But Bossy finds the reform program did not achieve ultimate success because practical, rather than spiritual, ends were the focus. Bossy, pp.85-104 in The Counter-Reformation.

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numbed their pain, but it also gave cause for this parish priest to discredit their religious

act as simply pagan worship of the Roman god of wine, Bacchus, whose followers

historically used self-flagellation as the main form of worship. In sum, the priest’s

concerns centered on ideological differences with the religiosity of his parishioners. The

problem at stake for him was to explain to his parishioners why their religiosity was

unacceptable in a way that did not cause them to reject his authority as despotic and

tyrannical rather than religious.

But such a situation was not unique for this priest of Sant Feliu de Codines; in

fact, such goals for religious reform were common in eighteenth-century Spain among

clerics and government officials alike. This reform project for Spanish Catholicism

became a chief element of the Spanish Enlightenment. For example, even the devoutly

Catholic King Charles III did not consider such bloody displays of the flagellators as

intrinsic to Spanish Catholicism. Charles III along with his “enlightened” ministers

attempted to change the nature of religious practices. In his chapter on local religion

from 1580 to 1780, William Christian states that “Although [bloodly] processions of

Holy Week continued in many towns, public flagellation was prohibited in 1767 by

Charles II.”419 This prohibition succeeded in eradicating Passion brotherhoods, and thus

most bloody processions, but Christian still finds flagellation in Holy Week processions

an ongoing practice as late as 1974 in the Logroño region (the town of San Vicente de la

Sonsierra).

419 It is interesting to note that such prohibitions of external forms of Catholic piety took place in the same year as the expulsion of the Jesuits in Spain. These events form an overall trend in regalist policy to promote a more internal Catholic spirituality in Spain. Christian, Local Religion, p.204.

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Theological issues were an important domain of priestly concern among parish

clergy in eighteenth-century Barcelona. The theological perspective of the parish clergy

ultimately shaped their evaluation of parishioner spirituality. Since the sixteenth century,

the Society of Jesus (or the regular order of clergy called Jesuits) had influenced the

theological bent of many parish priests by targeting education, such as in the seminaries

that trained secular clergy. The relaxed interpretation of Catholic moral theology called

“Probabilism,” that Jesuits espoused was the prevalent school of thought in most

seminaries and universities in early modern Spain. In addition, Jesuits had a well-known

propensity to accept and live with indigenous beliefs and customs. Some secular clergy

found this useful in their work with parishioners ignorant of Scripture and Church

doctrine. Instead of focusing on doctrine and Scripture, Jesuit-trained priests could

encourage the veneration of images, elaborate processions, and even the bleeding of

flagellants—essentially external forms of Catholic piety that did not require literacy or

heavy doses of doctrine and that were more familiar forms of worship for Spanish

parishioners. (These parish priests might encourage children to learn the catechism, but it

would be a version advocated by some probabilist theologian.) Such a theological

perspective at the parish level would also encourage priests to be less strict with their

parishioners’ actions, particularly their observance of the Sabbath, other holy days, and

the sacraments, without guilt of conscience.

The king and his officials had entered into this priestly domain when the order

came from Madrid in April of 1767 that the Jesuits would have to leave Spain and that all

of their property would revert to the hands of the king. While the motives for the Jesuits’

expulsion were based more on the king’s political concerns rather than the theological

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concerns of the many ecclesiastical lobbyists420, the banishment of the Society of Jesus

changed the dynamics of Spanish Catholicism, especially for the priesthood. No longer

would Jesuit priests influence the education of priests and parishioners.421 Charles III and

his Council of Castile continued to appoint bishops such as Climent who had more

Jansenist rather than Jesuit affiliation and who would thus support further religious

reform from Madrid such as prohibitting public flagellation.422

But the influence of probabilism that the Jesuits had sought so hard to promote as

well as the example of the Jesuits did not easily go away in the Spanish clergy. Despite

the fact that the king of Spain had obliged all university and seminary professors as well

as superiors of religious orders under threat of prosecution not to teach any tenet of

probabilism by reason of its association with the doctrine of regicide and its threat to

public peace,423 the Jesuit-trained, probabilistic professors had inundated the seminary of

Barcelona for years.424 And many of their graduates filled the ranks as parish priests and

lesser clergy even though the king’s judgement on the Jesuits had been clear. Thus,

indicators of probabilistic thinking emerge in “The Responses.”

420 For the political motives of Spain see Teófanes Egido Lopez and Isidoro Pinedo, Las Causas “Gravísimas” y Secretas de la Expulsión de los Jesuitas por Carlos III, Madrid: Fundación Universitaria Española, 1994. For a more comprehensive look at politics at play in Europe, see Dale K. Van Kley, “The Expulsion of the Jesuits,” in Enlightenment, Reawakening, Revolution, 1660-1815, Stewart J. Brown and Timothy Tackett, eds. Vol.VII of The Cambridge History of Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2006). 421 That is, until the nineteenth century when the Pope reinstated the Society of Jesus and the Jesuits returned to Spain in 1815. 422 Other reforms such as the suspension of Holy Week processions and of brotherhoods as described in Calaix de Sastre had practical ends for the Spanish government (such as working towards an enlightened Spanish society), but the “rigorist” bishops and clergy appointed would also have theological grounds to support such reform from the government/state. 423 Novissima Recopilación, ley 3, tit.4, l.8. 424 See Chapter Five for more discussion of the Barcelona seminary. See also, Tort I Mitjans, p.171.

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In approaching theological perspectives in “The Responses”, it is important to

recognize that most priests were not candid or straightforward about their theological

persuasion. This reticence occurred partly because Climent requested an accounting of

specific practices (costums, costumbres) rather than beliefs that the priests find “abusive”

in their parishes. Another important consideration, however, is that Climent had made

clear his theological persuasion from his first day as bishop of Barcelona. By the time

Climent had asked for the parish priests’ responses in May of 1767, the Jesuits had

already been expelled from Spain, leaving priests cognizant that any Jesuit-sympathizing

or probabilist-influenced recommendations they made would fall on deaf (and even

unfriendly) ears. Parish priests probably did not want to share their theological beliefs

that would be judged in any way “probablist” and incurr the wrath of the bishop, and

possibly the king, in their anti-Jesuitistic witch-hunt.

That being the case, in “The Responses” only a handful of parish priests—and

that handful all from the oficialato of Barcelona—gave any clear hint of theological bent.

Since the parish priests knew that their new bishop held Jansenist sympathies, they would

have felt free to express any similar leanings they might have had. That only two of the

letters assert propositions that reveal an undisputedly Jansenist or morally rigorous stance

testifies that few parish priests in Barcelona were overtly hostile to the Society of Jesus.

Yet, that these two “jansenizing” letters are both anonymous leaves doubt as to whether it

was even safe in the larger political scene of the diocese of Barcelona to pronounce

openly against probabilist- or Jesuit-like tendencies. Regardless, those that do are clear

in their ideas for reform. The parish priest of Sant Boi de Llobregat (who does not

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disclose his name or the date of the letter) suggested that by the time of Pentecost parish

priests publicly disclose the names of those parishioners that did not fulfill their Lenten

obligations for that year (fasting, confessing, absolution, and taking communion): “If all

Parish Priests were ordered that the Sunday following In Albis they make public the

names of the damned [reprobates]at the time of the offertory during the morning and high

masses, with their Christian and sir names—I think that it would be an effective way of

correction.”425

Anton Riera, parish priest of Sarria, took pains to argue why 60+ year-olds should

still be required to fast on certain holidays, employing a language laiden with

“probabiliorist” indicators. While probabiliorism was not exactly moral rigorism, in the

context of the eighteenth century, probabiliorism was generally perceived as rigoristic

and certainly anti-jesuitical.426 Riera’s deep knowledge of different theological

arguments is demonstrated in the following passage of his letter:

The precept of fasting to those who are not twenty-one or to those who are older than sixty years—these last words seem to me to call for Your Lordship to expunge them from said ritual [book] because they are only based on probabiliter probable opinion, that which is not a rule of good work. That it is just probabiliter probable is clear because some Authors deny its probability, or better said they take it as false as Father Emanuel [Daniello] Concina in Book Two of Theologia Christiana Dogmatico-moralis, book seven, chapter five, n.2, p.2 where it says: Hac opinio falsa mihi est. Senes sepe excusantur non ratione senectutis, sed quia plura in senectute experiuntur incommoda et infirmitates. Ceterum plurio imi senes firma valetudinis facilius Iejunant (dejunant), quam virí triginta, vel quadraginta annorum. Quare adversa opinio nullo probabilitatis gradu fruitur, sed penitus risocienda est. Et funi tom.5 lib.2 diss.2 c.19 n.9. And the same fact that said opinion be true probable. No Probabiliorist in all

425 “En cumplir la quaresma tots los anys per mes se avisen algunas Personas ho dilatan per Pentecostes. Si se manava als Rectors que la Dominica despues de la In Albis publicassen als reprobos al temps del offertori en las Misas matinal y major amb son nom y cognom penso [que] seria [un] medi eficas per la esmena.” Letter of Sant Boi de Llobregat, “The Responses.” 426 See Chapters One and Two for more discussion on probabilism, probabiliorism, and moral rigorism.

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consciousness can counsel it or publish it as Christian Dogma and so it seems it needs to be expunged from said Ritual [book]427 (emphasis in original)

This priest felt strongly that excusing those 60 years old and above from the obligations

of fasting is sinful, a false belief of probabilists. Ironically, all other letters in “The

Responses” that mention fasting argue the contrary—that when people reach such an age

they are too weak to endure fasting.428 Riera’s argument is a more philosophical than a

practical one, more about championing a certain theological bent than about grave

“abuses” in need of reform among parishioners. His citation and veneration of Daniello

Concina, an ardent eighteenth-century probabiliorist who wrote much on Lenten fasting

also was known in his day as a strong critic of the Society of Jesus, puts Riera in the

camp of probabiliorism. Furthermore, Concina’s Theologia Christiana Dogmatico-

Moralis429 had gained fame for the dramatic backlash it received from the Jesuits who

demanded its condemnation; thus, Riera was clearly nothing of a Jesuit-advocate.

427 “Lo precepte de dejunar no obliga als que no han cumplert la edat de vint, y un any, ni als que passan de xexanta. Estas ultimas paraulas me apar suplicar a VS las fasse borrar de dit ritual perque sols se fundan en opinió probabiliter probable la que no es regla de ben obrar. Que sols sia probabiliter probable consta perque alguns Autors negan sa probabilitat imo la tenen per falsa com lo P.M.Fr. Emanuel [Daniello] Concina Lib2 de Theologia Christiana Dogmatico-moralis lib.7 cap.5 n.2 q.2 ahont diu: Hac opinio falsa mihi est. Senes sepe excusantur non ratione senectutis, sed quia plura in senectute experiuntur incommoda et infirmitates. Ceterum plurio imi senes firma valetudinis facilius Iejunant (dejunar), quam virí triginta, vel quadraginta annorum. Quare adversa opinio nullo probabilitatis gradu fruitur, sed penitus risocienda est. Et funi tom.5 lib.2 diss.2 c.19 n.9. Et tandem dato que dita opinió sia certo probable. Ningun Probabiliorista tuta cont(c)ientia la pot aconsellar y menos publicarla com a Dogma Christia y aixis apar se aurí de borrar de dit Ritual….” Letter of Anton Riera rector of Sant Vicens de Sarriá, “The Responses.” [He also mentions other theologians: “Sotomayor en la cual se mana als Rectors, Domers, y Curats que tots los Diumenges al offertori de las Misas matinals y Majors denuncien al Poble las festas, y dejunis (fasts) que en lo discurs de la semana es devindrant. La cual obligació segons Fr Gabriel a Sto Vincentio de remedýs/dijs Ignorantia disput.2 dub.4.0.4 n.57 asserit Parocos ad id teneri sub mortali.”] 428 The only other priest that seems to agree with Riera of Sarria is Anton Bruno rector of Vegas who writes that “lo precepte de dejunar no obliga als que passan de xexanta (60) anys, lo que no es tant cert com authorisa tal publicació [the manual] etc.” (emphasis mine) Letter of Vegas, “The Responses.” 429 Daniello Concina, Theologia Christiana Dogmatico-Moralis, 12 vols, Rome and Venice: s/n, 1749-51.

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The most Jansenist-leaning letter, however, does not indicate either the place or

name of its authorship. It is simply entitled “Reflexions en alguns titols y constitucions

del Synodo del Illm Sr Sotomayor.” Most likely this letter accompanied a signed letter of

a parish priest as an enclosure, but none of the other letters make reference to these

“reflections.”430 Regardless, the suggestions in these reflections demand changes in the

semantics of the constitutions that Sotomayor published in 1673, the effects of which

would change their theological tenor (and by extension that of the official policy of the

Barcelonese church) in a more rigorous direction. For example, the definition of

contrition in the 1673 Constitucions synodals reads:

Contrition is pain and detestation of sin for what it is, in how much it is offensive to God, with a firm resolution not to sin more, and of confessing and satisfying. It is of two manners, perfect and imperfect. The perfect, called absolute[ly] Contrition, is the said pain and detestation of sin because of love for God our Lord. The imperfect, called commonly Attrition, is the said pain and detestation of sin because of a fear of hell or of temporal penalties; or because of love and desire for good fortune or out of consideration for the awkwardness of sin. (emphasis in original)431

In the letter of “reflections” on the other hand, it is asked that “it not be added that this

love is of two kinds, because the initial, beginning love is a gift from God that makes

justification possible. Perfect love is that which is a unique gift of the Holy Spirit and

only through this love can one be justified. Because immediately following this

430 The hand writing of the vicari perpetuo of Badalona most resembles that of this letter but the letter/font size is larger. 431 “La contrició es un dolor y detestació del pecat com es, en quant es ofensa de Deu, ab ferm proposit de no pecar mes, y de confessar y satisfer. La qual es en dos maneras, perfeta e imperfecta. La perfeta, dita absolutament Contrició es lo predit dolor y detestatció del pecat, per lo amor de Deu nostre Senyor. La imperfeta, dita comunamet Atrició es lo predit dolor y detestació del pecat per lo temor del infern o de las penas temporals; o per lo amor, y desitg de la benaventurança o per la consideració de la torpesa del pecat.” (emphasis in original) Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], p.144.

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description of perfect love [in the Acts of Synod] a description of Attrition follows.”432

The Barcelona acts of synod had previously stipulated that attrition was acceptable for

the sacrament of penitence as “imperfect contrition” but the writer of this letter wanted to

strike that stipulation. For this priest, attrition was something distinct that did not suffice

in the sacrament of penitence—a position shared by other moral rigorists in the

eighteenth century, disgruntled by the effects of Jesuit-encouraged attritionism among

parishioners.

Another suggestion in the “reflections” was for the diocesan church to demand of

its confessors the same demands placed on its preachers so that penitence should be

administered more thoroughly. The Barcelona acts of synod had ordered all of its

preachers “who having before their eyes the great obligations of the office and

considering the rigorous and narrow path that Our God demands of them in executing

that office” (emphasis mine) that they do not use difficult, curious, or subtle themes nor

incorporate incertain, false or superstitious ideas in their sermons since they “do not

pertain to the spiritual edification of the people.” Sermons as a rule in Barcelona were to

“follow the most common doctrines received from the saints and holy Councils.”433 Yet,

432 “No se añadesca que est Amor de Deu es de 2 Maneras: ço es inicial o inchoat lo qual es un do (gift or talent) de Deu que disposa a la justificació, y filial y perfet lo qual es aquell unich do del Esperit St que per si sol justifica. Ya que immediatament despres se explican los motius de la Atrició.” Reflexions en alguns titols y constitucions del Synodo del Illm Sr Sotomayor, “The Responses.” (In addition to the rhetoric on attrition and contrition, the writer mentions that on page 98 of Las Constitucions Synodals the language should be changed to designate that “adoration” in Catholicism pertains only to God and not directly to “holy images and relics”—another point placing the writer firmly in the rigorist camp.) 433 “…Que tenint devant dels ulls las grans obligacios de son offici y considerant lo riguros y estret compté que Deu Nostre los ha de demanar de la execucuó de aquell, no tracten cosas que no pertanyen a la edificació Espiritual del Poble, ni cosas incertas, falsas, supersticiosas, ni escandalosas.” Sermons were to “seguir las doctrinas mes comunas y rebudas dels sants y sagrats Concilis.” Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book I, Tit.II, Const.V, p.155.

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this was only demanded of “preachers,” and so this writer to Climent asked, “Why, with

similar or greater reasoning, is not the same asked of the Confessors?”

…Regarding this practice, in the Pulpit as much as in the Confessional, it leaves hope that it will verify [the phrase]: non esset tanta facilitas peccandi, ni si esset tanta facitas absolvendi. [“It is not easy to sin, then neither should it be easy to be absolved of that sin.”] And as a consequence, that such uniform and good discipline would banish at least over time the Usuries, near opportunities, Luxury, and other Scandals.434

Further advocating a more rigorous or thorough application of penitence, the writer

asserted that additions needed to be made in the first constitution of Book II, Title V.

Instead of leaving it that “even though the Pain of Attrition… is sufficient pain, together

with the Sacrament of Penitence”435, he petitioned that Session 14, Capitol 4 of the

Council of Trent be cited, since “said Chapter of the Council does not declare that it is

sufficient but rather that it prepares [for Contrition].”436 The overall point is that this

writer felt strongly that the sacrament of penitence was a rigorous process in which

attrition served only as a beginning rather than its fulfilment. While the acts of synod,

scripture, and doctrine established by general councils of the Catholic Church supported

this point, the Jesuit influence in eighteenth-century Barcelona had created an increasing

number of loopholes for attrition in current directives on penitence. From this priest’s

testimony, as well as from other priests’ more specific comments on penitence as

434 “Perque ab semblants o major razon no se exorta lo mateix als Confessors? …De esta practica, aixi en lo Pulpit com en lo Confessionari, es de esperar se verificaria que: non esset tanta facilitas peccandi, ni si esset tanta facitas absolvendi. Y per conseguent, que tant uniforme y bona disciplina desterraria a lo menos amb lo temps, las Usuras, las Ocasions proximas, lo Luxo, y altres Escandols.” Reflexions, “The Responses.” 435 “Encaraque lo Dolor de Atricio… es sufficient dolor, junt ab lo Sagrament de la Penitencia.” Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book II, Tit.V, Const.1, p.193. 436 “Dit Capitol del Concili no declara que sia sufficient sino que disposa.” Reflexions, “The Responses.”

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practiced in their parishes, it appears that in 1767 in the diocese of Barcelona the

theological tenets supporting the administration of this sacrament were overwhelmingly

of the probabilist persuasion and, in the aftermath of the expulsion of the Jesuits, an

important area for reform within the clergy.

While this letter promotes an undisputedly Jansenist or morally rigorous cause,

the lack of similar letters in “The Responses” shows that most parish priests were not

politically polarized against the Jesuits or their theological influence. Possibly it was not

advantageous to align oneself openly against probabilist- or Jesuit-like influences in

Barcelona society, but the new bishop’s Jansenist sympathies and the king’s recent

expulsion of the Jesuits as a threat to the nation would seem to suggest otherwise. Even

so, the parish priest Felix Bover of Hospitalet felt free to counsel Bishop Climent with

expressions that overtly exposed their probabilist leanings. Bover of Hospitalet,

discussed above as a parish priest who emphasized the teaching of Christian doctrine in

the parish, expressed just what kind of doctrine he envisioned parishioners learning.

Advising Bishop Climent first to “foresee that all parrocos …use one catechism”, he

specifies that this catechism “be that by Father Ledesma”—a Dominican priest of the late

sixteenth-early seventeenth century who was well-known for his probablist ideas.437

Moreover, Bover drops quite a few names in his letter of over 20 pages, in the process

showing his anti-Jansenist, pro-probabilist stance. Luis de Molina, Pope Clement XI

(and his 1713 Bull Unigenitus), and Pope Benedict XIII (known in his own time as an

Augustinian but remembered for his campaign to achieve unconditional universal

437 “…se preve als parrocos que en la ensenansa de la doctrina christiana al poble usian tots de un cathesime y senyala lo del P. Ledesma y alli mateix tracta dit ritual del modo de ensenyarla.” Letter of Felix Bover rector of Hospitalet, “The Responses.”

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acceptance of the anti-Jansenist Bull Unigenitus)—all are mentioned in the letter of Priest

Bover of Hospitalet as doctrinal sources to support proposed or existing acts of synod in

Barcelona.

In general, however, theologically charged parish priests in the diocese of

Barcelona turn out to be the exception rather than the rule. Some, such as the priest of

Sarria and the writer of the Reflexions, demonstrate the absolute priority that theology

had in their parish administration and pastoring. Yet overall “The Responses” show that

most priests found that the day-to-day behavior of their parishioners and other priests was

influenced more in practice by mundane circumstances than by theological debates or

positions.438

Priests as Members of a Community, as Part of the Poble

“The Responses” and records of pastoral visitations show how priests exerted

their efforts as leaders of the local church. Issues surrounding the observance of the

sacraments gave cause for many parish priests to extend their jurisdiction into people’s

everyday lives. While priests saw this jurisdiction as coinciding with their role as the

ordained religious leader of the town or community, in practice the lines between

religious and societal spheres of influence many times overlapped. Sometimes the

overlapping of religious and societal matters led to contestations between lay and

religious authority provoked by parishioners who protested against their parish priest

438 In addition to these specific letters, “The Responses” also include one letter (Vallès) that asks that parish priests be able to bless ornaments, images, and bells for their churches and parishes, illustrating something about baroque Catholicism and a more pro-jesuitical stance. Another letter (Piera) displayed an anti-jesuitical tone, asking that once a week for a space of two hours all priests in the parishes of pobles grans (big villages/populations) should gather for a conference on Moral Theology, each session discussing a different point of the “Rubricas.”

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overstepping his religious boundaries and interfering too much in their lives. After all,

the priest remained a member of the community, whether large or small, and in order to

ensure good relations with the rest of society he had to balance his religious directives

with the need to avoid disrupting the networks and patterns vital to the ongoing

functioning of that community. In “The Responses,” various priests describe their

relations with lay society—relations that too often took the form of disputes with

parishioners that required local government intervention.

One of the main areas in which priests defined themselves as members of the

larger community was in their attitudes towards work on holy days. These attitudes

ranged from pardons to condemnations, with the more lenient attitudes coming from

priests that identified themselves as part of the community and the more strict ones

coming from priests who felt strongly about the precedence of reform. Some priests

excused work on holy days during the harvesting season, not considering it a violation of

the Biblical law, other times finding the necessity of work more questionable.439 The

parish priest Ignasi Roig of Sant Vicents dels Horts wrote, “In times of harvesting and

threshing wheat and picking grapes, some truly have just cause for working on Holy

Days. On other occasions the cause is dubious, and with the pretext of similar dubious

causes, some work on Holy Days without reason and abuse [of working on the Sabbath]

439 The Barcelona acts of synod conceded to parish priests and their vicars the right to give license to their parishioners to work on holy days either out of “la necesidad de algunos y tal vez el comun Beneficio temporal a que algunos o los mas trabajen en algunos dias festivos.” See Las Constituciones Synodales que S. Illma el Sr. Dr. Dn. Manuel Lopez Aguirre establece para el mejor govierno de este Obispado [1755], Book IV, Tit.4, Const.10, Fol.60; Arxiu Diocesà de Barcelona, Section: Sínodes, vol.4.

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generally occurs.”440 Roig’s pragmatic attitude about work during the harvesting season

shows his ability to relate to his parishioners’ needs as well as to perceive the place of

work in the livelihood of the community as a whole. But other priests were not so

understanding of the extra work that came with harvest time. In Sarriá, rector Anton

Riera wrote about “the great abuse of profaning holy days… especially in times of

threshing and sowing, and almost all year they plough, thresh, cart, lead drives of packed

horse-carts, etc; even if it is the most solemn holy days and at the hour in which Holy

Services are celebrated.” As described above, Riera’s theological slant positioned him

firmly against moral laxists, but within his parish this led him to condemn all work on

holy days, even in times of sowing or harvest, the most crucial times of the year for

ensuring parishioners’ yearly means of support. Not surprisingly, his uncompromising

attitude gave rise to his “protests being heard but nonetheless many times greatly scorned

by parishioners who worked without showing any kind of reservation.”441 Such words

paint Riera as an isolated member of society, someone who stood apart from the rest of

the community.

Other parish priests used alternative measures to address parishioner work on holy

days. In his letter to Bishop Climent, Felix Bover of Hospitalet urged reducing the

number of holy days in which work was prohibited or in which fasting was required,

440 “En moltas occassions, especialment en temps de segar, batrer, y Veremar verdaderament alguns tenen justa causa para treballar en dia de festa; en altras occasions la causa es dubiosa y ab pretexto de semblants causas, alguns treballan en dia de festa sens causa bastant en que se observa sobrat abus.” Letter of St. Vicents dels Horts’ parish priest, “The Responses.” 441 “Especialment en lo temps de batrer y sembrar, y casi tot lo any llauran, baten, carretejan, menan cavaleaduras carregadas, etc; encaraque sian las festas mes solemnes y en la hora en que se celebran los Divinals officis.… (nostres clamors sian ohits ans be moltas vegadas despreciats) treballant sens fer ni cap de reservada.” Letter of Anton Riera rector of Sarriá, “The Responses.”

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listing the decrees of popes as well as of councils of Tarragona that had done so before

and that had been effected since the Constitucions Synodals of 1673.442 For Bover, the

solution was to reduce the number of holy days instead of reproaching their parishioners

for their unholy holy day observance—a solution that probably gave Bover the benefit of

fewer disputes with other members of his community.

In the diocesan synod of 1755, the Barcelona priests as a group took action

against the holy day trespassers. Under the leadership of Bishop Manuel Lopez Aguirre,

the parish priests admitted that they could not handle the problem alone and approved

that the justicia secular help them in enforcing work abstention on holy days.

Because we are universally informed that in all our Bishopric servile, menial and prohibitted work is performed on holy days with great frequency; and petitioned by all Parish Priests that we find a remedy, therefore we order that not one of the faithful of this our Bishopric work on holy days in which work is prohibited, by penalty of excommunication, in that they will be declared the contrary of what to do; and also by penalty of two pounds that irremissibly the Parish Priest will take from the wrong-doer, and for that we give him the power to demand them with the power of joining up with, absolving, and imploring the help of the Secular Justice for the extraction of the money. And even if still by said measure it is not obtained, summary information will be received of the occurrence and it will be remitted to us in order to procede with what took place. (emphasis mine)443

442 Bover lists a pastoral visit of 1733, the act of the Tarragona Council of 1727 petitioning Benedict XIII to reduce the number of fiestas de precepto (fasting, no work required), the subsequent “ritual” published by Benedict XIII on the holy day calendar, and the decrees and briefs of Benedict XIV in 1741 reducing the number of fasting days. Together his message is clear: instead of cracking down on holy day observance, reduce their numbers to fix the problem. See letter of Felix Bover rector of Hospitalet, “The Responses.” 443 “Porque somos universalmente informados de que en todo nro. Obpdo. con grande frequencia se emplean en Oficios serviles y prohibidos hacerse en dias de fiesta y suplicado por todos los Rectores que proveyessemos de remedio; Por tanto mandamos que ninguno de los fieles de este nro. Obpdo. travaje en los dias festivos, en que no esta permitido el travajo, pena de excom.on mayor, en que serán declarados lo contrario haciendo; y pena tambien de dos lib.s que irremisiblemente sacará el Rector al contraventor, y para ello le damos facultad para exigirlos con la de ligar y absolver y de implorar para su extraccion el auxilio de la Justicia Secular. Y si aun todavia por dicho medio no se consiguiesse, recivirá informacion summaria del hecho, y nos la remitirá para proceder a lo que huviesse lugar.” (emphasis mine) Las Constituciones Synodales [de Aguirre, 1755], Book IV, Tit.4, Const. 9, Fol.59b-60a.

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The fine of two pounds in currency was extremely high—almost a year’s wages for a

farmer—and was intended to serve as an effective deterent. While this act of synod went

further in addressing the problem than any other church directive in the past—which also

indicates that work on holy days was a growing problem in the eighteenth century—the

priests of “The Responses” attest that it was still insufficient as a measure due to the

unique societal conditions in 1767-Barcelona.

An overwhelming number of parish priests alleged that they could not trust the

mayor or members of the town council in their parish to help them prosecute those who

worked on holy days. The reason parish priests gave does not point to bad interpersonal

relations between secular and religious leaders so much as it does to secular leaders in

society being bad Catholics. Anton Masferrer, rector of Sant Adrià, testified to this

conclusion in his brief but precise letter.

The measure that was already taken in the synod of Our Illustriousness Aguirre (that he rest in heaven) of making use of the Mayor and making them pay ten vouchers for each time, is not of any service because many Mayors are touched by the same wrong-doing or they do not think evil of whom they have to fine, and if it were by way of a Constable on behalf of Your Illustrious Lordship who, in the outskirts of Barcelona [city] around two o’clock, judged to correct [the abuse of prohibitted work] to the extreme, by coming out every so often in order to leave them with fears [of what would happen] if he did come out. (emphasis mine)444

Masferrer complained that parish priest-cooperation with civil authorities was futile. The

secular leaders of Barcelonese society led the rest of the populace by example, being the

premier violators of holy day observance. But the priest of Molins del Rei, Pablo Organt

444 “Lo medi que ya se pren que en lo sinodo de Nostre Illm Aguirre (que al cel descanse) de valerse del Batlle (mayor/alcalde) y ferlas pagar deu vals per quiscuna vegada, no serveix ja perque molts Batlles son tocats de semblant mal o per no posarse ab mal ab qui se ha de multar, y si fos per medi d’un Aguasil de part de VSI en las cercanias de BCN a dos horas alrededor se judica esmenarse molt com (i)sques una vegada o altre per quedar ab temors de si eixia.” (emphasis mine) Letter of Anton Masferrer rector of Sant Adrià, “The Responses.”

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(who bemoaned that he had “el peor de cada lugar de Cataluña”), provided another

perspective in the matter.

In my Parish of Saint Michael of the Town of Molins de Rey, the abuse is great of working on holy days, even if they are the traditional ones. And for the more that they [the people] are warned about the evil that they do, offending God, it cannot be remedied, even with the help of the Law [authorities], because she is the first transgressor, giving an excuse to everyone that their own convenience is a necessity….445

In the acts of synod in 1755, Aguirre’s plea for help from the “secular justice” had

allowed secular officials a certain amount of dominion in matters of proper Catholic

observance. Instead of creating a team identity among lay and religious officials, the

overall result was to secularize further Barcelona society. The town officials gladly

excused all holy day work as necessary because it led to the economic success of the

larger community. They encouraged most work since it only benefitted rather than

harmed the endeavors of the collective. Justifications for work on holy days were thus

common and acceptable for everyone except the parish priest. As the parish priests Dr.

Jaume Riera of Papiol, Dr. Agusti Pages of Castellbisbal, Francisco Terradellas of Rubí,

Anton Llupart of Villastrell, Eudalt Puigcarbó of St. Cypria of Valldoreix, and Dr. Pau

Torrents of Santa Creu d’Olorda all commented from hard experience:

Our experience finds that the difficulty with the Constitutions lies more in the part of practice and compliance with them, than in the part of their first establishment; in most cases if the lesser secular Justice that regularly out of respective human and caste motives is interested in the Infraction of them, it does not lead to a

445 “En mi Parroquia de San Miguel de la Villa de Molins de Rey, es grande el abuso de trabajar los días de fiesta, aunque sean clásicos. Y por más que se les advierte el mal que hacen, ofendiendo a Dios, no se puede remediar, aun valiéndose de la Justicia, por ser ella la primera transgressora, dando todos por escusa ser necesidad la propia conveniencia….” Letter of Pablo Organt cura de Molins de Rei, “The Responses.”

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greater result than warning and obliging the person to keep the law, doing their job [only] in the necessary cases.446 (emphasis mine)

Town officials in general had no desire to malign people for working, even if it were on

holy days and sinful in the eyes of the church.

Many other parish priests deemed that the best solution was one that did not entail

more involvement by the secular authority. The priests of the region of Penedès, Organt

of Molins del Rei, Riera of Sarriá, and Dr. Felip d’Oriola of Sant Joan d’Horta all

indicated that the bishop (or church body) had to appoint someone to relieve parish

priests of the burden of prosecuting holy day violators. Since this job more than any

other area was ruffling relationships between priests and their parishioners, the priests of

Penedès called for a “Zelador” (zealot) in each parish to point out each time he found

someone working on a day of fiesta. Yet, parish priests closer to the city of Barcelona

found this measure insufficient because their parishioners all observed the bad example

of the city and outskirts of Barcelona, invalidating in almost the prose the Pla of

Barcelona. When beseeching town officials, Organt in Molins del Rei dealt with town

officials to help prosecute those who profaned holy days with work, but those town

officials countered “…that on the outskirts of the city of Barcelona people work [on dias

festivos] and that in this act they watch and conceal it among themselves.”447 Parish

priest Anton Riera of Sarria similarly commented that those who most motivated their

446 sentiment nostre ensenya que la dificultat de las Constituciones está mes de part de la practica y cumpliment de aquellas, que de son primer establiment majorment si la inferior Justicia secular que regularment per motivos Castants y humans respects se interesa en la Infracció de aquellas, no té un impuls superior que la advertesca y obligue a zelar, obrant de offici en los casos necessaris.” (emphasis mine) Letter of parish priests of Papiol, Castellbisbal, Villastrell, Rubí, Valldoreix, and Santa Creu d’Olorda, “The Responses.” 447 “añadiendo que en el Plano de BCN trabajan que se lo miran y disimulan.” Letter of Pablo Organt cura of Molins del Rei, “The Responses.”

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parishioners to break holy day observance were “those on the outskirts [Pla] of

Barcelona, subjects of the Parishes inside and outside of the city, full of them; the rest

dare to commit similar abuses, and so animated they respond to us [when we confront

them why they do it] because those on the outskirts of the city [the Pla] are not

prohibited!” More than any other measure, the church of Barcelona needed to start with

the hustle and bustle of the city of Barcelona and find ways to eliminate people working

there on holy days before genuine change could occur in the rest of the diocese.

But what did the city parish priests of Barcelona propose to do about this grave

problem in their midst? In their letter to Bishop Climent, they suggested raising the fine

for those found working on holy days from two to three pounds as well as prohibitting

special holiday markets.448 On the whole, however, their discussion of proper holy day

observance is brief (in comparison with their discussion of Christian doctrine or pre-

marital co-habitation in the same letter) and lacks any extensive complaints about an

unacceptable state of affairs that supposedly caused other parishes to be less vigilant

about work on fiestas. Nonetheless, their fellow parish priests outside the city had other

ideas for them. One way to solve the problem, said Riera of Sarria, “in order to enforce

those of the city outskirts [Pla] of Barcelona who are the big scandal, the [secular]

Constable or Prosecuting Lawyer should not be trusted, but instead that they be

accompanied by a person fearful of God, because they at the call of 2 or 4 pessetas

conceal it [work on holy days], all as experience has made evident.”449 Parish priest

448 “Apar se hauria de pendrer amb calor lo multar los violadors de las festas perque se van introduhint molts abusos. Se podria statuir una multa de 3# per los contrafactors y tal vegada convindria prohibir los Mercats y comenzar viatges los dias de festa colenda (of the calendar, that is kept).” Letter of city parish priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.”

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Felip de Oriola from Sant Joan d’Horta presented another idea for more effective fine

collection that would deter people from profaning holy days (especially in the Pla)

without involving the Audiencia or any other form of secular authority.

I deduct that in the Constitution [of Aguirre’s synod of 1755] it would serve to make in this particular one, [that] imposed on transgressors of the stated holy days a monetary fine, that it be appropriate for each time they violate the constitution, and that this same business in the city outskirts [Pla] of Barcelona is carried out by means of one of your [Climent’s] Officials. And I consider [it] more convenient and useful for the expressed reasons as much as for the discord that it causes between the Parish Priest and those fined.450 But what was the result of this lack of teamwork between religious and secular

leaders in matters of Catholic piety? The parish priests felt that it resulted in their

humiliation as members of the community, weakening their capacity as religious leaders.

Joseph Osset, rector of Sant Martí de Provençals, expressed his disappointment as

follows: “Experience shows that most of the time the town justice, when the parish priest

insists that he not excuse those guilty of working on prohibited days, either for lack of

zeal or because those that govern are touched by the same sin (the more common), they

instantly deny it, or they excuse it, or they deny it only when they need to for the right

effect, leaving the zeal and fervor of the Parroco the butt of jokes in the town.”451 Not

449 “Los del Pla de Barcelona, subjectes a las Parroquias de dins ciutat a ex, ple dels quals; los demes se atreveixen a semblants abusos, y aixi animats nos responen perque no privan los del Pla! …per executar los del Pla de Barcelona que son la petra scandalí, no fiarse del Alguasil [sic] o Fisch sino quels acompanyas alguna Persona temerosa de Deu, perque ells a truco de 2 or 4 pessetas ho dissimulan tot com consta per la experiencia.” Letter of Anton Riera rector of Sarria, “The Responses.” 450 “Es que en la Constitució [of Aguirre’s synod of 1755] se servirá fer en est particular imposia als transgressors de las expressadas festas la pena pecuniar que li sia ben vista per cada vegada faltarán en ella, y que esta diligencia en lo Pla de Barcelona se executia per medi de un de sos Officials discorro. Y considero mes convenient y util ja per las expressadas rahons com per las discordias [que] se originan entre Parroco y multats.” Letter of Dr. Felip de Oriola rector of Sant Joan d’Horta, “The Responses.” 451 “Encenya la experiencia que la Justicia del Poble, per mes, que instía el Parroco no excusa als delinquents, o per no mal quistarse, o perque los que governan son tocats del mateix mal, que es lo mes segun; y perço o se negan a la instancia, o se escusan, o se fan negar, quant son demanats per dit efecte,

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only was their integrity insulted by the town officials, but the rest of the community also

followed suit. A group of three parish priests in the Oficialato claimed that their inability

to enforce holy day observance had almost completely annihilated their authority.

In so many of the Visits of the Prelates before Your Illustrious Lordship they had understood to have resolved [the issue that] the transgressors pay fines without resistance. But with the attention paid to superabundantly recovering from them the Tithe pertaining to the Parish Priest, another, greater scandal is precipitated—that they do not pay the least amount of attention to the excommunications fulminated against said transgressors.452

If society did not even heed their excommunications, priests’ attempts at imposing

Catholic norms in their communities were futile.453

Pablo Organt’s whole letter expressed his desperation as a priest in the town of

Molins del Rei. While the tone of his words was at times (melo)dramatic, some of

conditions in his town that he mentioned reveal just how isolated priests could be in their

communities and even in their churches. Here he described how the community leaders

had effectively appropriated jurisdiction over the church (building and congregation) of

Molins del Rei, leaving Organt as a powerless bystander:

dexant burlat el zel y solicitut del Parroco.” (Emphasis mine) Letter of Dr. Joseph Osset rector of San Martí de Provençals, “The Responses.” 452 “En tantos de Visitas de los Prelados antecessores a V.S.I. tienen entendido haver resuelto los transgressores pagar sin resistencia las multas; pero con el ánimo de recobrarlas superabundantemente del Diezmo perteneciente al Paroco que es precipitarse a otro ascollo mayor; pues no hazen el menor caso de las excomuniones fulminados contra dichos transgressores.” Letter of Thomas Prat rector of St. Marti de Torrellas, Bernardo Vilaseca rector of San Estevan de Cervelló, and Joseph Antigas rector of Sta Coloma de Cervelló; “The Responses.” 453 In previous centuries, the Spanish office of the Inquisition would have somewhat aided parish clergy as an ultimate tool of parishioner control even though the office was not at all an internal apparatus of the secular clergy. The Spanish monarchy directly appointed inquisitors to keep Spanish Catholicism pure, but by the time of “The Responses” the inquisitors whom Charles III appointed purposefully did not actively seek out offenses against the Catholic faith. William E. Monter describes the early eighteenth century as the “eclipse” of the Inquisition. See Monter, Frontiers of Heresy: The Spanish Inquisition from the Basque Lands to Sicily (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990).

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My Church is governed with the supervision of the town councilors more than with my own. The administrators [clergy and laity] of her many times arrange things in her chapels without reporting it to the Parish Priest. And if he wants to reprehend them, they respond [by saying that] they have told it to the Town Councilors, and others add “here, have the keys; we do not not want to serve [here] anymore.” Not a few times it happens that they resist serving, throwing out their certificate of appointment with contempt. If these [men] are made to serve by force, the best would be under some sort of monetary penalty, and above all that they do not spend any money without permission of the superiors who have the rights. (emphasis mine)454

Given the effects of the 1755 synod that first delineated the lay authority as an auxiliary

for the parish church, the diocesan church of Barcelona might have learned its lesson.

When spiritual affairs intersected with temporal ones, the introduction of lay authority in

the jurisdiction of the parish priest led most commonly to a further secularization of

society. Yet the three parish priests of Torrellas and Cervelló concluded otherwise. The

same priests who complained of their unheeded excommunications felt that their only

chance for respect from the community was through support from the secular authority.

Now that the local secular authority was involved (and generally unresponsive to the

parish priests), the church needed to appeal to a higher secular authority—the head of the

Real Audiencia, the Captain General of Catalonia.

For this, Illustrious Lord, the above-mentioned Parish Priests judge [that] the shortest and easiest way to attack similar abuses [of work on holy days] would be that Your Illustrious Lordship dignify to seek help from the excellent Lord Captain General O’Brian of the Royal Chamber so that he passes an order to the Law Authorities of the Towns that they be vigilant in these points of such consideration. Those [authorities] that have the duty to fine the transgressors the quantities that Your Illustrious Lordship finds appropriate for the work of the

454 “Mi Iglesia se govierna con intervención de los Regidores, más que con la mía; los administradores de ella muchas veces disponen cosas en sus capillas sin dar parte al Rector. Y si los quiere reprehender, responden haverlo dicho a los Regidores y algunos añaden ‘aquí tiene las llaves que no queremos servir mas.’ Sucede no pocas veces resistirse a servir, desechando el billete de elección con desprecio. Si ha estos se les obligarse a servir por fuerza, bajo alguna pena pecuniaria seria lo mejor, y sobre todo que no gastassen nada sin permiso de los superiores que tengan derecho.” (emphasis mine) Letter of Pablo Organt cura of San Miguel in Molins del Rei, “The Responses.”

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Parish Church in which [parish] the crime is committed; and for the Law Authorities [to be] under greater penalties (because with another method nothing would happen), they should have the duty to enforce the transgressors.455

But these priests were not the only ones who wanted to turn more authority over to the

justicias de los Pueblos in prosecuting holy day violaters. Surprisingly, the parish priests

of Vallès also felt that the best remedy lay in appealing to the “Reial Audiencia that they

pass an order for all Mayors and Governors so that as much as they are required [by the

order], they give aid to parish priests and workers in the parish churches, and to

whomever of them in order to execute the above-mentioned fine among the violaters.”456

These parish priests thought that their town’s leaders should be laboring toward the same

goal of a more Catholic society; if the local secular authority would not volunteer their

cooperation, priests asked that it be required of them by civil law.

Between the stand off situation with the local secular authority and the proposed

solutions of using either laws from the Audiencia or an ecclesiastical official to regulate

better holy day observance, this matter continually presented problems for priests as

members of their communities. As “The Responses” indicate, disagreements between

priests and their parishioners commonly arose from what priests might have perceived as

overt disrespect and disobedience (since it was impossible for a farmer working in his

455 “Por lo que, Illmo Senyor, juzgan los susodhos [sic] Parocos el camino mas corto y mas eficas de atacar semejantes abusos fuera el que V.S.I. se dignasse valer del excellentisimo Senyor Capitan General O’Brian de la Real Sala paraque pasasse orden a las Justicias de los Pueblos que estuviessen vigilantes en estos puntos de tanta consideración. Las que deviessen multar a los transgressores en las cantidades, a V.S.I. bien vistas a favor de la obra de la Igla. Parral. en que se cometiesse el delito; y a las Justicias bajo mayores penas (pues de otra suerte nada se haria) deviessen executar a los transgressores.” Letter of rectors Thomas Prat of Sant Martí de Torrellas, Bernaardo Vilaseca of San Estevan de Cervelló, and Joseph Antigas of Santa Coloma de Cervelló; “The Responses.” 456 “Real Audiencia [que] passe carta de Orde a tots los Batlles y Regidors peraque quant sian requerits donen assistencia als Rectors y Obrers de las Iglesias Parroquials y a quiscun de ells para executar en los contraventos la sobredita pena.” Notes of rectors of Deganat of Vallès, “The Responses.”

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field or pulling a cart to conceal himself unless the priest was literally blind). While the

sinful action and finding an effective deterrent for it was one problem for the priests,

another problem arose out of parish priests’ efforts to extract the two-pound fine

stipulated by the constitution of Aguirre’s synod in 1755. Oriola of Sant Joan d’Horta

wrote that ordinarily “the fined person subtracted all of the expenses of the fine from the

Tithe [already] due the parish priest.”457 Riera of Sarria found the same occurrence in his

parish but proposed an alternate way of collecting the fine: so that neither the parish

priest nor the church would lose tithe money, the Justicia secular should be in charge of

collecting this fine.458 On the one hand, the church would no longer bequeath the fine

money, but as Riera pointed out, the priests were not receiving it anyway due to the

financial loss from lower tithes. In the case of this solution, town officials might possibly

be better money collecters and the monetary deterrent might be sufficient to eradicate the

problem.

Sometimes collecting tithes and other regular monies due for religious services

produced just as many squabbles between priests and parishioners as did collecting fines

from holy day trespassers. The Barcelona acts of synod in Book IV, Title 4, Constitution

2 had stipulated that in the case parishioners were delinquent in paying the money they

owed their parish clergy, the clergy were able to report it to the vicar general of the

457 “lo multat se detingue del Delme havia de entregar al Parroco tots los gastos de la multa.” Letter of Dr. Felip de Oriola rector of Sant Joan d’Horta, “The Responses.” 458 Riera lamented that this was related to the fact that there are some churches, like his, in which some necessary church functions are beyond budget. They are so poor that they are only maintained financially through charitable contributions of parishioner. “Per executarlos seria be valerse de la Justicia secular sens valerse de Parrocos, ni obras, perque de lo contrari judico que las Iglesias hi perdrían molt, y en algunas (com es la mia) no se podía fer las funcions necessarias perque es tant pobre que unicament se suste de caritats dels Parroquians, las que li negarían tanta en la malicia y lo que estan ciegos con tal abus.” Letter of Anton Riera rector of Sarria, “The Responses.”

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diocese so that the financial charge was collected by the diocesan lawyer rather than the

parish priest.459 In “The Responses,” however, priests expressed the conviction that this

constitution seemed. Dr. Lexidor of Castelldefels, among other parish priests, attested to

this in writing.460 Overall, it is evident that Barcelona’s eighteenth-century parishioners

wished to contest the payments that parrocos and other clergy demanded, and the courts

served as their outlets of protest. The straightforwardness with which priests mentioned

disputes between themselves and parishioners demonstrates that such disputes were a

regular facet of priest-parishioner relations. Beniso Vila, parroco of Mataró, commented

to Bishop Climent that “in all of the diocese, the lawsuits will be fewer between

parishioners, clergy, and parish priests if the first meetings are no longer heard in the

Justice [courts] and if you wanted to hear them first.”461 Vila’s suggestion might not

have been feasible since he proposed that the bishop who resided in Barcelona city, first

hear all cases in the entire diocese between priests and their parishioners in the matter of

payments. But if the Justicia was slow to resolve such disputes, as Vila insinuated that it

generally was, then possibly the bishop hearing the first round of such cases would

“pacify” most of them out of court and then cut back on the number of cases reaching

trial. The letter of Dr. Joseph Ponton Sala, rector of Sant Just Desvern, gives some

indication about what the disputes concerned:

It would be of great and certain convenience that all Parish Priests of this Bishopric of Your Illustrious Lordship in a common voice and Union go forward

459 Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book V, Tit.4, Const.2, p.334-335. 460 See, for example, the letters of Castelldefels and Piera, “The Responses.” 461 “En todo el Obispado, serán menos los Pleitos entre Feligreses, Clerigos, y Parocos si dejan de oirse en Justicia los encuentros primeros y si manifiesta VSI quererlos oir antes, quederan regularmente pacificados los mav [desconfiats].” Letter of Dr. Beniso Vila parroco of Mataró, “The Responses.”

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in court procedings with a Lawyer and Prosecuting Attorney of this Cathedral Chapter by their sides for the end of defending each one of Them from all malicious extortion, so that whichever Parish or Parishioners take action against their Parish Priest—regarding tithes and first fruits, Parroquial rights of the Church, and also whatever other mischief is fomented against them—choosing for this end a Trustee in this City approved by Your Illustrious Lordship, not only to gather the taxed money each year for each one of said Parish Priests, but also to know those who would be having to look over their defense without having to appear in Person in front of the Law or tribunal.462 Tithe money, the first fruits of crops and livestock given to the church (in addition

to the tithe), the fixed salary for priests in that parish—all of these involved altercations

over material issues rather than religious matters. The parish priest might have tried to

extend himself in his community as a religious authority, but parishioners were reminded

by the goods and money they handed to him that he was paid for his services—an

employee of their community. If he tried to exact more from them than what he earned

from his services, he would meet popular resistance. Parishioners established this

understanding from the outset of his tenure as parish priest. Lexidor of Castelldefels

spelled this out, understanding and recommending a new policy for the diocesan clergy.

In order to avoid disputes between newly appointed parish priests and the finances of their respective paroquial churches, said disputes redounding to scandal in the Towns as experience shows it, it seems very appropriate that the Illustrious [bishop] establishes a constition for the salary or right of guardianship in proportion to the accrued-interest income of their Parishes and the duties linked to them.463

462 “Sería de gran conveniencia, y acert, que tots los Parrocos de eix Bisbat de VSI de communa veu y Unió conductassen a sas Costas, Advocat, y Procurador de eixa Capital a fi de defensar a quiscun de Ells de tota maliciosa extorsió, que qualsevol Parroquía o Parrans moguessen contra son Rector. Ja de Delmas y Primicias, ja de Drets Parroquials de sa Iglesia, y ja també de qualsevol altre malicia que contra de algun se fomentas, elegint per eix fin un Depositari de eixa Ciutat ben vista per VSI, no sols per recullir cada any lo diner tachsat a quiscun dels dits Parrocos, si també per saber Eixos a qui haurían de recorrer per sa defensa sens haverse de manifestar en Persona a Justicia ni tribunal.” Letter of Dr. Joseph Ponton Sala rector of Sant Just Desvern, “The Responses.” 463 “Per evitar disputas entre los rectors novament provehits y los economos de sas respective Parrals, redundant ditas disputas en escandol dels Pobles com ho ensenya la experiencia, apar molt conforme que la Illma establesca per constitució lo salari o dret de economat a proporció dels reddits de las Rectorias y carrechs adnexos a ellas.” Letter of Dr. Ambrosio Lexidor rector of Castelldefels, “The Responses.”

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Clearly communities tried to negotiate what they would pay their parish priests at

the commencement of each newcomer’s tenure. While it may have been a way for town

members to “get ahead” at the expense of the church, it may have also been a successful

method for town members to resist the sometimes exhausting financial demands of the

church. Regardless of whose cost the conflicts resulted in, parish priests were a very

conspicuous part of their communities. In some communites, they were employees who

served the town’s religious needs, in others religious zealots whose outcries went

unheard, or shepherds whose sheep preferred other priests, or in the extreme, leaches on

society charging high prices for little usefulness. So just as their relations with society

differed, so too did the very nature of individual priests.

Relationships among the Clergy: Priests vs. Priests

The discipline with which parish priests led parishioners affected the level of

societal order and Catholic orthodoxy. Overzealous priests faced parishioner resistance.

But those who were negligent, abusive, or insincere in their ministry could also create

situations of potential disorder, many times facing opposition and criticism not only from

parishioners but also fellow clerics. Negligent or insincere priests always existed, since

the “social prestige” and guaranteed income of the secular priesthood attracted some men

for non-religious reasons.464 Even those who became priests for strictly religious reasons

might have naturally preferred the parishes that were more economically solvent. Thus,

464 Perea Simon, p.37. Perea Simon uses “prestigi social” and “garantia econòmica”as attractive aspects of the priesthood. I, on the other hand, feel that it is necessary to qualify “social prestige” as a concept in this instance. The concept had more to do with the perception of the priesthood from the middling to upper classes who enjoyed a lifestyle which could pay for their services. Social prestige had little if nothing to do with the perception or reception of priests in practice in rural parishes where almost all parishioners were uneducated peasants who could not afford all the Catholic observances their priests advocated.

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because of the disparities in parish income,465 channels of political influence within the

single order of the clergy decided which priests received the most profitable posts. In

practice, this equated to politically and socially influential clergy or laity writing letters to

the (arch)bishop or the (arch)diocesan chamber (camara or cambra arque/bisbal) on

behalf of a candidate who was linked to the letter-writer by family blood lines or social

alliances. Merit (e.g., Catholic piety) was not an influential factor in the (arch-)episcopal

boardmembers’ decision of appointing priests to parishes, making the chances for

Catholic reform less likely. Perea Simon makes similar comments in prefacing his

discussion of parish priests in eighteenth-century Tarragona:

One author spoke, with more than a little reason, of a Chruch [that was an] “instution” for the bourgeoisie, nobles, and privileged classes because this church welcomed and promoted them. In order to ordain oneself [as a secular cleric] it was necessary to make it with a benefice title—of a parish or other post—or with an inheritance—chaplaincy or private position. After the Concordat of 1753 established between Ferdinand VI and Benedict XIV, this system would be modified. Influences and picaresques [silliness] in it were also present, in order to obtain a good parish appointment…. The differences in income between each parish were very notorious, and it would be interesting to know the social background of the holders of the most rich parish priest appointments and those of the most modest. In order to obtain a good economic post for a specific relative who was a cleric or a worthy person there existed a habitual practice of influence that was placing him, from the [office of the] archbishopric, in different nomination rounds between three men for the promotion, so that in one or another promotion round one could obtain the vacant post.466

465 Francesc Tort i Mitjans notes some different parish salaries in his Biografía histórica de Francisco Armanyá Font, OSA, obispo de Lugo; arzobispo de Tarragona (1718-1803) (Vilanova I la Geltrú, 1967). 466 “Algun autor ha parlat, amb no poca raó, d’una Església ‘asil’ per a la burgesia, els nobles i les classes privilegiades, perquè aquesta els acollia i promocionava. Per a ordenar-se calia fer-ho a títol de benefici—parròquia o altres—o de patrimoni—capellania o personat. A partir del Concordat de 1753 establert entre Ferran VI I Benet XIV, aquest sistema seria modificat. Influéncies i picaresques tampoc no hi són absents, per a aconseguir una bona rectoria…. Les diferències de renda entre una parròquia o altra eren ben notòries, i seria interessant de poder conèixer la pertinença social dels obtentors de les més riques i els de les més modestes. Per a aconseguir una bona plaça econòmica per a un determinat familiar eclesiàstic o persona de vàlua, existia una pràctica d’influencia habitual que era la de col.locar-lo, des de l’arquebisbat, en distintes ternes

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Thus, a special “clerical” brand of politics continually existed within the church.

At the upper levels, it influenced the appointments of archbishops, bishops, and parish

priests. At the lower levels, it affected the selection of all benefice holders and shaped

relations among parish clergy. Corresponding with the size and wealth of each parish,

the appropriate number of priests were appointed to assist the parish priest in his pastoral

duties, mainly in the administration of sacraments. When eight or more priests were

appointed—considered “lesser clergy” because they fell below the parish priest in rank—

the group was designated a “community of prebends” (comunitat de preveres). Each

member had received a specific ordination (e.g., cantor, preacher, cura) which

determined their ecclesiastical function and their share of the parish pension (drets

parroquials), and the parish priest answered as their boss. While this division of clerical

labor in theory promoted efficiency and order and thwarted conflicts between priests, in

practice it frequently resulted in the opposite end. The more priests who operated in a

parish, the more potential existed for conflicts and differences of opinion among

members of the community of prebends and between them and their foreman the parish

priest. It is evident that most of these conflicts within the parish clergy were based on

scruples over money (the income or fees of the various priests).467 From “The

Responses” of 1767, it is also clear that money was not the only divisive issue. Priests

de promoció, de manera que en una o altra pogués aconseguir la vacant.” Perea Simon, p.37-38. The author he mentions is L. Chatellier in “Elementi di una sociologia del beneficio,” p.103 in C. Russo, ed., Società, Chiesa e vita religiosa nell’Ancien Régime (Napols: Guida Editori, 1976). The cleric’s quote Perea Simon notes is from his archival research at the Arxiu Històric Arxidiocesà de Tarragona: Abadia del Codony, “Cartas y pretencions…”, 30-VI-1774. 467 Perea Simon, p.45.

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who worked in the same parishes took each other to task for all kinds of concerns, from

what they wore to talking in church.

One of the main complaints parish priests made against their clerical staff

centered on church attendance and choir behavior. One rector wrote disdainfully of the

bad example that he witnessed set by priests who debated and gossipped (“arrahonant y

confabulant”) during church services, especially those in rural parishes.

Because the choirs of the referred to Churches in their respective high holy days and in their funeral functions (that is when many are congregated) more appear in the town squares doing business than in the oratories where they should make prayer petitions: perceiving and hearing in some occasions more the noises of those who chat than the voices of those who sing. If someone arrives to the referred to choirs, the services having begun (which is very frequent) they do not stop in the style of asking one another the state of their health or in the courtesy of mutually offering their places for each other to sit down. These and the above-mentioned things would we ourselves dare to do in the presence of a great lord, and especially during the exercise of our prayers and petitions? Certainly not. And nevertheless, we do not repair in doing them in the presence of our Lord who is by essence very great.468

The parish priests in the city of Barcelona gave voice to the same disgust with their choir

members, asking that they as parrocos be conceded powers to punish bad behavior.

It seems convenient to make a constitution in which, without harm to the powers conceded to the superior ecclesiastic authority and the others by Right or Custom, they are guardians for conceding to all Parish Priests the power to deprive up to three days of [money] Distributions (if the gravity of the fault demands it) to all Benefice holders that during the time of Prayer or Holy services do not keep silent or proper modesty, or they go to the choir in a rush without pausing in the Asterisk, or they begin without waiting for the other part of the Choir to finish. O

468 “Pues los chors de las referidas Iglesias en las suas respectivas festas majors, y en las funcions funerals (que es quant molts se congregan) mes aparexan plaças en las quals se tractan negocis; que oratoris en los quals se deuhen fer deprecacions: percebirse y ohintse en algunas ocasions mes lo rumor dels que confabulan, que las veus dels que cantan. Si arriba algun als chors referits, començadas las funcions (que es molt frequent) no’s falta en lo estil de preguntarse uns a altres lo estat de la salut, ni en lo cumpliment de offerirse mutuament los puestos pera sentarse. ?Estas y las sobreditas cosas nos atreviriam a executarlas en presencia de un gran senyor, y especialment en lo exercici de nostras suplicas y peticions? Es certissim que no. Y no obstant, no reparam en ferlas en presencia del Senyor que es per essencia grandissim.” Letter of rector Dr. P.M. y B, “The Responses.”

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otherwise in processions and other Ecclesiastic funtions they do not keep the appropriate Decorum and Composure, giving a bad example for the faithful, or they do not observe the rubrics, and also that it could be demanded of them that they cannot change or move the accustomed hours of entering the Choir, without the opinion and consent of the Parish Priest. (emphasis mine)469

In general, it seems that cantors, or “singing priests”, were becoming too comfortable in

fulfilling their duties to sing during mass—arriving after the mass had already begun,

disrupting others in finding a seat, and feeling no shame using an “outdoor” voice to greet

fellow choir members, ask each other how they were doing, and to continue talking in

such a manner throughout the mass.

Demonstrating that such choir behavior was not a new occurance, the 1673-

edition of the Barcelona acts of synod had addressed a similar “abuse.” Constitution VI

of Book I’s section “On Holy Churches” stated:

So that the priests in the Choirs of their Churches, where they perform the service of Angels in divine praise, comply with their duties with the appropriate piety and decorum: We ordain and order, Synodo approbante, that they sing the Canonical Hours with devotion and attention, taking a pause and a measure at two points in each verse, one part of the choir not beginning [to sing] until the other part has finished perfectly: And the same [that] they avoid speaking, noises, and vain conversations; [that] they flee from secular business; [that] they do not exit the Choir, unless it is with a legitimate cause and an obtained permission; nor in the Choir play cards; nor allow laymen to sit among them, unless it is an old custom that the contrary has to be observed, and in that case that the priests occupy the first and best seats of their Choirs.470

469 “Apar convindria ferse una constitució en la qual sens prejudici de la potestat concedida als Primicers y demes que per Dret o Consueltut son zeladors de concedesca a tots los Parrocos la facultat de privar fins a 3 dias de Distribucions (si la gravidat de la falta ho demana) a tots los Beneficiats que durant lo temps del Reso o Divinals officis no guardan lo silenci, o Modesta deguda, o fan anar lo cor precipitat sens fer pausa en lo Asterisco, o comenzan sens esperar que acabe la altre part de Cor. O altrament en Professons y demes funcions Ecclesiasticas no guardan lo Decoro y Compostura en desedificació dels faels o altrament no volen observar las rubricas y també sels podria manar que no poguessen alterar ni mudar las horas acostumadas de entrar al Cor, sens lo parer y consentiment del Parroco.” (emphasis mine) Letter of city parish priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.” 470 “Peraque los Capellans en los Cors de sas Iglesias ahont exerceixen lo offici de Angels en las alabanças divinas, (a) cumplen sos carrechs ab la pietat y decoro qu’es deu: Ordenam y manam, Synodo approbante, que canten las Horas Canonicas ab devoció y atenció, (b) fent pausa y medi als dos punts de cada vers, no començant aquells la una part de cor, que la altra part no’l haja acabat perfectament: (c) Y aixi mateix

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Priests were literally supposed to behave like “angels” in the choir, showing the proper

reverence and respect for this role by abstaining from familiar conversations and from

coming and going from the choir chamber. The parish priests of Piera felt strongly that

the clerics assigned to sing in choirs take more care in fulfilling their posts. They

suggested

Declaring to whom one must ask permission in order to leave the choir and imposing some penalty against the trespassers, and the same against those who continue digressing and chatting informally about the Church, and advised by the choir president they still do not desist, and against those who advised by the canons [singing priests] they refuse to appear at the music stand [lecturn] to help sing the Introit, gradual [song sung between the reading of the New Testament Epistles and the Gospel], the post Communion, and other songs that are sung there.471

The words of this letter from Piera point to outright refusals by priests to do their job of

singing in mass. Even though some sort of choir “president” might have been trying to

keep the proper order and level of respect in choir, there were always those men who

ignored the admonitions of their superiors and continued to chat with their choir

neighbors instead of sing.

The parish priests of Castellbisbal, Rubí, Villastrell, Papiol, Valldoreix, and Santa

Creu d’Olorda together mentioned choir problems, but their complaints concerned sheer

numbers. Either because of lack of priests or because parish priests did not make clear

eviten lo parlar, ruidos, y vanas conversacions, fugen negocis seculars, no iscan del Cor, sino es ab legitima causa, y obtinguda llicencia, ni en ell llijan cartas, (d) ni permetan que los Llaychs se assenten entre ells; (e) sino es que de antiga consuetut se haja de observar lo contrari, (f) y en tal cas los mateixos Capellans ocupen las primeras y millors cadiras de sos Cors.” Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book I, Tit.3, Const.6, p.160. 471 “Declarar a qui se deu demanar la llicensia per eixir del cor y posar alguna pena contra los contraventors y aixi mateix contra dels que van divagant y confabulant per la Iglesia y avisats per lo president del cor no desistexen y contra aquells que avisats per los cabiscols refusan asistir al faristol per ajudar a Cantar Introit, gradual, post Comunio, y demes que se ho feresca.” Letter of Piera, “The Responses.”

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the need to attend choir, these rectors complained that they did not have the proper

number of priests in mass.

The abundant kindness and indulgence of some Parish Priests in permitting that in Holy Services with Deacon and vice-deacon celebrated in their Churches, sometimes with only one or two priests remaining to attend the Choir, can [cause] a large basis for mistrusting each other, which can lead to some displeasures and disagreements for other Parish Priests with their Parishioners each time that they want to prevent similar abuses from being introduced in their respective churches: Singularly with the lack of vicars and assistants, who [in addition] cautiously mistrust each other because of the royal order of His Majesty (that God keep him) recently directed against the Prelates of the Regular Orders.472

A few concerns stand out from among these complaints. The main one centered on the

relaxed discipline of parish priests. Too many were not effectively enforcing their lesser

clergy’s mass attendance or participation in choir. The mention of masses and churches

in the same breath with “deacon” (diaca) and “vice-deacon” (subdiaca) indicates parishes

in which a large number of lesser clergy would have been present. If only “one or two

priests” were in the choir, this lack of attendance would have made evident another grave

concern—relations between rectors and their sacerdots. Empty choir pews would be

indication enough of a lack of deference to sacerdotal responsibilities, their rectors, and

the church itself. But there is more. The writers testify that the sight of empty choir

pews and insufficient priestly collegiality did not improve the parish priests’ reputation

among parishioners, possibly giving rise to bad relations between the “shepherd” and his

“flock.” Thus, mending the ties among priests in the same parish was an important

472 “La sobrada benignitat e indulgencia de alguns Rrs en permetrer que’s celebren en sas Iglesias Officis ab Diaca y subdiaca, no quedant algunas vegadas per la assistencia en el Cor sino un o dos sacerdots pot ab gran fonament recelarse que ocasionara a altres Rrs alguns disgustos y discordias amb sus Parroquians tota vegada que vulgan impedir qué semblants abusos se introduscan a sas respectives iglesias: Singularment ab la falta de vicaris y assistents que prudentment se recela per la ocasio de la real orde de SM (que Deu guarde) ultimament dirigida als Prelats de las Religions.” Letter of Papiol, Castellbisbal, Rubí, Villastrell, Valldoreix, and Santa Creu d’Olorda, “The Responses.”

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consideration for the church of Barcelona if they were to improve their reception or

image at the grass-roots level. And at least from the point of view of these six priests,

these concerns were all the more urgent in light of the recent expulsion of the Jesuits:

clergy were clearly under the scrutiny of the king, and possibly this caused some to think

twice before taking orders and joining the priesthood.473

Besides choir participation, other letters of “The Responses” suggest a rivalry

between parish priests and their “assistants.” Parish priests complained of their assistant

priests’ lack of respect for the church, their accusations ranging from the consumption of

chocolate to the abuse of tobacco. In the city of Barcelona, the parish priests complained

that sacerdots were entering the churches “embossats”—literally “plugged up” or “in the

bag”. This could mean they came with nasal congestion or even hangovers (and were not

very attentive). On top of that, they were “eating chocolate” (horror of horrors!) and

allowing gatherings to discuss “secular things.” As the city rectors noted, this went

against Sotomayor’s acts of synod (Book I, Title 3 “On Holy Churches”), even though

those resolutions had addressed lay rather than clerical behavior.474

Other parishes similarly reported on the use of tobacco in church. Constitution XI

(Book I, Tit.3) of Sotomayor’s acts of synod had prohibited it among laity and clergy

alike, but especially penalizing clergymen. “…We decree… that clerics of all kinds

abstain from using Tobacco in Churches, while officiating [in services], or going dressed

473 These priests wrote that they feared a coming death in clerical recruitment because of the expulsion. This could indicate that these priests were pro-jesuit because the expulsion was accompanied by a royal effort to enhance the quality and quantity of the parish clergy. 474 See Letter of city parish priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.” The exact words used are “se podria privar…que los sacerdots entrassen en ellas [iglesias] embossats y que prenguessen xocolate en ellas o en las Sacristias, y que se tinguessen en ellas juntas de cosas seculars.”

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in Choir robes, under penalties prescribed by Us [the bishop]. And also we exhort all

[priests], and whichever secular people, that inside the holy Temples and while attending

processions they totally abstain from using said Tobacco.”475 Thomas Prat, rector of

Torellas; Bernardo Vilaseca, rector of San Estevan de Cervelló; and Joseph Antigas,

rector of Santa Coloma de Cervelló; all wrote in their letter about priests in choir robes

smoking in their parishes and the need to crack down on tobacco. Felix Bover in

Hospitalet voiced a different opinion. He referred to a pastoral visitation to his parish in

1687 in which the then Bishop Salasar had approved the “us moderat” (moderate use) of

tobacco in churches (no doubt a probablist) and advocated that this stipulation be added

to the constitucions synodals of Barcelona. So at least for one priest, tobacco was not an

evil in need of total elimination.

Perhaps saving the best illustration of discord between parish priests and their

sacerdotes for last, the following excerpt from the letter of the Piera region details three

main “abuses” between parish priests and their “community of prebends” and between

members of the “community” itself. In the entire Piera letter, this issue stands out as the

most important for the writers, as it receives more space and detail than any other issue—

Christian doctrine, pre-marital sex, tithing, or dancing.

Since in many communities of this Bishopric disagreements and complaints originate between said Communities [of lesser clergy] on one side and their respective Parish Priests and also against some or one individual of those Communities on the other side, these Communities not motivated by any serious reason nor by Zeal for the greater good of said Communities or that of the Churches, but rather out of some small resentment or distorted Ideas regularly incited by one or two malicious individuals of these Communities, which

475 “…Estatuhim… que los Ecclesiastichs del tot se abstingan de pendrer Tabaco en las Iglesias, mentres se officiara, o anirán revistits ab habits de Cor, sots penas a Nos ben vistas. Y axi mateix exhortam a totas, y qualsevols personas seculars, que dins los Temples sagrats y assistint a professons se abstingan totalment del us del dit Tabaco.” Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book I, Tit.3, Const.XI, p.163-164.

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facilitates in said Communities the fearful introduction of Motives of security out of which no one will spend their own money but only the Communities’ money and that the Parish Priests and particular individuals should be required to make expenses out of their own wealth. Thus, it seems it would be very much to the glory of God to uproot the evil from where these wrongs are born, that it seems it could be put into practice, inhibiting in said Communities by means of grave penalties the liberty of spending Community money for such things without the prior approval of the Illustrious [bishop], imitating that which is seen practiced by His Royal Majesty with the lay communities from which so many happy effects are experienced. It also seems that it would greatly contribute to preventing these wrongs if the Illustrious [bishop], having been informed of the leaders of the Conspiracy and its first instigators, and considering their individual claims to be petty and malicious, would seriously rebuke them. For experimenting in said Communities disagreements between its individuals about the Confirmation of its employees, with serious harm to the individuals and to the very Communities—it is thus convenient to order said Communities that no employee, finished his year or more, can either be confirmed in the same job or chosen for another until vacated at least two years. Since in large Populations [towns and cities] where [a] Community of Secular priests is found not very busy for residency being low and in High Holy days and in Lenten times, the Parish priest and his Vicar or Vicars finding himself overly busy in hearing Confessions, and for the rest of the residents who have a license not applying themselves to the Confessional and the rest to administering the Eucharist, dedicating their time to leisure [entertainment] with great discomfort, detriment to the devotion, and bad example for the Towns, because their Confessions and Communions cannot be expedited, except with great difficulty and detriment to the times they are having to wait—a thing that greatly reduces frequency of the sacraments. Thus, it would be of great utility and honor to the same Ecclesiastics and edification, comfort, and good of the Souls [of the Faithful] that the Illustrious [Bishop], because of his piety and prudence, approves an effective measure for the applied work and service of the afore-mentioned priests at least on the days of said great numbers of people.476

476 “Com en moltas comunitats del present Bisbat se originen discordias y plets entre ditas Comunitats de una part y sos respectius Parrocos y tambe contra alguns o algun individuo de aquellas de altrepart, no mugudas ditas Comunitats de algun grave motiu ni de Zel del major be de ditas Comunitats o de las Iglesias, sino de algun petit resentiment o defiguradas Ideas regularment a inpulsos de un o dos individuos maliciosos de aquellas, facilitant a ditas Communitats a la temeraria introducció de las Causas la seguratat de que no gastarán de propis bents, sino de las mateixas Comunitats y que los Parrocos y particulars individuos estarán precisats a fer las expensas de bents propis. Perso apar seria molt de gloria de Deu arrencar la rael de ahont naixen estos malts, que apar podria practicarse inhibint ab graves penas a las ditas Comunitats la llibertat de gastar de bens de aquellas per cosas semblants sens la previa aprobació del Illm, a immitació del que vues practica S.R.M. ab los Comuns laychs de que se experimentan tant felises afectes. Tambe apar que en gran part coajudaria a inpedir estos mals, si avense informat lo Illm dels caps de la

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The first are the malicious plots of “communities of prebends” in which one or two

priests might try to organize against the parroco/rector or even its own members by

means of monetary measures. The second shows that lesser clergymen were

monopolizing their posts by overextending the limit of their tenure, preventing new faces

from entering the parish clergy. And the third abuse reported is that those who could

administer sacraments felt no need to help lighten the sacramental load of the parish

priest in the busiest times of the year (Christmas, Lent, Easter, etc).

Undoubtedly, money was a source of contention between parish clergy. The

Dean of Penedès found that in many parishes other priests would not help their rectors

and/or vicars with administering sacraments unless they could expect to be rewarded in

monetary terms.477 In the city of Barcelona, where priests abounded by comparison with

Conjuració y primers mutors, considerant ser cabillosa y malisiossa sa pretenció privada y seriament los reprenia. Per experimentarse en ditas Comunitats entre sos individuos ab gravissims danys de aquells y de las mateixas Communitats discordias originadas de la Confirmació de empleos. Perso conve manar a ditas Comunitats que a ningun empleát finit son any o bien ni puga ser confirmat en lo mateix empleo ni elegit per altre fins que age alomenos vacat 2 anys. Com en las Poblacions grans en que se troba Comunitat de sacerdots Seculars, poch ocupats per ser poca la residencia y en las Majors festivitats y temps Quaresmal, trobarse sobradament ocupats principalment en oir Confessions lo Parroco y son Vicari o Vicaris y per no aplicarse dels restants residents al Confessionari los que tenen llisencia y administrar la Eucharistia los demes, dedicant lo temps a la ociositat ab desconsuelo gran, detriment de la devoció y desedificasió dels Pobles, per no poderse expedir de sas Confessions y Comunions, sino ab molta dificultat y detriment del temps en que han de esperarse—cosa que retrau molt de la frequencia de sagraments. Perso seria de gran utilitat y honra dels mateixos Ecclesiastics, edificació, consuelo, y be de las Animas, que lo Illm per sa pietat y prudencia aplicás un medi eficás per lo aplicació dels predits alomenos en los dias de dits concursos.” Letter of rectors of the deganat of Piera, “The Responses.” 477 “4. He visto en alguna Parroquia haber muchos sacerdotes seculares sin comunidad. Y cuando nuestro Amo [the body of Christ] sale por Viatico a los Enfermos, como cuando se canta el Oficio o Misa Mayor en la Parroquia, raro o ninguno de ellos assiste a otras funciones sino cuando haya alguna distribución y con todo se saben quejar muy bien sino los convidan a los Entierros.” “6.Cuando se lleva nuestro Amo por Viatico a los Enfermos unos ministros van con Manteo y Sombrero cubiertos o descubiertos, aunque sea en tiempo riguroso de frio o de calor o de Lluvia. Y se lleve a Masias o Casas de Campo distantes y sin la solemnidad de Palio que es el Sentido en que se habla, por no estar declarado el Modo conque debe in se originan entre Parroco y Vicario muchas disputas.” Section of dean, in Letter of Penedès, “The Responses.”

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the rest of the diocese, the parish priests censured themselves, stating that parrocos

should only perform two masses in one day out of “pure necessity.” In all other times,

another sacerdot should give the second (and additional) one (s) and receive the stipend

that accompanies the mass, preventing parish priests from usurping the clerical incomes

available.478 This was an ammendment to Constitution VI of Book IV, Title 2 “on parish

priests” which had allowed them the ability to say two masses on Sundays and Holy Days

because not all parishioners could come to one mass or the parroco needed to perform at

a “suffragette” (suffraganea) church.479

In sum, the parish clergy were not united as a single order within their villages

and towns. For the pastoring mission of the parroco—and the larger Tridentine vision for

the Catholic Church—to be realized, parish clergy solidarity was a necessary ingredient.

From letters of “The Responses,” such solidarity and united vision for the local church or

grass-roots Catholicism seem an unachievable dream as long as money scrupples and

power struggles among priests of the same parish distracted them from the Tridentine

ideal.480

Not even the parrocos of neighboring parishes were adequately united. The

Rector Saturio Romero y Palacios demonstrates this lack of trust in his fellow parish

priests in Vallès in his response to Bishop Climent. “According to what I conceive of

478 “Const.6: Se hauria de inculcar als Parrocos que lo celebrar bis [another time] sols es concedit per pura necessitat y que sempre que tingan copia de un sacerdot que donantli lo estipendi competent vulla dis/dit una de las dos missas no puga lo Parroco celebrar bis.” Letter of Barcelona city parish priests, “The Responses.” 479 See p.306 of Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book IV, Tit.2, Const. VI. 480 The city parish priests of Barcelona desired that no cleric be allowed to appoint an “assistant” (marmessor), tutor, or curador from the secular clergy without first getting diocesan approval. The Dean of Penedès also wrote on these scruples over money and disunity among parish clergy in notes #4 and #6 of his letter (see above footnote). In “The Responses.”

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that clause and fearing that they will not consider my two points worthy enough for

remitting them to Your Illustrious Lordship as they are, that I do not consider them

ridiculous and indeed consider them serviceable for fixing—it pleases me to pass on this

fear to Your Illustrious Lordship in a copy of the letter that I wrote to the Dean with the

same motive….”481 Romero y Palacios’ two points related to popular religious practices

in his parish that he described in detail: Giving bread intended for the poor on Easter

Monday led to an aplech (meeting) at the Chapel of our Lady of Villar; and putting on

the impious show of disciplinants (flagellants/-tors) on Maundy Thursday. In all fairness,

the Dean and rectors of Vallès did address Romero y Palacios’ concerns in the letter to

Climent; however they omitted his lively narration in their rendition of his complaints

about improper dress and respect in church as well as against the aplechs at rural chapels.

Priestly infighting did not set a good example for parishioners. While some

priests lamented this “abuse” among clergy, many writers of “The Responses” pointed to

others who did not “practice what they preach.” The previous chapter began with the bad

examples priests set for their parishioners, causing the miseducation of many illiterate

Catholics who learned by experience rather than from a book. It will suffice to say that

parish priests themselves were the ones who noted these bad examples, and so as a group

they were the first ones to criticize each other. Felix Bover of Hospitalet, rector

Francesc Gonima of Vallvidrera, the writer of the Reflexions, the six parish priests

writing from Papiol, and especially rector Dr. P.M y B.—they all cast the first stone at

481 “Segun yo conceptuo aquella clausula y temiendo que no consideren por objeto digno mis dos puntos para remitirlos a VSI siendo asi, que no los contemplo ridiculos y si atendibles para remediarlos—este temor me alabanza a remitir a V.S.I. copia de la carta que he escrito al Dean con aquel motivo….” Letter of rector Saturio Romero y Palacios, “The Responses.”

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the clergy rather than parishioners for not conforming to or effectively enforcing

doctrinal precepts and failing to be the exemplary models they were called to be.482

From the point of view of these letters, priests did not always feel that the rules

applied to them. Bover of Hospitalet noted how priests did not abide by the code of

conduct for men of the cloth. The 1717 Council of Tarragona had prohibitted all

ecclesiastics “with penalties” from carrying arms or even for hunting, since that was also

forbidden. As Antonio Domínguez Ortiz notes, Rome had even conceded “a special

commision to the bishop of Gerona in 1553 at the instances of the king of Spain in order

to proceed against [priests] who carried fire arms, aided bandits, and committed other

crimes,” showing how grave the problem of “delinquent clergy” had become in

Catalonia.483 As late as the year 1767, the issue of priests bearing arms had yet to be

properly addressed in practice in Barcelona.

Bover went on to comment on how capellans (priests) were still accompanying

married (and single) women (acompanyan donas o Senyoras, etc) even though previous

bishops had admonished priests for doing so.484 The rector of Olivella in the region of

Penedès lists the first “abuse” to be addressed that “the Parish Priests should not have

482 The six priests writing from Papiol are noted above as Dr. Jaume Riera of Papiol, Dr. Agusti Pages of Castellbisbal, Francisco Terradellas of Rubí, Anton Llupart of Villastrell, Eudalt Puigcarbó of Sant Cyprià de Valldoreix, and Dr. Pau Torrents of Santa Creu d’Olorda. The letter of rector Francesc Gonima of Vallvidrera is written in Latin and also signed as from a gathering of many rectors in Papiol, but two days before the letter of the six (22 & 24 July 1767). For an excerpt of this Latin script regarding the priestly example, see Appendix B. Yet another side of the story, the rector of Canellas writes that “Salen muchas Bulas y decretos que no se observan porque se ignoran y por no estar acceptadas en España ni publicadas en el Obispado.” (emphasis mine) While he admits many times priests ignore decrees, it was also the case that they sometimes cut off or isolated from them, due to lack of “publication.” See Letter of Penedès, “The Responses.” 483 See Antonio Domínguez Ortiz’s chapter on social aspects of ecclesiastical life in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Spain, pp. 39, in Antonio Mestre Sanchis ed., Historia de la Iglesia en España, Vol. IV: La Iglesia en al España de los siglos XVII y XVIII (Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1979).

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married male or female Servants in their house, unless it is with the permission of Your

Illustriousness because the Parishioners gossip [about it].”485 The social norms of

eighteenth-century Barcelonese (or Catholic or Spanish) society frowned upon married

people sharing a private space with (parish) priests. The rector of Olivella felt that in

order to receive proper respect from the rest of society priests needed to prove their

integrity by means of the company they kept.486

Clearly many parish priests of “The Responses” wanted to improve the public

perception of priestly integrity as well as to solidify unity as an order. Their suggestions

point to ways in which parish priests could more effectively direct the lesser clergy in

their parishes to achieve a higher level of ecclesiastical (and by extension, parishioner)

discipline. Yet for all the acts of synod and pastoral visitations that warn of penalties

placed on all priests who do not follow form, there is no discussion of actual enforcement

of these penalties. Were priests sufficiently punished? Constitution III of Book I, Title 2

“on teaching Christian Doctrine” warned those who did not preach doctrine on Sundays

and Holy Days that “to those who do not take care in this holy ministry, we punish them

with the penalties that the holy Council of Trent disposes and with other penalties

484 Letter of Felix Bover, “The Responses.” (Specific mention of Bishop Vintimilla’s cartell) 485 “Los Parrocos no puedan tener en su casa Criados y Criadas casados, sino que sea con licencia de Su Illma porque murmuran los Parroquianos.” Letter of Penedès, “The Responses.” 486 Why were married female AND male servants in the service of (specifically) parish priests a cause for greater priestly concern and for parishioner gossip? Why would not single men and women in the parroco’s house cause the same concern and gossip? Does this mean that unmarried servants were so common or not prevalent at all that there would only be mention of “married” servants? But also—is this an illustration of the existence of private and public space or spheres in eighteenth-century Barcelona? Or is gossip simply “gossip”?

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reserved for our judgment.”487 Yet, even supposing that they had been imposed, these

penalties had not by 1767 sufficiently produced a priesthood that taught doctrine

regularly. While priests in “The Responses” were quick to voice criticism towards other

priests and spell out problems and short-comings within their ranks, they did not seem

keen to see stricter discipline for themselves, as they would be universally susceptable to

punishments from above.

The Regular Clergy

Given the differences between secular and regular clergy, it is logical that their

roles and relations in Barcelonese society would be different as well. Most times,

regulars lived as a community and were subject to their own leadership with the head of

the order reporting to the pope. Thus, they tended to be more independent and outside of

the control of government authorities. In rural areas, regular clergy confined themselves

in monasteries. In the diocese of Barcelona, rural monasteries belonged almost

exclusively to the Benedictine order and had been erected as early as the eleventh and

twelfth centuries—the Benedictine monasteries of Sant Cugat del Vallès and of the

Mother of God of Montserrat being well-known examples.488 On the “Christian” frontier

of the Reconquest, the regulars of these monasteries remained within its walls. And so as

villages grew (even if located next to the monastery), these regular clergy did not interact

487 “Als quals sis descuydaran en aquest sant ministeri, los castigarem ab las penas que disposa lo sagrat Concili de Trento y altras a nostre arbitre reservadas.”. Las Constitucions Synodals [de Sotomayor, 1673], Book I, Tit.2, Const.3., p.154. 488 Besides the numerous Benedictine monasteries, the Archive of the Crown of Aragon holds records for one Cistercian monastery (Santa Maria de Poblet) from the fourteenth century, one Cartusian (Santa Maria de Montalegre in the city of Barcelona) from the thirteenth century, and one Jeronimite (St Jeroni de la Murtra) from the fifteenth century. See the inventory of the monecales section, Archive of the Crown of Aragon, Barcelona. See also the maps in Atlas de Catalunya: Geografic, Econòmic, Històric (Barcelona: Diafora, 1974).

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with the lay society neighboring them. Since “The Responses” are predominantly from

rural areas, discussion of regular priests and lay piety seldomly occurs. It is in urban

areas where regular clergy had a stronger influence over local religious practices because

they had more interaction with laity. By means of congregations, convents, schools,

confraternities, etc, different orders took more interest in molding the hearts and minds of

parishioners in their immediate surroundings. But with that increased presence of

regulars came some aspects that secular priests did not like, as on a very practical level

people might choose to hire regular instead of secular priests to perform religious

services, cutting into the secular priests’ incomes and prerogatives. Not surprisingly, the

eighteenth-century sources used here convey a general attitude of secular clergy toward

regular orders after 1767—that they remained solely by the good graces of Spain. All

orders were on “probation.”

It is not possible to discuss priests in eighteenth-century Barcelona without

accounting for the regular clergy. While the men and women who comprised the various

religious orders were not affliliated with the diocese officially, their residence within the

diocesan boundaries brought them contact with the secular clergy, whether parish priests,

the bishop, or the diocesan chapter (cabildo). Male regulars generally outnumbered

nuns by a ratio of two-to-one. This was partly due to the comparative poverty of female

regulars due to their perceived minimal social utility in comparison with male orders,

making nunneries either charity cases or houses of (widowed) noble women who had

funds to support themselves.489 Unlike feminine orders, masculine religious orders

489 In an Alicante nunnery, there averaged one servant per two nuns. Domínguez Ortiz, “Aspectos sociales de la vida eclesiástica,” in Mestre Sanchis ed., Historia de la Iglesia en España, Vol. IV: p.41.

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encountered opposition over the years from writers, municipalities, and courts in Spain

because of their proliferation in orders and numbers and their tendency to accumulate

wealth. Despite reform efforts, historical testimony alludes to a progressive decline in

religious discipline in the traditional and long-standing orders in Spain, such as the

Benedictines and Cistercians, a decline that was already evident by the end of the

seventeenth century. But this testimony does not speak in a loud voice, but rather in

whispers to the effect that the vow of silence was poorly observed and that some savings

were being kept, breaking the vow of poverty. Speaking to this loss of almost all ascetic

ideals, Domínguez Ortiz maintains that this was even more the case in the province of

Tarragona (which included the diocese of Barcelona). “The greatest excesses seem to

have occurred in the Tarragonese cloister—to the point that one can doubt if they

observed a true monastic life, since they only came together for certain communitary

acts. …The abundance of riches contributed, without a doubt, to part of this

relaxation….” Even the mendicant orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, Capuchins) whose

central ideal was to practice “la pobreza evangélica” (the poverty of the Jesus and his

disciples) lost purity in their ideals over time in Spain. “The Mendicant Orders obtained

permission to possess wealth, and nearly only the Capuchin priests continued to stick to

the desire to be completely poor, living off of charity.”490

490 “Los mayores excesos parece que se dieron en la claustral tarraconense, hasta el punto de que puede dudarse que hicieran verdadera vida monástica, ya que sólo se reunían para ciertos actos comunitarios. …La sobra de riquezas tuvo, sin duda, parte en esta relajación…. Los mendicantes obtuvieron licencia para poseer bienes, y casi solamente los capuchinos siguieron aferrados al deseo de ser enteramente pobres, de vivir de limosna.” Domínguez Ortiz, “Aspectos sociales de la vida eclesiástica,” in Mestre Sanchis ed., Historia de la Iglesia en España, vol. IV: pp.47-8, 50.

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Religious orders each had a distinct niche in Catholic Europe. For example,

Benedictines had historically sought out mountain hideaways to ensure exile from the

secular world; Franciscans preferred small towns; and Jesuits were almost only found in

large cities such as Barcelona. Because of these different types of locations, individual

religious orders would have unique interactions with secular clergy as well as develop

distinct attitudes toward other orders. Domínguez Ortiz writes that

With the Benedictines and other monastic orders, few conflicts took place, since they had fixed incomes and lived wrapped up in their secular isolation. With the new, enterprising orders, with rights and privileges even more defined, the conflicts were frequent: with the parish priests, for funerary rights; with the Cathedral chapters and bishops, for the on-going question surrounding tithes. The property of the convents [male and female] continually increased; if they were exempt from paying tithes, the amount of wealth they appropriated had to go down. …The magnas urbes [cities], domain of the Jesuits, naturally included the Court, by which they were protected and [in turn] protectors [of the Court]. Simplifying it, we can say that the Mendicant Orders were popularists and the Jesuits academic and governmental. If their zeal for defending their tithe-exemption made them enemies with the secular clergy, the regular clergy believed in assessing a certain amount of arrogance to the Jesuits—not to particular individuals but to the Jesuit body as a whole.491 The complaints of parish priests in “The Responses” concerned mainly their

parishioners, the lay authority within their parishes, and their supporting parish clergy.

Their “regular” counterparts—Franciscans, Capuchins, Benedictines, etc.—are only

mentioned a handful of times, and in these instances they are noted generally as

491 “Con los benedictinos y otros monacales hubo pocos choques, pues tenían rentas fijas y vivían envueltos en su secular aislamiento. Con las nuevas órdenes, emprendedoras, con derechos y privilegios aún mal definidos, los choques eran frecuentes; con los párrocos, por los derechos funerarios; con los cabildos y obispos, por la eterna cuestión de los diezmos. Las propiedades de los conventos se incrementaban continuamentes; si estaban exentos de pagar diezmos, el importe de éstos tenía que bajar. …Las magnas urbes, dilectas de los jesuitas, incluían, naturalmente, la Corte, de la que fueron protegidos y protectores. Simplificando, podemos decir que los mendicantes eran popularistas y los jesuitas, áulicos o gubernamentales. Si su afán por defender la exención de diezmos los enemistó con el clero secular, el regular creía apreciar en los jesuitas una cierta arrogancia; no personal, sino de cuerpo.” Domínguez Ortiz, “Aspectos sociales de la vida eclesiástica,” pp. 51-2.

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regulars/regulares, never as specific orders. For instance, Francisco Miró, rector of Sant

Assicho y Santa Victoria, a parish of the Oficialato of Barcelona, was extremely

concerned with parish priest autonomy. In his letter to Bishop Climent, he asked that an

act of synod be passed so that “no Parish, or other, Priest—secular as well as regular—

can join a procession, Sing a service, Preach, or Celebrate Mass in another parish without

the permission of the Proper Parish Priest of that Parish where they want to perform said

functions, to the end of avoiding confessions [of guilt] and solidify Jurisdictions.”492

(emphasis mine) Miró gives no indication which clergy tended to be the real heart of the

problem—the secular or regular clergy—in the brevity of his letter. Nonetheless, the

issue of regular clergy infringing upon the jurisdiction of the parish priests was a

significant one for many parrocos/rectors. Every instance in which the writers of “The

Responses” mention problems associated with oratoris privats or the rural chapels and

shrines points to the likelihood that the priest “manning” that sanctuary was, in fact, a

regular priest. So when the city parish priests of Barcelona petitioned that the sacraments

of penitence and Eucharist be prohibited in Oratoris privats unless parish priest

permission was first given,493 the issue at stake was the jurisdiction of the parrocos and

the frequency with which regular clergy (and possibly other qualified secular clergy)

were confessing and absolving “their” parishioners. While the money involved in such

sacramental services was a great concern for parish priests’ maintenance, in practice the

492 “Ningun Rector o altre Sacerdot—tant secular com regular—pogues entrar amb profesó, Cantar offici, Predicar, o Celebrar Misa en altra parroquia sens llicencia del Rector Propri del aquella Parroquia ahont volen exercir ditas funcions, a fi de evitar confessions y llevar Jurisdicions.” (emphasis mine) Letter of Dr. Francisco Miró rector of Sant Assicho y Santa Victoria, “The Responses.” 493 “Lib.III, Tit.1: Apar convidria privar la Administració de penitencia y Eucharistia en Oratoris privats sens llicencia del Parroco.” Letter of city parish priests of Barcelona, “The Responses.”

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availability of regular priests, especially in the city of Barcelona, to dispense sacraments

made it difficult for parish priests to communicate with all parishioners and enforce

doctrinal and penitential standards in their parishes.

While regular clergy were especially visable in the city of Barcelona, they also

occupied remote areas as well. In one letter from rural parishes in the region of

Barcelona, a group of parish priests complained about how regular clergy (indirectly)

encouraged people to be absent from their parish churches. By promoting the erection of

public chapels and shrines next to their monasteries and likewise building their

monasteries next to rural chapels, individual orders of regular clergy had influenced

many parishioners to venerate these sites as holy and celebrate mass in them as opposed

to in their local parish church. While admitting that at one time such worship places may

have been “sanctuaries”, these rural parish priests warned that they had now become

“taverns and houses of profanation”494 and chastised the regular clergy for designating

such indecent venues as acceptable places of worship. Even though parishioners had

considered remote chapels and shrines as holy places for many years, the regular priests

“setting up shop” next door had perpetuated such sites by celebrating mass on holy days.

If parish priests told their parishioners that they should attend only their parish church for

Sunday and holy day worship, the presence of regular clergy at rural chapels and shrines

494 “Primo: La falta de la assistencia dels Parroquians en los Diumenges festas de Christo y de Maria Ssa quiscun a sa Parroquia, provenint est del nimio indult en la concessio de tanta ereccio de Capella publica, permissio de celebrarse lo sant y tremendo sacrifici de la Missa en las que en lo temps foren sanctuaris y en lo dia baix lo nom de Hermitas son Tabernas y casas de profanacio, y adhesio de aquells a las Iglesias dels Regulars: tot per subterfugir lo Cathecisme y paraula de Deu.” Letter of Francesch Gonima, “The Responses.”

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countered the “orthodoxy” of that claim for Catholics, recognizing both types of priests

as invested with the authority of the Catholic Church.495

“The Responses” shed some light on the regular clergy in the diocese of

Barcelona circa 1767 by providing the parish priests’ perspective on them. However,

some questions remain largely unexplained: How did regular priests fit into the daily

lives of Barcelonese parishioners? How were regular clergy part of eighteenth-century

Barcelonese society? Since “The Responses” emanated mostly from rural areas,

discussion of regular priests is relatively scarce.

Regular clergy did not have much day-to-day contact with the laity in rural areas,

since they kept to their monasteries or houses near rural chapels and shrines. So if any

contact with laity in the countryside were to occur for regular priests, it would be mainly

in these latter places. For example, whenever people decided to make a pilgrimage out to

the shrine of the Mother of God of Montserrat (just outside of the diocese of Barcelona,

but a popular and revered shrine through all of Catalonia) the Benedictine monastery that

occupied the same area was full of regular priests who might sermonize or exert some

sort of religious influence over the pilgrims who came there. In urban areas, however,

the situation was different. As Antonio Domínguez Ortiz states, “it is important to keep

in mind that in rural areas the competition of regular orders was little to non-existent, [but

was] very strong in urban areas.”496 Regular clergy had a stronger influence over local

religious practices in the cities, since various orders had convents, schools, churches, etc.

495 Here parish priests clearly have Tridentine orthodoxy on their side. Yet it seems not enough. 496 “Hay que tener en cuenta que en las zonas rurales faltaba o era pequeña la competencia de las órdenes religiosas, muy fuerte en las urbanas.” Domínguez Ortiz, “Aspectos sociales de la vida eclesiástica,” pp. 37-54.

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that had been established for hundreds of years in some cases. By means of these city

edifices and their location in residential areas, regular priests could take more interest in

molding the hearts and minds of their lay neighbors. But as the parish priests’ complaints

in “The Responses” explain, the increased presence of regulars among the laity meant

that in effect people might choose to hire regular instead of secular priests to perform

religious services, cutting into the secular priests’ incomes.

The map below of the Rambla—the most famous street in the city of Barcelona

that borders the old, medieval city wall and that in the mid-eighteenth century was a

popular and central promenade of the city—shows just how many religious orders could

fit in a main section of early modern Barcelona. Moreover, the map illustrates just how

regular priests were a daily spectacle for parishioners walking on the streets. (See Plate

4.1497) Franciscans, Capuchins, Trinitarians, Mercedarians, Carmelites, Jesuits, and the

fathers of St. Joseph all had residences on this main stretch of the city in the eighteenth

century. Despite Spain’s expulsion of the Jesuits from its dominions in 1767, the Society

of Jesus continued to have an effect over the daily lives of Barcelonese parishioners

because of the impact their churches and schools had made in the realms of higher

learning, on local piety in Barcelona, and by way of the wealthy and noble families who

had furnished recruits to the society and for whom the Jesuits had extended their spiritual

influence. In this sketch of La Rambla, the former Jesuit buildings the Iglesia de Belén

and the Colegio de Cordellas are prominently located in the city. Thus, while post-

497 Generalitat de Catalunya, Millenvum: Història I Art de l’Església Catalana (Barcelona: I.G. Galileo, 1989).

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expulsion documents refer to many other religious orders involved in Barcelona city life,

one must also keep in mind that the Jesuit influence had not vanished overnight.

In Calaix de Sastre, the Baron of Maldà mentioned religious orders in passing when he

detailed the processions and other Catholic devotions connected with holy days. While

Calaix did not directly spell out the importance or place that regulars had in society, the

reader can see that a connection existed between religious orders and manifestations of

lay piety. One of the lengthier discussions of a procession related to a relgious order is

that of May 25th, 1776 in which over 600 girls of the Franciscan convent marched

alongside Franciscan nuns and fathers. Those in the procession are designated as the

Tercerols and Terceroles de Sant Francesc, meaning young men and women in training

to become nuns and friars, literally those who “mediated” between the lay and clerical

worlds.

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Plate 4.1: Map of La Rambla in the Eighteenth Century

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25 May: …And the same on that day began the Processions of the Congregation of Our Lady of Hope, for avoiding Mortal Sin, of the Tercerols and tercerolas of Saint Francis and other Congregations motivated by the visit to the four designated Churches for earning the Jubilee of the Holy Year. I saw the procession pass the Church of Saint Francis. And today the twenty-sixth of May, 1776 at six in the afternoon on Pi Street the procession walked through its Parish of the Pi and consisted first of a male carrying the Cross and some regular priests followed, in two rows immediately the tercerolas of all ages dressed in black or purple skirts and also in the habit of Saint Francis, I mean to say that the skirts, for many of the procession participants, had white mantillas. Later followed another choir of Franciscans [men] singing the Litany of Saints. Later continued second tercerolas the same and the regular priests in two rows immediately following said Women who also followed in procession in two rows, passing the lowerd rosary. The last tercerolas were those of black hoods, immediately behind the Ladies that also went along there, some with a mantilla and a black skirt. After continued a portion of the regular priests and other Individuals, everyone with the greatest modesty and composure. The Tercerolas probably arrived at the number of 724 and the others counted to just 650. [The number] of regular priests some 120 and [the number] of seculars no fewer. (emphasis in original)498

The purpose of this procession was to fulfill the requirements of visiting different

churches in the city that the bishop of Barcelona (Valladares in 1776) had designated in

order for parishioners to receive the indulgence of the year of Jubilee proclaimed by the

pope. The great number of processants and the spectacle that they must have provided

498 “25 Maig: …Item se comensaren tambe en aquell dia las Profesons de Congregats de Nostra Senyora de Esperansa per no dir del Pecat Mortal. De Tercerols y tercerolas de Sant Francesch y demes Congregacions ab lo motiu de la visita de las 4 Iglesias senyaladas per guanyar lo Jubileu del any Sant. La de Sant Francesch la he vista pasar. Id Est la Profesó avui dia 26 de Maig 1776 a las 6 horas de la tarde per lo Carrer del Pi que se encaminava a Sa Parroquia del Pi y consistia primerament de un que portaba la Creu y seguian alguns Religiosos a 2 filas inmediatament las tercerolas de totas edats vestidas de faldilla negra o morada y tambe de habit de Sant Francesch, vull dir las faldillas, moltas de las concurrentas a la Profeso ab mantellinas blancas. Despues seguia altre cor de Religiosos Franciscanos cantant la Lletania dels Sants. Despues continuaban segonas tercerolas igualment y los religiosos a 2 filas inmediats a las ditas Donas que tambe seguian la Profesó a 2 filas pasant lo rosari baxet. Las ultimas tercerolas eran las de capucha negra, inmediatas a las Senyoras que hi anaban tambe algunas ab mantilla y Faldilla negre. Despues continuavan porció de Religiosos y altres Individuos, tothom ab la mayor modestia y reculliment. Las Tercerolas arribaren al numero de 724 y altres contaban sols 650. De religiosos alguns 120 y de seculars no menos.” (emphasis in original) AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 5 V 1776.

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went over and above the requirements for the indulgence, demonstrating how religious

orders could be pivotal fomenters of Catholic piety. That so many girls and boys were

educated in the Franciscan school also confirms that lay families sought out convents of

religious orders in order to provide education and possibly a permanent life or livelihood

for their children, especially for girls whose options were (still) limited in eighteenth-

century Spain.

In another entry of Calaix, Maldà listed the Capuchins and other communities of

“regulars” participating in the Corpus processions of 1776.

The Churches of nuns and of other regulars of the reform each hold their own procession during the eight days [of Corpus], being of all the referred to processions the longest ones after that of the Cathedral. …In the Procession of the Cathedral, all of the [religious] Communities go in that one, secular as well as regular Clergy with the Crosses of their Parishes and of the Churches of the Friars. The Capuchins-in-training of Saint Eulalia of Sarria, united with those of this Convent of Barcelona, attend the Procession of the Cathedral, and in the Procession of Saint Mary [del Pi], in addition to the numerous Community of [lower secular] Priests walk in procession the Capuchin Friars of this City only. (emphasis mine)499

The picture painted by this entry is that in the most significant events of the city’s

religious calendar, secular and regular clergy came together in procession, united in

Catholic devotion. Lay—albiet noble—men such as Maldà were careful to take note of

this most probably infrequent united presence.

Besides these two excerpts from Calaix, the entirety of Maldà’s description of

religious orders in connection with the laity almost exclusively pertains to the order of

499 “En las Iglesias de monjas y de altres religiosos de la reforma fan dins de la Octava sa profesó, sent de totas las referidas las mes llargas despues de la de la Seu. …En la de la Seu, hi van totas las Comunitats, tant del Clero secular com regular ab las Creus de sas Parroquias y Iglesias de Frares. Assisteixen a la Profesó de la Cathedral los novicis Caputxins de Santa Eularia de Sarria, units ab los de est Convent de Barcelona y en la Profesó de Sta Maria [del Pi] ames de sa numerosa Comunitat de Capellans, hi van los Frares Caputxins de esta Ciutat solament.” (emphasis mine) ACHB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A, 6 VI 1776.

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Descalced Trinitarians connected with the Church of Bonsucces. From such accounts

that include the name of the church, the order, and the congregation of Jesus of Nazereth

that the Descalced Trinitarians supported, the reader would interpret the Descalced

Trinitarian priests to be the most active regulars in encouraging lay religious

demonstrations. For instance, each year (from 1776-1785), the Good Friday processions

stand out among the Holy Week accounts in Calaix. The Descalced Trinitarians were

linked to these processions; their affiliate congregation of Jesus of Nazereth led them,

starting the march from the Church of Bonsucces, known as “the church of the Descalced

Trinitarians.”500 The processants’ purple clothes made from the expensive cochineal dye

(cucunilla), the many military officials (“principally from the body of guardias

Espanyolas”) carrying large torches (atxas), and the frequent name-dropping of the

nobles in this annual procession—all of these things contribute to the high-profile given

to the Descalced Trinitarians of the Church of Bonsucces in the city’s religious life.501

While Maldà’s writing paints this religious order as the outstanding participant or sponsor

of lay religious devotion, this order’s strong connection to the nobility skews the picture

of lay piety Maldà presents, transforming it into one of “noble” Catholic piety. Since

Maldà himself was a nobleman and wrote for an audience of privilege and nobility, it is

understandable that the bulk of his description of popular religious devotions in

Barcelona would concern those particular to the nobility and wealthy. In one of Maldà’s

accounts, he even gave the impression that in Barcelona the order of the Descalced

500 See the latter half of the Chapter Three discussion on confraternities in Calaix for more on this congregation. 501 AHCB, Calaix, MS.201A, 28 III 1777, 24 III 1780, 8 IV 1781, 18 IV 1783, 9 IV 1784, 25 III 1785, and 26 X 1783.

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Trinitarians became the successor of the Jesuits in noble patronage. (Could there be a

link between the church dedicated to the virgin of “Good Success” and the attraction to

the nobility?) On October 24, 1784, Maldà wrote:

This year, a new holy day for the Archangel Saint Raphael was observed in the Chapel of the Congregation of Holiest Mary of the Pains of the Pares Servitas [Serving Fathers], Church entitled “of Good Success” with solemn morning services sung on the vigil [the day before] by the Community of the Pares Servitas. The next day …at ten fifteen in the morning a solemn service…, having placed of importance a most beautiful figure of Saint Raphael with Tobias in the Grade of the Altar, illuminated with one hundred candles, that which is the foundation of the house that before was in [the Church of] Bethlehem, or the Church of the expelled Jesuit Fathers. (final emphasis mine)502

In all, what comes through Calaix de Sastre is that regular clergy, just as much if not

more than secular clergy, participated in and sponsored public manifestations of Catholic

devotion in Barcelona. The edifices of the convents and monasteries physically separated

regular priests from their lay neighbors. Nevertheless, the congregations and

confraternities that the regulars sponsored, the families whose children they taught, and

the holy days that gave them occasion to participate in processions on the city streets—all

of these things connected the regular clergy with Barcelonese society at-large.

What is not communicated through Calaix is the post-Jesuit environment in which

the regular orders found themselves. The vacancy created by the expulsion of the Jesuits

in Spanish society left the remaining orders with the sense that they were on “probation,”

wondering both how they were supposed to fill the Jesuits’ empty shoes as well as how to

exercise care so as not to become the next order to be kicked out of Spain. Soon after the

502 “En est any se feu nova Festa del Arcangel Sant Rafel en la Capella de la Congregació de Maria Santissima dels Dolors de Pares Servitas, Iglesia intitulada del Bonsucces ab matinas solemnes en la viligia cantadas per la Comunitat de Pares Servitas. Lo endema …a 10 horas y quart ofici solemne…, haventse posada de bulto una hermosisima figura de Sant Rafel ab Tobias en la Grada del Altar illuminat ab 100

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expulsion, the writing was on the wall for the other regular orders as they saw the

government of Spain (per the permanente consejo Extraordinario) take action against the

nuns who announced in churches their prophetic dreams of the return of the Jesuits to

their homeland, ordering the diocesan authorities (ordinarios) in Spain to surpress

possible cells of “Jesuitism,” especially the nunneries previously run by Jesuit priests.

Bishops and archbishops were pressured by the government to watch out for suspect

regulars, and while bishops and diocesan churches benefitted greatly in wealth from the

expulsion, in only a handful of cases did the Spanish government allot ex-Jesuit property

to another religious order.503 The regular clergy remaining in Spain may have been less

“dangerous” but they were just as useless in the eyes of the government (as potential

tools of enlightened despotism). Unfolded in the next chapter is the narrative of how

relations between the government of Spain and both regular and secular clergy—along

with those between bishop, priests, and parishioners—played out in Barcelona during the

years of Climent’s episcopacy, 1766-1775. What one finds is that ultimately the fate of

the clergy was linked with their individual utility to the state.

In sum, secular and regular clergy were an important sector of Barcelonese

society in the eighteenth century. The ecclesiastical hierarchy of Spain was, if nothing

else, a heterogeneous body. Bishops, rectors, vicars, canons, Jesuits, Capuchins, “friars”,

“fathers”, and superiors of orders—the Catholic clergy was like a mosaic of very diverse

priests. However, as the breadth of this chapter has pointed out, no infrastructure existed

ciris, que es la fundacio de casa que antes era en Betlem, o Iglesia de Pares Jesuitas expulsos.” (emphasis mine) AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, (24 X 1784) fol.344. 503 Teófanes Egido makes this point in his chapter on the expulsion of the Jesuits. See Mestre Sanchis ed., Historia de la Iglesia en España, Vol. IV, pp. 780-792.

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to organize them or unite them as a single order of clergy. Priests may have possessed a

certain amount of “privilege” in society, but this did not always equate to power. Besides

the reality of being subjected to regal and papal authority, priests in eighteenth-century

Barcelona were constantly reminded that in order to influence parishioners in their

Catholic devotion and spirituality or enforce any kind of religious doctrine, they

desperately needed the assistance of municipal and town officials as well as solidarity

with their fellow priests—secular or regular—with whom benevolent relations were

never easy to maintain. The following chapter engages how relations with town officials

and priestly solidarity played out in the diocese of Barcelona during the episcopacy of

Josep Climent.

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CHAPTER 5

ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM VERSUS ENLIGHTENED CATHOLICISM IN BARCELONA DURING THE EPISCOPACY OF CLIMENT

“The Responses” of 1767 show that the secular clergy of Barcelona saw a clear

need for reform. At the parish level, they somehow needed to establish an agreement

with the municipal authority that would more effectively harness the force of law against

religious infractions. The Barcelonese parishioners were holding fast to their pre-

Tridentine religious traditions and had not been effectively convinced on religious

grounds why they should turn their spirituality away from shrines in the countryside and

towards the parish church and parroco (rector = Catalan) in the center of town. Parish

clergy were convinced that if they were successfully to become the sole religious

authority in their individual parishes, then they had to win the devotional competition

between themselves and the regular clergy. In the name of establishing and upholding

the acts of the Council of Trent, parish priests needed to have their dominion over the

souls of their parishioners sufficiently recognized so as to preclude regular orders from

encouraging popular devotions at rural shrines.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A SYNOD & A PETITION

FOR LETTERS IN 1767

The parish priests writing “The Responses” knew that Bishop Josep Climent i

Avinent planned to hold a synod sometime in the future in which their grievances would

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be addressed and a solution for the moral and religious “abuses” and “scandals” they

reported would be sought. Historically, the diocese of Barcelona—like other dioceses in

the Catalan region—had convened synods from time to time. Thus, the parish priests

would have been familiar with what this synod would be and how it would proceed.

Adjourning in 1563, the Council of Trent had mandated that bishops convene

synods in their diocese each year, reinvigorating the existing trait of “synodality” in

Barcelona. While in practice Trent’s provision on synods translated into about one synod

in Barcelona per episcopate rather than one per year, such a frequency in convening

synods was exemplary in Catholic Europe. In fact, some claim that in all of Western

Christendom, the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona—in the eighteenth century,

comprised of the dioceses of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, Solsona, Tortosa, Urgell, and Vic

and the archdiocese of Tarragona—was the best at maintaining consistent convocation of

synods.504

For the parish priests writing in 1767, the last synod had been held in 1755 under

Bishop Assensio Sales. Besides a few exceptional cases, most synods since Trent had

primarily served the purpose of introducing a newly arrived bishop to the people and

acquainting him with issues relevant in the diocese of Barcelona. The usual format of

synodal proceedings was to appoint lawyers and “promoters” who would then be in

charge of receiving the suggestions of all those present—suggestions that many times

were probably not that different from those presented in “The Responses.” If the lawyers

deemed these suggestions to be within the scope of the synod’s jurisdiction, the

504 Josep Maria Marquès, Concilis Provincials Tarraconenses (Barcelona: Edicions Proa, 1994), p.7. “La Tarraconense és, entre les de l’Església d’Occident, la que ha mantingut amb major constància la celebració

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promoters would then present them to all in synod. Either a committee would be created

to study each problem and propose a solution, or after discussion of the problem, it would

be left to the bishop’s discretion to arrive at the most effective solution.505 But

commonly, the bishop and synodal committees never reached effective solutions, and

Tridentine reform was preached but hard to implement, since many times it clashed with

traditional religious practices, was not supported by the local secular authority, or could

not overcome the conditions of heavy financial pressures in which parishioners found

themselves.

So what indication did the parish priests of 1767 have that Climent’s proposed

synod would be any different from previous attempts at finding remedies for on-going

problems and truly effecting reform? The answer consists of diverse elements that

contributed to a uniquely promising environment for religious reform. First, it should not

be inferred that the diocesan synods of Barcelona had been inconsequential. That is far

from the truth. The fact that the diocesan church of Barcelona faithfully convened

synods as mandated by the Council of Trent demonstrates that the church’s “constitution”

was firmly rooted in Tridentine reform. If the synods had failed to find effective

solutions, the lay authority’s lack of co-operation with local church prelates and the lack

of an infrastructure to ensure this co-operation were just as much to blame as any one

de reunions sinodals, fossin quins fossin els motius de l’assiduïtat, fins al punt de poder-se documentar uns 175 concilis dins el seu territori.” 505 The last two synods held previously in 1751 and 1755 are examples of exceptional and unexceptional synods. In 1751, Bishop Aguirre convenes an extensive synod that records in Catalan over a dozen different areas, such as pre-marital sexual relations and marriage outside of the home parish, in which it was resolved to rely on the bishop’s wisdom for the best remedy. In 1755, Sales convenes a brief synod which records in Latin simply four resolutions. ADB, Sínodes, vol.4, Synodi Diocesan de anny 1739, 1751 et 1755, fol. 92-270 (1751) & fol.270-312 (1755).

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bishop’s half-hearted attempts at reform. So that Climent proposing a synod at all, after

twelve years since the previous one, left the Barcelona secular clergy hopeful for another

chance to address such urgent areas for reform. Furthermore, for many of the parish

priests, it would have been their first opportunity to participate in a synod. For the first-

time synod attendees, optimism would have abounded.

In a second area of explanation, certain external conditions had communicated to

everyone that true reform of Catholic devotion and ecclesiastical relations was now

possible. The expulsion of the Jesuits in April of 1767 created these conditions. As in

the rest of Catholic Europe, Jesuits had increasingly become a dominant “faction” of the

Church in Spain since their inception in the mid-sixteenth century. Because the Jesuits

had focused their efforts mostly in cities and towns rather than in the countryside, and

had centered their attention on the wealthy and privileged, they had amassed lands and

wealth that founded and funded churches and schools, all the while perpetuating and

multiplying their degree of influence in both civic and religious life in the major

population centers of Spain. Barcelona was no exception to this trend and may have been

just as if not more influenced by the Jesuits compared with other Spanish cities. In his

study on the governing elite (prohoms) of early modern Barcelona, James Amelang

points to the Jesuits’ Bethlehem College of Cordelles, as well as the Jesuit-dominated

University of Barcelona (until it was closed down in 1714), as “noble academies” that

served as institutions of socialization and leisure, spreading the culture of nobilitas. In

fact, the 1763 Constituciones de Cordelles (Constitutions, or by-laws, of the College of

Cordelles) state the Jesuits’ purpose of running the school as teaching virtue and letters to

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young nobles for the greater glory of God and the utility of the state.506 Furthermore, the

Jesuit influence was so prevalent in Barcelona that in 1766 when Josep Climent was

named bishop of Barcelona, he begged Madrid (specifically, Manuel de Roda, Charles

III’s Minister of Grace and Justice) to let him renounce the appointment, convinced that

he would be useless and fruitless in Barcelona. After the Jesuit expulsion, he explained

that his reluctance to become bishop of Barcelona was due to the tight control the Jesuits

had on schools and academies in the town.507

In short, the environment created by Charles III’s real pragmática on April 7,

1767 announcing that the Society of Jesus would be banished from his dominions and

their property appropriated by various lay and clerical bodies meant that the parish priests

who read Climent’s May 26 announcement for a synod thus did so in full awareness that

the dynamics of the Barcelona church were changing. The Jesuits were no longer the

dominant religious presence in Barcelona. Even though some parish priests may have

held theological beliefs highly influenced by Jesuit theology, the body of parish priests as

a whole still would have had areas of concern that would have led them to seek reform

within the parish and diocesan church and even lay piety and to be optimistic for its

effective establishment (e.g., making the focus of local religious life the parish church

rather than Jesuit chapels). If the Jesuits were no longer compatible with Catholic Spain,

then for clergy of Barcelona in 1767 the possibilities for change seemed limitless.

506 James Amelang, Honored Citizens of Barcelona: Patrician Culture and Class Relations, 1490-1714, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986): pp.157-164. 507 Joan Llido i Herrero, El Castellonense Joseph Climent, Teólogo y Obispo Reformador (Castellon de la Plana: Societat Castellonense de Cultura, 1981): pp.16-17.

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Another unique condition of the proposed synod of 1767 was the bishop

proposing it. Installed as bishop of Barcelona in November of 1766, Josep Climent i

Avinent (a native of Castelló de la Plana which pertained to Valencia but also in some

ways to Catalonia) had plans for a synod that would above all seek to re-establish the

order of the early Church—both its ecclesiastical organization and its discipline over the

faithful, clergy and populace508—as well as to eradicate Jesuit influences remaining in the

diocese. Climent’s first pastoral letter to his parish priests dated May 26, 1767 makes

clear his distinctiveness as an episcopal proponent of conciliarism in an age of

enlightened absolutism. The main purpose of the letter is to alert his diocesan clergy that

he was planning a synod, to communicate his motives for convening one, and to ask for

suggestions that would become an agenda for the synod (important points of reform that

in the priests’ opinion would help them better govern their parishes). Thus, the pastoral

letter and Climent’s first sermon as bishop of Barcelona that he attached to it cover some

key areas concerning the church, announcing to Barcelona who their new bishop was and

what they could expect from him.

The main message that Climent’s pastoral letter conveyed to his priests was his

goal to convene a synod. But more than a goal, Climent used language that made this

synod a promise. And the synod he described would have been nothing short of

exceptional for eighteenth-century Spain. He prefaced the pastoral letter by first

explaining how his idea for a synod was different from the past eight of the eighteenth

508 In this letter, Climent spends equal if not more time discussing discipline among clergy than among laity. For example, “…no nos lisongeamos poder desarraigar el envejecido errado concepto que el mundo ha formado de los Beneficios eclesiásticos; pero discurrimos que la Iglesia podria mejor asegurarse de la verdadera vocacion de sus Ministros.” See Josep Climent i Avinent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo”, Coleccion de las obras del il.mo señor don Joseph Climent (Madrid: Imprenta Real, 1788), Vol I: p.103.

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century: instead of commencing his episcopate with a synod as his predecessors had

done, Climent said he first wanted to get acquainted with the diocese (although not stated,

probably by means of pastoral visitations to all parishes). While possibly meaning a

simple postponement from the Barcelona norm, this decision was packed with intent.

Besides indicating that Climent himself wanted to be better informed of his diocese by

his own observation, the pastoral letter also let priests know that Climent wanted them as

parish priests to be better educated on the “constitution” of the Barcelona church.

Spending most of his words on the history of the Barcelona church, Climent wasted no

time in referring to the 1669 synod of Bishop Sotomayor and asking his priests to study

the published constitutions of this synod in order to prepare better for his synod. His

veneration of the work of Sotomayor and Barcelona’s history of convening church

councils in the letter set the tone for the future synod. Since he believed that “the failure

to convene synods and councils as well as other reasons, which are notorious for those

well-versed in Church history, has mutated and deformed the form of the Church,”509

Climent’s intentions clearly were to “reform” that which had been deformed in the

Church. The re-established practice of synods would reverse the developments of

previous years and carry the monumental goal of restoring the worship and customs

(culto and costumbres) of the early Church.

A further way in which Climent’s first pastoral letter makes known the

uniqueness of the proposed synod is by revealing just who was the man convening it. He

did not hesitate to express to his clergy all of his deeply held convictions, no matter how

509 “La omisión en celebrar sínodos y concilios y por otras causas, bien notorias a los que están versados en la Historia eclesiástica, se imutó o deformó el semblante de la Iglesia.” Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo”, p.94.

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controversial they might be at that place in time. In his biography of Climent, Francesc

Tort i Mitjans states that “the episcopalism, anti-regalism, clericalism, and Jansenism of

the author [Climent] appears in this pastoral instruction with even more intensity than his

first sermon.”510 Climent’s episcopalism was strong to the extent that he barely

mentioned the office of the pope, focusing instead on the episcopalism ordained by Trent

and embodied by Carlos Borromeo: bishops are ordered to hold synods each year and

councils every other year, noted Climent, in order to enforce laws, promulgate new ones,

and restore the “old ecclesiastical Discipline.”511 Just as the pope received little mention,

Climent displayed his anti-regalist sentiments by omitting the Spanish king in his

discussion. All of the reform he proposed in his letter related solely to the job and duty

of the diocesan clergy. Especially in the wake of the Spanish crown’s actions with the

Jesuits, the priests reading this first pastoral letter would have been impressed upon by

their new bishop’s plan to take a third road of councils (discussed in Chapter Two),

avoiding both the regalist one of Madrid and the ultramontanist of Rome.512 In fact,

Climent was not afraid to show even his Jansenist tendencies in his argument for a third

road to reform with words that could possibly have been construed as schismatic in the

eyes of Rome.

The opinion of those (they who pride themselves on being politicians and enemies of new things) who believe we should leave the things of the Church in the state

510 “Aún con mayor intensidad que en su primer sermón, aparecen en esta pastoral el episcopalismo, antirregalismo, clericalismo y jansenismo de su autor.” Tort i Mitjans, p.45. 511 “Restableciendo la antigua Disciplina eclesiástica.” Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo”, p.95-96. 512 Emile Appolis uses similar words, labelling Climent as part of the tiers parti. See his Entre jansénistes et zélanti, le “Tiers-parti” catholique au XVIIIe siècle, Paris: A.& J. Picard, 1960. Andrea J. Smidt, “Piedad e ilustración en relación armónica. Josep Climent i Avinent, obispo de Barcelona, 1766-1775.” Manuscrits. Revista d'Història Moderna, 2002, núm. 20, pp 91-109.

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in which we presently find them is erroneous. …we know that in the last century a zealous parish priest of one of the churches of Flanders succeeded in getting his parishioners to imitate the Christians of the early Church (primitiva Iglesia).513 Lastly, Climent devoted the second half of his letter to emphasizing his spirit of

clericalism. Synods and councils regularly convened would serve to reform the

“discipline” not just of the Catholic faithful but also of the clergy themselves, by doing

away with “the Seculars who dare to speak shamefully and with contempt against

clerics.”514 In order to do this, however, Climent assured his clergy that he had no

intentions of going above them as parish priests, but rather of working with them. “We

ask you to help us with your counsel so that we may achieve this right intention,” he

wrote. To explain how this intention was consistent with the “constitution” of the

Barcelona church he added that “since the inception of our diocese, we [bishops] have

not proposed to do anything without your [parish priests’] counsel.”515

So if all of this, as Climent argued, was consistent with the past of the Barcelona

church, how was Climent’s proposal a break from it? Most ecclesiastical historians

would answer that it was not a break from the past but rather stood in continuity with it.

Had the synod come to pass, reforms established, or other conditions created in parish

513 “Es erronea la opinión de los que, preciándose de políticos y enemigos de novedades, juzgan que debemos dexar las cosas de la Iglesia en el estado en que las hallamos…. Sabemos que en el siglo pasado un zeloso Párroco de una de las iglesias de Flandes consiguió que sus feligreses imitasen a los Christianos de la primitiva Iglesia.” Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo”, p.96-99. 514 “No podemos dexar de alabar su [the Christians against reforming the Church] piedad por la parte que sienten, que los Seculares se atrevan a hablar en oprobio y con desprecio de los Eclesiásticos, y que quieran entender o entrometerese en su reforma.” Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo”, p.99.

515 “Para que se consiga nuestra recta intención os pedimos nos ayudéis con vuestros consejos. …que desde el principio de nuestro Obispado nos hemos propuesto no hacer cosa alguna sin vuestro consejo.” Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo, p.100. Climent writes that he cannot ignore his “presbiteros” now and then excuse himself to eat at their table and in their company when he goes on his pastoral visitations. So he requests that they “make the work of noting on a paper all that they have observed that could be conducive to the better governance of their parrishes.” (p.104)

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life, historians may have had more reason to argue the contrary. But as it was, the only

true “break” that occurred when Climent proposed a synod was from the past twelve

years without a diocesan synod in Barcelona and from the past ten years without a

provincial council in the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona.

Ever since the fourth century A.D., in the wake of the ecumenical Council of

Nicaea in 325, the province of Tarragona had convened councils of its regional bishops

(mainly held to elect new bishops in the vacant diocesan churches) as well as diocesan

synods. Interrupted by the Moorish invasion of the eighth century, the practice was

restored after the Reconquest of the region that would become kingdom of Aragón. The

Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, mandating provincial councils once in every

three years and synods every year, thus reinvigorated the trait of “synodality” in the

region rather than establishing or creating it.516

With this reinvigoration of synods and councils came an immediate desire to

apply the spirit of Trent to the Tarragonese or, by this time, the Catalan church. The

frequent synods and councils of the sixteenth century focused almost all of their efforts

on Tridentine reform. (Despite the fact that Phillip II had ordered all conciliar accords

subject to official approval in his court, the Catalan priests from the first post-Tridentine

provincial council in 1564 did not obey the crown’s desires, neither seeking approval of

its constitutions nor asking permission to publish them.) Josep M. Marquès notes that

from the seventeenth century on until the last council held in 1757, the nature of the

516 Two volumes chronicle the Tarragonese councils. Josep Raventós i Giralt, La sinodalitat a Catalunya: Síntesi històrica dels concilis tarraconenses (Barcelona: l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2000). Concilis Provincials Tarraconenses, introduction by Josep M. Marquès (Barcelona: Fundació Enciclopèdia Catalana, 1994).

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provincial councils grew less reformist, becoming meetings about every five years for the

purpose of obtaining the bishops’ agreement (or increasingly that of their representatives)

about the amount each diocese would contribute to the Spanish crown in the obligatory

gràcies del subsidi i de l’excusat (tax money that the pope conceded to the king of Spain

as a “grace”).517

But this overall trend of councils for tax collecting had some exceptions. From

time to time some discussion of popular piety and ecclesiastical reform occurred in the

synods and councils; however, all the negative phrases in the minutes of constitutions

(“‘X’ is from henceforth prohibited,” or “‘X’ is not permitted”) make it difficult to guess

the positive goals of the priests. Judging from the minutes of the seventeenth century,

one of the major occurrences needing reform in the Catalan church was evidently that

parishioners very commonly worked on Sundays and holidays—a complaint of Barcelona

parish priests even in 1767. The Tarragona provincial council of 1727 attempted one

solution by petitioning Benedict XIII to reduce the number of holidays in which work

was prohibited in the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona. (Although the petition was

granted in 1728, the problem remained unsolved.) Another major area of reform

discussed in the Council of 1727 concerned the knowledge of Christian doctrine and the

use of the Catalan language. All agreed upon the duty of all Catholics to know their

doctrine and that of pastors to teach it. So in the spirit of the decrees of Trent and the

need to improve the average parishioner’s knowledge of Catholicism, the council

approved a decree that ordered pastors to teach doctrine in the “llengua materna” or

517 Concilis Provincials Tarraconenses, pp.31-32. During this time, the meetings of the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona became almost replicas of the General Assemblies of the Gallican Clergy, which

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“llengua vulgar.” For nearly all parishes, this language was Catalan. In clear

contradiction to what Madrid had recently ordered, this decree approved the (written and

spoken) use of Catalan at a time when the Nova Planta and wishes of Felipe V were

trying to eradicate it.

Another exceptional characteristic of this provincial council of 1727 was the

extent to which it demonstrated the authority that the Tarragona church beleived it

possessed. After the conclusion of the council, the archbishop of Tarragona, Manuel de

Samaniego y Jaca, ordered the publication of the council’s proceedings in the Piferrer

printing house of Barcelona, paying for six-thousand copies (some in Latin, most in

Catalan) in 1728. Soon, however, the captain general and Real Audiencia of Catalonia

discovered that the “Superiorum permissu” printed on the title page carried no indication

of the superiors whose permission had supposedly been obtained and that the council led

by Samaniego had in fact asked no one’s permission to publish the constitutions—neither

Rome’s, the Real Audiencia’s, or Madrid’s. After further investigation of the matter, and

of the constitution mandating preaching in Catalan, the judges of the Audiencia declared

that the publication was an act of disobedience, a “transgression against the Crown of

Felipe V”, and that they would be sending their report along with the council’s

constitutions to Madrid for the crown to decide the best action to take.518 Within a

month, Samaniego was no longer archbishop of Tarragona, having been transferred to

Burgos to become the new bishop there. So while this story illustrates a failure of the

provincial councils of Tarragona and the greater power of the Spanish state by the

were not councils but met once every five years to tally up their tax money to the crown. This development in Spain probably represents the influence of the Bourbon dynasty after 1714.

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eighteenth century, it also communicates the autonomy or the authority that the

archbishop and bishops felt rightfully belonged to them as the Tarragonese Church. In

their church history of councils and in the constitutions passed in provincial council and

then published for dissemination within their churches, the leaders of the Tarragonese

Church of 1727 believed they had the independence and liberty to act separately from the

state, not submit to the desires of royal policy, and govern the spiritual affairs of their

churches, including the use of Catalan not as a political statement but in order to increase

religious comprehension among all Catholics. The fact that the Spanish government—

both Real Audiencia in Catalonia and the powers that were in Madrid—responded to the

actions of the 1727 provincial council with such opposition communicated the harsh

reality to them that under the new Bourbon government the church no longer had any

independence from the Spanish state.519 The church would now be subservient to

regalism and subsumed under the state.

After 1727, the next four councils convened in Tarragona fought to save

ecclesiastical immunities from the state but not to much avail, and in 1757 the last

provincial council met in Tarragona. Thus, the veritable break from the past occurred

with the interruption of councils and synods after 1757. Ferdinand VI implemented a

new fiscal system that abolished the old, replacing the ecclesiastical subsidy given to the

crown with a new, direct tax on churches in the same year. Since it was no longer

518 See the story in Josep Raventós i Giralt, La sinodalitat a Catalunya, pp.112-124. 519 A curious coincidence, 1727 is also the date of the only provincial council held in eighteenth-century France—the Council of Embrun. For French clergy, this council resulted in the interdict of Bishop Soanen of Senez and the realization for Jansenists that a general council of the Catholic Church was unlikely to be convened, their cause pilloried by both Versailles and Rome. See McManners, vol. II: pp.405-425. “The Council of Embrun did incalculable harm to the cause of religion in France” (p.416).

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necessary to convene the bishops every five years in order to agree on the tax, Bourbon

absolutism, embodied most powerfully by Charles III, “did not have to look with kind

eyes upon meetings of bishops which could contribute to the beginning of resistances

against monarchical authority,” and likewise for meetings of parish priests.520

So in 1767 the fact that Bishop Climent of Barcelona was proposing a diocesan

synod was a radical departure from the past decade, and given the kind of synod he was

proposing, a radical action in light of the past seventy years of Bourbon absolutism.

Furthermore, Climent’s proposal demonstrates the constitutional continuities of the

Catalan church—namely, that despite this interruption of councils and synods due to

government intervention in the Spanish church, the sentiment of Catalan conciliarism did

not die.521 One can argue that Climent’s proposal was indeed a proposal to break from the

recent past of Bourbon absolutism in order to restore some semblance of episcopal

independence: councils and synods for the sake of church governance rather than for

raising money to give to the crown. Because of the beliefs concerning the organization

of the church and the practices of all believers that Climent expressed in his proposal for

a synod, it is also possible to argue that the proposal in itself (as a document, as a treatise)

represented a radical departure from the Jesuit influences in Barcelona and the

jurisdiction typically asserted by bishops.

From this perspective, “The Responses” of the parish priests illustrate the support

that such a radical proposal garnered in 1767. In fact, the sheer number of letters,

520 “No havia de veure amb bons ulls reunions de bisbes que podien comportar el naixement de resistències a la seva autoritat.” Concilis Provincials Tarraconenses, P.36. While the French crown stopped supporting the Gallican clergy in the matter of Unigenitus in 1757, it never abolished ecclesiastical immunities and, with them, the need for the General Assemblies of the Gallican clergy. 521 Raventós i Giralt, pp.127-8.

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representing over eighty percent of the diocese, turned in over the course of the next three

months (a fairly quick response time for the date and place) demonstrates that the parish

priests of Barcelona endorsed and advocated Climent’s plan for reform. Furthermore,

over half of the letters began with specific praise for the proposed synod, many priests

congratulating and applauding Climent in the first lines of their responses for his desire to

reform practices among priests and parishioners by means of a synod as well as for first

requesting their ideas before convening it. The material in “the Responses,” as laid out in

Chapters Three and Four, expressed what kind of action the priests wanted to take in the

proposed synod.

Given the precedent of synods and councils set over centuries in Barcelona’s

history, the priests’ letters of response reflect their knowledge of the past and what

changes from it they saw as vital for the future of the church. Working on holidays, pre-

marital sexual relations, the need to preach in Catalan, processions and celebrations at

rural shrines—these were not new issues, as the records of past synods and councils made

clear. In the letter announcing the synod, Climent himself asked each priest to read the

published constitutions of Bishop Sotomayor’s synod of 1669 as well as to suggest

specific acts of synod that might be suppressed as “superfluous” or added in order to

“correct abuses” and “eliminate scandals.”522 As a result, most of the responses make

reference to acts of past synods as well as specific acts of the Council of Trent and even

the provincial council of Tarragona of 1727.

522 Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo”, pp. 104-105.

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Thus, parish priests in 1767 were familiar with how both synods and councils had

proceeded and the resolutions they had reached in the past and knew that their

predecessors had had concerns similar to theirs. The difference with “The Responses”

was that, instead of following an official format and having a day or two to convene in

synods, the respondents could take their time to freely express their concerns and go into

detail as they saw fit, all the while hoping that this new method of creating a synodal

agenda would bear more fruit for the church. Moreover, the parish priests generally

envisioned another change in procedure as vital for the future of the church: the

involvement of and co-operation with the “civil authority” (in some letters the “captain

general” and in others the “Reial Audiencia”). Since time immemorial, councils and

synods in Catalonia had allowed lay leaders, such as the consellors (counselors) of

Barcelona’s Consell de Cent and the diputats (deputies) of the Generalitat of Catalonia,

to attend and propose constitutions, for instance, proposals to observe a new saint’s day

or to make a new religious vow as a community.523 By 1767, however, the parish priests

were asking in “The Responses” that the same courtesy be afforded to local clerics in lay

governmental assemblies. In fact, most of the letters suggestede that the only hope for

achieving a more reformed, Tridentine church in Barcelona was to attain the support and

co-operation of the “justicia secular”—specifically, the hope that it would adopt the acts

of Barcelona’s synods and enforce them as law. While Bishop Climent may not have

seen such secular involvement as vital for the future of the Catholic Church, it goes

without saying that times had changed so much for churches in Spain by 1767 that

additional co-operation with the secular government was necessary in order for the acts

523 Concilis Provincials Tarraconenses, p.33-34.

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of synod to be established effectively in each parish. Although no synod was held for the

priests of “The Responses,” their letters make clear that parish priests would have

appealed to the secular government if they had enjoyed the luxury of a chance. Because

of the inability to convene a synod, the Church of Barcelona would have to look to other

means to advance the goals of reform.

The postponed synod and the following years in Barcelona during Climent’s episcopacy

So why did the synod Climent proposed in 1767 never occur? As Climent

himself announced in his pastoral letter of 26 May 1767, he had resolved to defer its

“celebración para más adelante”, but this phrase had the intended meaning of a year or

so—the time it would take Climent to get acquainted with the diocese and make some

pastoral visitations.524 Seven years later, however, Climent was forced to abdicate his

post in 1775, having failed to convene one synod. Thus, the following pages of this

chapter trace the episcopate of Climent in Barcelona in an effort to explain why no synod

occurred, paying attention to Climent’s opportunities for reform in Barcelona and other

goings-on in the city and region that affected Climent’s flock.

Installed as Bishop of Barcelona in November 23, 1766, Climent was fully aware

of Madrid’s hope and desire for him to become an important ecclesiastical ally in an area

of tremendous Jesuit influence. Despite his own petitions to refuse the appointment in

Barcelona, the crown rejected Climent’s refusal of the Barcelona episcopacy—precisely

at the time that the Council of Castile was deeply embedded in efforts to expel the

Society of Jesus from Spain and was fully aware that, as bishop of Barcelona, Climent

524 Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo,” pp.90-91. Tort i Mitjans, pp.44-45.

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would be a key contributor in building their case for expulsion. Given Madrid’s initial

support of Climent in 1766, his prospects for convening a synod in Barcelona might have

seemed likely enough that postponing the synod was a luxury which Climent could

afford.

In view of his perceived reception among the people in Barcelona, Climent might

have felt further optimism for effecting reform at the grass roots of Barcelonese society.

As he admitted in his first sermon in Barcelona on the third Sunday of Advent, December

1766, he felt encouraged to become bishop in the end because “the news that they gave

me that my appointment was not disagreeable to you all, my beloved parishioners,

inclined my spirt to proceed.”525 In part, people in Barcelona might have felt this way

because they saw Climent as one of their own. He had been born in Castelló de la Plana,

a region south of Catalonia pertaining to Valencia, and had received his education at the

University of Valencia. While Valencians were not Catalans, they spoke a variation of

Catalan and shared a similar culture. Climent even stated that Valencia (“mi Patria”)

“can properly call itself a colony of Catalonia: almost all of us Valencians are Catalans

by origin.”526 Furthermore, in his first public speaking engagement in Barcelona he

promised everyone short sermons. “I am very aware that Saints Ambrose, Leo, and Peter

Chrisologo recommended short sermons, and I have said that Saint Augustine hardly

525 “Inclinaron mi ánimo las noticias que me daban de que no os era, amados Feligreses mios, desagradable mi elección.”Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo (Primer Sermon),”p.114. 526 “Puede llamarse con propiedad una Colonia de Cataluña: casi todos los Valencianos somos Catalanes en el origen.” Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo (Primer Sermon),” p.116.

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preached a half hour, cut the thread of his speech, protesting with deep humility that he

did not want to exhaust his parishioners.”527

If the city goers of Barcelona had not attended Climent’s first sermon at the

cathedral, it hardly meant that they did not learn of his attitude toward them. Although its

material was censored by Madrid, published “con licencia y privilegio” by the king’s

printer in Barcelona Thomas Piferrer, the weekly Gazeta de Barcelona routinely

disseminated some local news along with its reports of European events. In its issue of 9

June 1767, it announced that wherever it was possible to purchase the gazette, one could

also obtain a printed copy of Climent’s first sermon, available in exchange for a

charitable contribution for the “socorro de las pobres mujeres de la casa del Retiro” (the

aid of elderly poor women).528 Thus, Climent made himself known to the larger public of

Barcelona, not only to those who could fit into the cathedral building on one Sunday.

Given this advantageous situation with both his king and his flock, Climent felt

safe in his decision to postpone the synod temporarily. Besides planning to visit all or

most of the parishes in order “to take the diocese’s pulse” before convening a synod,

other external circumstances shaped his action—or inaction—in Barcelona in 1767. Ever

conscious of the abundant influences of Jesuit laxism in the diocese, Climent realized that

he would also have to take advantage of more immediate opportunities for reform in

527 “…tengo muy presente que San Ambrosio, San Leon, y San Pedro Chrisologo aconsejan que los sermones sean cortos; y he advertido que San Agustín apenas predicava media hora, cortava el hilo de su oración, protestando con humildad profunda que no queria fatigar a sus Feligreses.” Climent, “Carta Pastoral Sínodo (Primer Sermon),” p.119. 528 Gazeta de Barcelona, 1767, no.23 (June 9): p.196. Manuscript R. s.d. 8 (1766-1767), Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona.

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Barcelona in the wake of the Spanish monarchy’s expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain on

April 2, 1767. 529

While parish priests worked on their responses to Climent’s pastoral letter of May

26, 1767, Climent labored on reforms in the area of education in the city of Barcelona.

One of his first projects was to erect ten gratis elementary schools for the city’s poor

(discussed in greater detail in the following chapter). Barcelona had some established

schools and “masters” of education. The Jesuits had run the elite and prestigious

Colegios de Belen and de Cordelles that educated the boys of the city and region’s elite,

such as the sons of rentiers, nobles, gentry, “honored citizens”,530 but in 1767 the school

suffered the same fate as their Jesuit administrators. The brotherhood of St. Casiano had

run twenty-two to twenty-four elementary schools throughout the city, but they were

private, exclusively for those boys whose parents could pay for teachers who had a

documented “blue-blooded” pedigree. Four distinct gratis elementary schools—of

Capuchins, Augustinians, and Dominicans, and in the Casa de Misericordia—served

hundreds of young females within Barcelona’s city walls, but no such tuition-free school

existed for young males. While the lack of such schools was a national problem in

eighteenth-century Spain, the rural areas of the diocese of Barcelona did not suffer from

this problem, as each pueblo being supplied with either a col.legi de minyons or a parish

priest who provided free elementary education to all who came.531

529 Even the “real pragmática sanción” of April 2, 1767 which spelled out the Jesuit expulsion as well as Aranda’s report to the king earlier that year demanding the expulsion were available in mass-produced copies for the general public of Barcelona by April 14, 1767. See Gazeta de Barcelona, 1767, no.15&16 (14 &21 April): pp. 123&132. 530 See Amelang, Honored Citizens of Barcelona, Chapter 7: The Advancement of Learning.

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In such a context—the main towns and the diocesan capital of Barcelona falling

behind the rural areas in the elementary education of poor boys—Climent petitioned

various orders and their superiors to pick up the slack in education created by the Jesuits’

expulsion and supply the city with ten schools within their abbey and convent walls that

would serve the many impoverished boys in the city of Barcelona. Once again, the

Gazeta de Barcelona made Climent’s actions public, announcing in its June 30-issue that

copies of Climent’s edict regarding the newly established schools could be obtained and

purchased wherever the gazette itself was sold, the proceeds going to the care of poor

elderly women in the city.532 In July of 1767 the ten schools opened their doors,

receiving a warm response from the city in the form of many pupils and continuing their

educational services on through the later eighteenth century, well after Climent’s

departure.

While one might think that the ayuntamiento (ajuntament), or city council, of

Barcelona would be appreciative of Climent and his work of providing this new social

benefit for the city, the reality was far from the case. The secular body of the city council

of Barcelona had grown in political power and influence from their political maneuvering

during the War of Spanish Succession, and continuing on through the eighteenth century

under Bourbon government their power and influence grew. With the city council’s

political power came more prominent positions and honors for its members in other areas

of civic life, illustrated in clear terms to all Barcelonese people through prime positions in

531 Tort i Mitjans, p.79; Antonio Domínguez Ortiz, La Sociedad española en el siglo XVIII, Madrid: Instituto Balmes de Sociología CSIC, 1955, p.154. Catalonia remained ahead of the rest of the Spanish population in this aspect; still, free parochial education must have been more honored in principle than in practice in the poor and rural areas. 532 Gazeta de Barcelona, 1767, no. 26 (June 30): p.220.

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religious processions. Early on in his episcopate, Climent provoked the wrath of the city

council by boldly demonstrating where he saw their rightful place in society.

From the first procession which he officiated in Barcelona in 1767, Bishop

Climent “corrected” the placement of the city council members to communicate their

appropriate position in religious functions as ordained by Scripture and the history of the

Early Church. Because their authority extended only to temporal rather than to the

spiritual affairs in the city, Climent placed them behind all religious bodies as a simple

and ordinary secular body in the procession of the day of Purification on February 1, and

then again not two weeks later in the procession honoring St. Eulalia on February 12.

Seeing that even lay religious groups and priests in training advanced ahead of them, the

city council members were offended, feeling publicly humiliated by the bishop. The city

council’s requests to Climent for a change out of “good will”, however, fell on ears that

considered compromise in this situation tantamount to diminishing the moral rigor and

discipline in the institution of the Church. In 1768, the city council took their

“procession” case up with the Counsel of Castile, while Climent wrote to the royal court

or Audiencia of Catalonia located in Barcelona, reporting that the city council exercised a

bad influence on the city’s religious affairs because it had introduced “superstitious”

elements in religious events such as “ridiculous” figures in processions. The Counsel of

Castile responded that at that time the city council’s complaint was not considered a

regalist concern; meanwhile the Audiencia, although protecting the bishop’s jurisdiction

over religious affairs and banning such figures (See Plate 3.6 on page 210), also asked

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that Climent resolve the matter amicably by allowing the city council a place in

processions preceding “lay ecclesiastics” at least.533

Climent did not budge in his opinion that the city council was a wholly secular

body. (What is more, even in their realm of temporal affairs, Climent’s opinion of this

particular city council was rather low.534) In the Corpus processions of 1770, not only

were no figurines present, but the city council members still marched behind the lay

ecclesiastics. And so their disagreement on the place of specific groups in processions

remained unresolved at a governmental level for numbers of years, partly because the

government perceived the case as bearing little importance and partly because the city

council refused Climent’s suggestion to take the matter up with his superior, the

archbishop of Tarragona. It was not until after Climent’s involvement in quelling a

Barcelona riot in 1773 (detailed below) that the city council felt the opportune moment

had arrived to rekindle their protests and re-present their case to the government.

Climent’s dealings with Barcelona’s city council starting in 1767 pertained to the

larger issue of episcopal autonomy and the relationships between religious and secular

leaders. On the other hand, however, they also concerned lay piety in Barcelona and

Climent’s plan to reform it. Clearly Climent had no intentions of eradicating religious

processions. While his plan for reform of local religious practices was to boost interior

533 “…eran muchas las irreverencias y prácticas profanas verdaderamente supersticiosas que se habían introducido en las funciones eclesiásticas de figurones ridículos y acciones burlescas que movían a la risa profanando a la religión y escandalizando a los fieles.” Letter of Climent. ACA, Section: Real Audiencia, registro 565, legajo 68, folio 50, expediente 52 (19 XII 1770). 534 Bishop Climent wrote to his friend José Tormo the Bishop of Orihuela, “Este pueblo era un infierno de lascivia, una Babilonia, y se ha empeorado después que le gobierna un zardanápalo, un epicuro, que se ocupa de jugar a la banca, en óperas y bailes [Ricla]. Los regidores en lo que menos piensan es en el bien público, no bastan mis estímulos a moverles.” Archivo General de Simancas (hereafter AGS), Section: Gracia y Justicia, legajo 777, Letter of Climent to Tormo (10 XI 1767).

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spirituality at the expense of exterior and sometimes excessive manifestations in

processions, Climent did not overlook the processions he was in charge of as

opportunities to demonstrate their rightful form and place within the Catholic Church. In

the first months of 1767, his time and thought shaped the processional order on the day of

Purification (for Mary, this was the day that Jesus was presented to Simon and Anna:

Luke 2) and on the day of Barcelona’s patron saint Eulalia. But beyond these annual or

ritual and official or customary processions, Climent even sponsored “begging

processions” (rogativas or pregaries) in order to encourage popular Catholic devotion.

In October of that same year, Climent led six days of begging processions for the

purpose of finding the body of a local saint, St. Pere Nolasco, the man who had founded

the Mercedarian order and was buried somewhere in the city. Given the current

construction project on the order’s church and convent of “la Mercé” in Barcelona,

people were hoping to find the grave of Nolasco somewhere on the site. As a saint,

Nolasco’s remains would serve as relics that could then be used to consecrate altars in

Catholic churches. (It is important to remember that many rural shrines or chapels were

locations of venerated images or water springs. Relics, instead, served as the markers of

“official” worship sites where priests could serve mass.) With no sign of his grave in

sight, Climent found it appropriate to petition divine help for the community by means of

six days of public processions that started at the cathedral and finished at the various

churches in the city depending on the specific day. Climent justified that “the many

diligent acts—performed on different occasions in order to discover the body of the

glorious St. Pere Nolasco who lived, died, and founded in this city the Order of Our Lady

of Mercy—conform well to the spirit of the Catholic Church which teaches us that it is

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pleasing to God to venerate the relics of his saints, whose souls enjoy God’s favor and

petition for us.”535

Obviously, not only processions, but even the veneration of saints and their relics

remained an integral part of Catholicism for some “enlightened” and reform-minded

Catholics. Clerics such as Climent did not consider them to be “superstitious,” going as

far as to award indulgences to all people who participated. In this case, Climent gave the

incentive of forty days of indulgence for each faithful participant. Later on, in 1770,

Climent explained the ties between Reform Catholicism and the indulgences for

processions in honor of relics. The Archbishop Azpuru of Valencia had complained in a

letter to Climent about the many altars in Catalonia that were not properly consecrated

with relics, calling it an “abuse” in the observance of the “Sacred Rites.” Climent

immediately responded that

Many days have I known that my predecessors—without a doubt accommodating themselves to the opinions of Suárez, Vázquez, Coninh, and other Authors536 who defend that it is not necessary nor even a precept to deposit relics [in altars]—did not put relics in the Altars that they consecrated, so that now there are very few [altars] which have them. And even though I have been and am of the opposite point of view, [and even] with it all being an evil so prevailing, I judged that its remedy would cause universal dismay.537

535 “Las moltas diligencias que en diferents ocasions se han practicat para descubrir lo Cos del glorios Sant Pere Nolasco que visqué, morí, y fundà en esta Ciutat la sagrada Religió de nostra Sra de la Mercé, son molt conformes al esperit de la Iglesia Catolica que nos ensenya ser agradable a Deu nostre Sr la veneració que donam a las Reliquias de sos Sants, las animas dels quals gozan de la sua preferencia y pregan per nosaltres.” ADB, Registro Comuniario, libro 107, folio 556, Edicte de Rogatives per encontrar las Reliquias de Sant Pere Nolasco per Josep Climent (1 X 1767). 536 These men were notable Jesuits. Francisco Suárez and Miguel Vázquez were both sixteenth-century professors of law at the University of Salamanca and were also eminent Jesuit theologians and philosophers in their day. Suárez actually made a visit to the University of Barcelona where the doctors of the university met him with a warm reception, presenting him with the insignias of each of their faculties as a tribute to the value of Suárez’s scholarship. 537 “Yo días ha que sabía que muchos de mis Predecessores, acomodandose sin duda a la opinión de Suárez, Vázquez, Coninh, y de otros Autores que defienden no ser necessaria ni aun de precepto la reposición de Reliquias, no las pusieron en las Aras que consagraron: de modo que son muy pocas las que las tienen. Y aunque yo he sido y soy de contrario dictamen, con todo por ser el mal tan general, hice juicio que su

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Promoting relics through processions and indulgences was received warmly by priests

and parishioners; making pronouncements against specific churches that lacked relics and

should thus cease in function until relics were found was controversial. Even Climent

found it necessary to maintain a minimal level of accommodation of what he deemed

unwarranted “superstition.”

By the end of December 1767, the government published the list of all

masquerade dance locations for the upcoming week of “Carnival 1768” in Barcelona.538

It was this kind of excess to which Climent objected in Catholic religious devotion. A

popular tradition of pre-Lenten eating, drinking, and merriment for centuries, the

celebration of Carnival in Barcelona also included the participation of all kinds of clergy

in the masquerades and processions. For the multitudes of parishioners who filled the

streets and ballrooms every Carnival, Climent lacked the power to do anything but use

his influence by preaching to them about the sinfulness of the festivities. So while the

popular tradition of Carnival was out of his reach, Climent warned priests that their

presence or participation in the public festivities was an abuse of their priestly office

since its effect on parishioners was to legitimize the “profanity” of Carnival as something

“sacred” in the eyes of the Church.539

remedio habia de causar una universal consternación…” ADB, Episcopologi de Josep Climent: Leg.3, 3-43 & 3-45, Letter of Climent to Archbishop Azpuru of Valencia (30 VIII 1770). 538 “Donde esta Gazeta, se hallará La Instrucción para la concurrencia de Bailes en Máscara en el Carnaval de Barcelona del año de 1768. De orden del Gobierno.” Gazeta de Barcelona, 1767, no.52 (29 Dec): p.464. 539 Felix Amat wrote that “Ya en los primeros años de su pontificado en que fueron extraordinarios los excesos del carnaval se contentó con hacer saber con un recado de atención a las Comunidades eclesiásticas, que sería muy de su agrado que el Clero no tuviese parte en tan peligrosos divertimientos…” in Breve relación de las exequias que por el alma del Ilmo. Sr. Climent celebró su amante familia en el

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But it was not just on the occasion of Carnival or in the city of Barcelona where

priests indirectly encouraged popular expressions on holy days that bordered on the

“sacrilegious” or “profane”. Because of the on-going Jesuit influence in Barcelona’s

seminary, the secular clergy that came out of that seminary and filled the parish churches

of the entire diocese had generally been trained with more “relaxed” views on popular

piety than that of Climent’s. “The Responses” provide evidence for this fact in the form

of the various complaints of priests against fellow priests and in the comments on

theological perspectives. Even though the Jesuits had been located almost exclusively in

the city of Barcelona, the arm of the Society’s influence reached the farthest and most

rural reaches of the diocese even after their expulsion by means of the dominance of

theology at the seminary where they long taught. To cut off these arms and diminish the

remaining traces of Jesuit influence, the seminary needed to make changes in its

curriculum as well as to find new professors to teach there.

Climent sought to do this in 1768 with some obstacles along the way. In January

1768, the old Jesuit institution of Cordelles became by royal order the “Imperial and

Royal Seminary of Cordelles”, under the direction of the Captain General of Catalonia,

the Count of Ricla. While this seminary remained separate from the official diocesan

seminary (the Seminario Tridentino), it offered an alternate training ground for

seminarians and any other member of the public who could afford the yearly tuition of

130 libras. 540 Since most parish priests’ income ranged from three to four libras a

convento de Predicadores de Barcelona y un elogio histórico para la ilustración de la oración fúnebre, Barcelona: Bernardo Pla, 1781, p.80. (Also found in Climent, Colección, Vol.I.) 540 While the announcement in the Gazeta de Barcelona communicates that seminaristas are a main focus of the Imperial and Royal Seminary of Cordelles, it advertizes that “en las clases que se abrirán el 7 del

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month, such a seminary would not pull too many from the Tridentino’s student body and

became an institution catering almost exclusively to the youth of the nobility who had

previously attended the Jesuit school. By the end of the year Climent had achieved some

success in the initial reform process of the Seminario Tridentino of Barcelona, and his

published plan for seminary reform was even circulated in pamphlet form in Madrid.541

(For how this seminary reform contributed to an enlightenment in Barcelona, see Chapter

Six.)

But Barcelona needed not only the reform of the secular clergy. For many years,

the regular orders had been left alone in their individual monasteries and convents to

govern themselves, most often resulting in a lack of governance or compliance with the

order's original ordinances. In March of 1768, Bishop Climent took it upon himself to

visit the Capuchin nuns of the Convent of Santa Margarita in the city of Barcelona. The

last episcopal visit to the convent had occurred in 1635, and in 1768 Bishop Climent

found little improvement: the vow of poverty was a joke. (Capuchins as an order of St.

Francis were obligated to the vow of poverty, meaning they could not own any personal

property.) Women had to pay a “dowry” of 50 libras or more to take the habit in the

convent. They retained their own money (and chocolate!) and even their own property

outside the convent walls. As Climent noted, many times this led to divisions within the

convent, creating political factions of nuns. Moreover, the vow of seclusion or “cloister”

was relaxed so that the door of the convent was open many times for the nuns, their

mismo mes, para el Público, las Primeras Letras, Gramatica, y Retorica Latina, Poesia Latina y Española, y las Matematicas.” Gazeta de Barcelona, 1767, no.52 (29 Dec): p.464. 541 The Gazette announces: “Carta Instructiva, escrita por el Illmo. Sr. D. Joseph Climent, Obispo de BCN, a las Academias de Theologia Moral de su Diocesi, sobre el metodo con que deben estudiar esta Facultad;

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friends, and their family to come and go as they pleased. All of this, Climent warned

them, was in clear violation of the “rule” of their order and had to cease immediately.

While similar episcopal reports do not exist for the many other convents and monasteries

in the city of Barcelona, it is fair to assume that the conditions of the Capuchin convent

were not unique, and that Climent’s words to other orders would have been very

similar.542

Nor was it religious matters alone in Barcelona that fell short of the ideal. Fraud

was common in the collection and reporting of all kinds of taxes. The tax on wheat that

entered the city of Barcelona was a fine example of such fraud in which the tax collector

working in 1768, “having began his job without wealth, a job which hardly provides

enough funds to maintain oneself, spends money like a prince and has bought a lot of

property.”543 Unfortunately for this tax collector, the tax revenue on Barcelona’s wheat

was a source of income for both the bishop of Barcelona and the king of Spain. Not even

the tax collector’s “Protectores” could shield him from the crisis created by Bishop

Climent’s letter reporting the fraud to the Minister of State Muzquiz in Madrid in May

1768. Ever interested in its tax revenue, Madrid declared the fraudulent collecting “an

act against the king, bishop, and other parties who claimed a portion of the tax revenue,”

and ordered the Intendent of Catalonia Don Juan Felipe Castaños to take over and keep

se hallara en la Libreria de Antonio del Castillo, frente las Gradas de S.Felipe el Real [Madrid].” Gazeta de Barcelona, 1768, no.46 (15 Nov): p.396. 542 Actually, in the seventeenth century the Capuchins reported stricter discipline than their other regular counterparts. See Colección, Vol.I, “Mandatos que impuso a las Religiosas Capuchinas de esta Ciudad, en la visita que de su Monasterio hizo y publicó en 24 de Marzo de 1768,” pp.269-299. 543 “…habiendo entrado sin caudales en el Empleo, que apenas da lo preciso para mantenerse, gasta como un Principe y ha comprado muchas Heredades.”(Emphasis mine) ADB, Section: Episcopologi de Josep Climent: Leg.3 (3-55), Letter of Climent to Don Miguel de Muzquiz, Minister of State (Hacienda) (11 V 1768).

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account of the tax money on wheat, suspending the former tax collector Antonio

Xuncar.544 In the end, much evidence of fraud was found, and Madrid in 1775 reformed

the manner in which the tax was assessed and collected.545

From starting free elementary schools and reforming seminary curricula to

publishing his letters and sermons and taking nuns and even tax collectors to task, Bishop

Climent soon became a well-known and active entity in his diocese, sometimes bordering

on “controversial” and “threatening” towards the powers that be at the city and state

political level. The Gazeta of Barcelona gives an indication of a volatile relationship

between Climent and his fellow city and regional leaders in an article dated January 28,

1769. Curiously enough, when an important Barcelona resident, military captain and

regidor Don Andrés de Burgos, had his twin daughters baptized in the city’s cathedral,

Bishop Climent was not among the clerics present. With Prince Louis of Spain present as

the girls’ godfather and Captain General Ricla responsible for producing the pomp of

military parade led by the prince on his litter, it seems odd that the city’s bishop would

not be mentioned as an on-looker in the Gazeta’s four-page description of the event. The

only clerics mentioned inside the church were the canónigos of the cathedral and the

officiant—the head cleric of the local army regiment, the parish priest of Badalona Don

Mariano de Huerta.546

544 “…en perjuicio del Rey, del Obispo, y demas Participes en el Espresado Derecho.” ADB, Section: Episcopologi de Josep Climent, Leg.3 (3-55), Letter of Don Miguel de Muzquiz, Minister of State to Don Juan Felipe Castaños (19 V 1768). 545 ADB, Section: Episcopologi de Josep Climent, Leg. 3 (3-55), Collection of correspondence on the derecho de cops (1768-1775). 546 Gazeta de Barcelona 1769, no.9 (28 Feb): p.85-88.

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Maybe it was this “controversial” aspect of Climent—that is, the way in which he

challenged to authority, no matter what he said or did—that so endeared Climent to his

parishioners at large while at the same time hindering his plan to convene a synod. His

original letter asking for “The Responses” hinted at a synod in 1768, but the year came

and passed without one. However controversial Climent had become in Barcelona by the

end of 1768, in the year 1769 his notoriety grew exponentially to make him one of the

most controversial figures in all of Catholic Europe. As Chapter Two related, it was

Climent’s pastoral instruction of March 26, 1769 that simultaneously embroiled him in a

conflict with Rome and caused certain ministers in Madrid, such as Campomanes, to look

at him suspiciously as an anti-regalist.547 So while his efforts at reform in Barcelona

continued, his chances to hold a synod grew slimmer since even at the diocesan level

such a meeting would have been seen as an implicit challenge to royal authority.

By February of 1770, the city of Barcelona and the region surrounding it were

suffering from drought. Since the winter months usually provided the bulk of the area’s

yearly rainfall, the lack of rain foreboded a poor harvest along with a low water supply.

A traditional reaction in Spain to such a predicament was for parishioners to petition the

local patron saints to intervene with God to answer their prayers. The reaction of the

residents of Barcelona was no different as they followed the leadership of Bishop

547 Specifically it was Climent’s words calling for bishops and the pope to reach out to the “schismatic” Catholic church of Utrecht that made the pope petition Charles III to investigate the pastoral instruction and the bishop himself. Climent escaped any punishment and was exhonerated, partly because of his friends in Madrid such as Roda, and partly because the message in his instruction was greater autonomy of individual churches at the diocesan level relegating the pope as a figurehead for the Catholic Church. Such a message fell on receptive regalist ears in Madrid; Climent’s words regarding the story of Theodosius and Ambrose, however, caused red flags to go up in the minds of regalists in the Council of Castile such as Aranda and Campomanes—men who had two years earlier pushed hard for the expulsion of the Jesuits on grounds that they caused riots that sought the assassination of the king of Spain. See the discussion above in Chapter Two, as well as a brief overview: Smidt, “Piedad e ilustración en relación armónica,” pp 91-109.

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Climent. Climent sought to reform the piety of his parishioners so as to instill more

fervor and solemnity in hopes that such piety would deter them from the excesses of

dancing, eating, drinking, and merriment on holy days. So in this time of drought,

Climent’s instinctive response was to lead his parishioners in begging processions to

Saint Eulalia to come to their aid.

These solemn processions took place for the entire week of February 8-14, each

day in a different parish of the city, led by the “Bishop with a purple cape, and the same

with the guilds and Noble City Council.”548 As the Calaix de Sastre describes the

pregaries, they were no small production: “a large number of people, of both sexes, all

classes, ages, and conditions”549 gathered to participate in the communal petition to

Eulalia for rain. But after that inaugural week of processions had transpired, no rain had

yet come to Barcelona. For the moment it seemed that the begging processions initiated

by Climent had done well to create a certain religious solemnity in the people of

Barcelona since at that point Calaix reports that “because of the pregaries for the desired

Rain, and the Holy Matron [Eulalia] remaining in the Cathedral, the public diversions

promised in this Carnival remain suspended.”550 As it was these annual “public

diversions” of Carnival that Climent often found to be excessive, their suspension or

cancellation because of the need to pray for rain must have provoked some sort of

548 “Bisbe amb capa morada y de lo mateix Gremial, amb lo noble Ajuntament.”Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.31; AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A (8-14 II 1770). 549 AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A (8 II 1770). (“…era en gros numero la Gent de ambos sexos de totas clases, Edats, y Condicions.”) 550 “…amb lo motiu de las Pregarias per la desitjada Pluja y quedar Santa Madrona en la Cathedral, quedan suspesas las diversions publicas se prometian en est Carnaval.” AHCB, Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A (14-22 II 1770).

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satisfaction in him. Not even a month earlier Barcelona’s gazette had advertised that,

beyond the usual list of masquerade dances, this year the Director of Barcelona’s theater

Segismundo Torrents had made a librito (a small book or pamphlet) illustrating the

contradanzas to be performed in the theater for Carnival, mentioning the accompanying

music and an explanation of the figures. Considering all the orchestration involved for

just this part of the public diversions of Carnival, its total cancellation was a poignant

statement of the religiosity in 1770.

In the end, however, the public diversions of Carnival were held as previously

planned. Despite no reports of rain, it seems that the merriment of Carnival was too

tempting to forego. Climent, unsurprisingly, did not keep silent on the desenfrenado or

“wildness” of the Carnival that occurred in 1770. With the installation of Lorenzo

Gangenelli as Clement XIV in 1769, the new pope had declared 1770 a year of jubilee.

Climent had published the jubilee edict in Barcelona, but in March of 1770 he published

his own pastoral “instruction” of what the jubilee meant551, taking the opportunity here to

publicize the immorality he found in the city of Barcelona. He wrote of Carnival, “with

such acrimony would [St. Paciono] decry against the disorder of Carnival, who also

wrote a strong invective against certain costumes [or masquerades] in his own day!” On

the morality found in Barcelona, Climent went into more detail:

Your behavior [customs] has worsened… the parish priests, my zealous cooperators, lament of it to me, of how the number of prostitues has grown and continues to grow more each day. Many [women] who are not dress with such indecency and profanity, they walk through the streets, they look with such shamelessness, they speak with such liberty, as if they were [prostitutes]. The

551 See the second half of Chapter Two for a discussion of the pastoral instruction, Climent’s ideas on jubilee and personal penitence, and the link to “Classical Republicanism.”

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husbands and father, if they do not encourage it, they suffer such excesses at least indignantly. And the dissolute young men dare to say that there is not in Spain a city as fun as Barcelona. And I heard it said by some foreigners that in no other city in Europe with such facility and at a lower cost can one find lewd passions at their leisure.552

About ten days later after the publication of this instruction, Climent opened up the ex-

Jesuit church of Belén for eight days of “missions” administered by Franciscans and

Augustinians in “preparation for the Jubilee conceded by the new Pontiff Clement

XIV.”553 The clergy of Barcelona stood ready for a religious revival of its laity.

One of Climent’s main points in the instruction on “Jubilee” was that “luxury”

and the enjoyment of material goods had caused the decline in morality he saw taking

place in Barcelona. Regardless of the veracity of this claim, a definable increase in

“luxury” had transpired in Barcelona in the second half of the eighteenth century.

Barcelona could have very well been “the most fun city in Spain.” In contrast to the first

half of the eighteenth century, the second half for Barcelona was characterized by civic

peace, an increase in population and industry, the growth of middling classes, and,

because of the business and entrepreneurial talent of the Catalans, a vibrant economy.

The warehouses and factories throughout the city attested to this last aspect, besides the

fact that a year earlier in February 1769, the king had granted Barcelona ten years of

duty-free cotton coming from all areas of the Spanish empire and arriving in the city’s

552 “Con qué acrimonia declamaría [San Paciano] contra los desórdenes del Carnaval, quien escribió una fuerte invectiva contra ciertos disfraces de su tiempo! …se han empeorado vuestras costumbres… se me lamentan los Párrocos, zelosos cooperadores míos, de que ha crecido y crece mas cada día el número de las rameras: muchas que no lo son, visten con tanta indecencia y profanidad, andan por esas calles, miran con tanto descaro y hablan con tanta libertad, como si lo fueran: los maridos y padres, si no fomentan a lo menos indignamente sufren en sus mugeres y hijas tantos excesos: y los jovenes disolutos se atreven a decir que no hay en España ciudad mas divertida que Barcelona: y oygo decir a algunos extrangeros, que en ninguna otra de Europa con más facilidad y a menos costa hallan las torpes pasiones su desahogo.” Climent, “Edicto e Instrucción a todos sus feligreses,” Colección, Vol.II: p.113, 114-115.

553 AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 25 III 1770.

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ports.554 All together these conditions explain how luxury items could be popular, even

among the growing middle class.555 The Gazette of Barcelona frequently lists special

imports arriving by sea, such as large amounts of cocoa from Caracas in Spanish

America, and at other times, novelties for sale by local entrepreneurs, for example the

announcement on October 29, 1771:

It is made known to the public of this City of Barcelona [that] Joseph de Arnau Burges, honored citizen of Perpignan, has established a factory of clothes printed ‘in Chinese style’ with etchings and permanent colors on white and yellow backgrounds, etc. Also on all kinds of colors, with pastel colors ‘in Chinese style’ and also with gold accents and drawings of the pleasure and design of the same owner. 556

Tobacco was so prevalent that a bona fide smuggling industry conveniently supplied the

smokers in Catalonia who did not care to pay the royal duty on tobacco. In fact, Madrid

suspected that even priests—both regular and secular—frequently smoked and sometimes

even distributed the contraband tobacco. In March of 1770, the Minister of Finance

(Hacienda) Miguel de Muzquiz wrote to Climent, and other Catalan officials, that:

In this principality of Catalonia, it has arrived to such an extreme… that the financial loss that is caused to the royal income is unsupportable, especially to

554 “Siendo el Real ánimo de S.M. que se fomenten por todos medios las Fabricas de Indianas, Cotonadas, Blabets y Lienzos pintados de algodon del Principado de Catalunya: ha venido en conceder al algodon de America y de estos Reynos (a mas de la esencion de los derechos de Aduanas que a Consulta de la Real Junta general de Comercio le tenia concedida) libertad del derecho municipal de Puertas de la Ciudad de BCN por 10 años.” Gazeta de Barcelona 1769, no.8 (21 Feb): p.68. 555 At the same time, the prosperity of some starkly contrasted with the large numbers of beggars and poor people that roamed the city streets. Pierre Vilar, “Dans Barcelona au XVIIIe siècle,” Estudios históricos y documentos de los Archivos de Protocolos, Vol.II: 1-51 (Barcelona: Colegio Notarial de Barcelona, 1950); La Catalogne dans l'Espagne Moderne (Paris: S.E.V.P.E.N., 1962) vol.2: pp.46-91. 556 “Se hace saber al público en esta Ciudad de Barcelona, Joseph de Arnau Burges, honrado de Perpignan, ha establecido una Fábrica de ropas pintadas a la Chinesca con colores de aguas fuertes y permanentes sobre fondos blancos y Amarillo, etc. Tambien sobre todas suertes de colores; con colores de pastas a la Chinesca y también con perfiles de oro y los dibujos a gusto y dirección del mismo Dueño.”Gazeta de Barcelona 1771, no.44 (29 Oct): p.372. An example of the announcement of cocoa: 1770, no. 19 (8 May): p.164.

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that of tobacco. The King has found out that the principal cause of this harm comes from the fact that in the Convents [Abbeys] and houses of priests and clergy is where more frequently the frauds are found in order to distribute them from there with more security.557

While Climent claimed total ignorance of any such wrong-doing among the priests of his

diocese, the contraband industry in tobacco, which had reached “such an extreme” as to

permeate the convents of the city and region, furthers the image that luxury and the

demand for luxury items were part of Barcelona life in the second half of the eighteenth

century.

Overlooking the many beggars and poor on the city streets, whom Climent sought

to help during his episcopacy, the people of Barcelona enjoyed the prosperity of their

local economy and the conveniences (cocoa, tobacco, fine clothing, etc) it afforded them.

Thus, it is not surprising that the popular reaction to Climent’s pastoral instruction was

negative. In fact, not until the year of jubilee had come and gone did Climent’s words

regarding tobacco smuggling circulate in printed form, a statement of how unpopular

people found the message. It was not until January 29, 1771 that one finds mention of

the publication’s availability in the Gazette of Barcelona.558 The unpopularity of his

words did not stop Climent from preaching them. In order to better communicate his

message of the pastoral instruction and officially announce the jubilee, Climent preached

a sermon on Palm Sunday (the first Sunday of April, 1770) that expressed all that he had

written in his instruction, despite being “informed and slighted by the harsh reaction and

557 “En este principado de Cataluña ha llegado a tanto extremo… que es insoportable el perjuicio que causan a las Rentas Reales, y especialmente a la del Tabaco. Ha sabido el Rey con sentimiento que la principal causa de este daño viene de que en los Conventos y en las casas de los Curas y personas Eclesiásticas es donde mas frequentemente se ponen los fraudes para difundirlos desde alli con mas seguridad.”Climent, “Edicto,” Colección, Vol II: 117-118. 558 Gazeta de Barcelona 1771, no.5 (29 Jan): p.44.

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conspiracy against his person within the highest level of society in response to his report

of Barcelonese public immorality in the instruction.”559 The combination of the

instruction and the sermon precipitated enough of a disturbance among members of high

society and defenders of Jesuit casuistry that the city council of Barcelona was moved to

send a copy of the instruction straight to the hands of the king, attaching a petition dated

April 17, 1770, requesting the necessary “alivio” (relief) for the situation. Given this

strained relationship between the bishop and the city council, the council members took

to defending Barcelona’s high society members, who of them “many had gathered before

the official attorney [of the ayuntamiento], explaining to him the particular sentiment that

agitated them and penetrated the depths of their hearts.”560 Their complaint was that the

bishop’s description of the city as full of prostitutes and women who dressed like them,

and its European-wide reputation for easily found and inexpensive outlets for the various

carnal passions brought shame upon them personally and, if allowed to reach other

European social circles, would reflect directly upon them in their dealings throughout

Europe. Madrid did not find it necessary to take any action in response to the city

council’s letter. But the effects of the pastoral instruction left Climent with more enemies

who held power within the city walls. (Whatever the amount of luxury in Barcelona, by

the end of the year a hurricane-like storm caused damage to enough houses and buildings

559 “Informado y apenado de la dura reacción y conspiración contra su persona al más alto nivel ciudadano como consecuencia de su denuncia allí a la inmoralidad pública de Barcelona.” Tort i Mitjans, p.185. 560 “Han acudido muchos al síndico procurador, exponiéndole este particular sentimiento que les agita y penetra el íntimo de su corazón.” AHCB, Section: Informes i representacions 1770, fol. 106v-107, Letter of Ayuntamiento to Charles III (17 IV 1770).

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so as to divert the bulk of the city economy into the necessary repairs, at least

temporarily.561)

Climent had at least one friend among the city’s elite: the Condesa de Montijo

(Francisca Sales de Portocarrera). While she held no important political post (and thus

had little influence over the fate of Climent in and outside of Barcelona), her

acquaintances throughout Europe and the salon-type meetings she held in her house had

made her a significant figure in the spread of ideas in Barcelona, and in turn an important

ally for Climent. The Baron of Maldà, author of Calaix de Sastre, knew her and attended

her saint’s day party in 1771. Yet, even the descriptions of Montijo’s party speak to the

amount of luxury in Barcelona’s high society:

Day 28 of January, 1771, being the vigil of the [saints] days of her highness the Countess of Montijo, of Saint Francis of Sales, name of the Countess, there was a great show of rowdy music in the Besora house, where the said nobles were staying, and it commenced at eight in the evening. The musical intruments were, according to an account acquired from some people, 2 counterbasses, 3 or 4 violas, 12 violins, 4 trumpets and oboes, 2 kettle drums. And the musicians, I think that they were of the most choice of the chapels. The music from there was heard from far away, despite the balconies of the Besora house being shut because it is wintertime.562

561 “La Vigilia de la Presentacio de Nostra Senyora en lo any 70 per espai de 12 horas continuas, feu un gran vent comensant a las 10 del mati fins a las de la nit y a las 8 del vespre, pasa a un espantos [h]uracan de manera que horrorisaba a quants lo ohiren. Pues feu caurer las mes de las chimineas de las Casas de BCN, se’n porta teulas; rompe molts dels Fanals dels Carrers y vidrieras de las Finestras de las Casas; feia tocar las Campanas, tira a terra las dels rellotges y campanarets del Hospital y de las Geronimas; derriba la Cupula del Cimbori de la Cathedral; torre lo coll de la Cigona (Cigoña) del Hospital arranca Arbres, sense altres astragos considerables dins y fora de la Ciutat.” (emphasis mine) AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, 20 XI 1770. 562 “Dia 28 de gener de 1771 ab lo motiu de ser vigília dels dies de l’Exma Sra. Condesa de Montijo, de Sant Francisco de Sales, nom de la Sra., se feu una gran prova de música estrepitosa en casa Besora, aon allotjaven los dits senyors, i se comenca a les 8 hores del vespre. Los instruments de música, segons relació [que] adquirí d’uns i altres, eren: 2 contrabaixos, 3 o 4 violes, 12 violins, 4 trompes i aboesos, 2 jocs de timbales. I los músics penso que serien dels més escollits de les capelles. La tal música s’oia de prou lluny, no obstant de ser tancats los balcons de casa Besora, per ser en temps d’hivern.”Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.34.

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In the year 1771, Bishop Climent turned his efforts in Barcelona toward practical

applications of the several pastoral instructions and edicts he had previously written and

published. In March, April, and May, Climent took to performing official visits and

inspections of the seven city parishes—the pastoral visitations that were normally

overlooked because of the proximity of the parishes to the episcopal residence.563 In

these visitations, Climent addressed some of the concerns he mentioned in his first

pastoral instruction and some of those mentioned by parish priests in “The Responses.”

Besides the bishop’s ceremonial visit to the parish church, the mass said, the inspection

of the baptismal font and sacristy, and the administration of the confirmation

sacrament564, Bishop Climent in this occasion announced that he would also be checking

on the number of priests in each parish with a license to say mass, and included in that

number, those from other dioceses and their reasons for living in the parish. Over the

course of his visits to the city’s individual parishes, he found ten “foreign” priests in Sts.

Just and Pastor, nine in St. Miquel Archangel, seven in St. Jaume, forty-one in Sta. Maria

del Pi (due to the larger number of noble residences with private chapels), and two in St.

Cugat del Rech.565 Often coming from neighboring Catalan dioceses, the extra-diocesan

priests were usually found to be living in their mother’s, father’s, or their own house; in

some cases, these “outsiders” could be found in the house of a noble as a tutor of

563 Climent explains his delay in visiting the rural parishes: “Más por una parte nos lo han impedido muchísimas inopinadas urgentes ocupaciones; y por otra, sabiendo que todos nuestros Predecessores de buena memoria procuraron visitar las Iglesias de los Pueblos de este Obispado, nos pareció que deviamos anticipar a la visita de estas la de las Parroquias de la Ciudad de Barcelona, que mucho tiempo ha que no se havian visitado.” ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorales, Vol.83bis (1770-1772), Edict announcing Climent’s pastoral visitations. 565 The records of the visits to Sta. Maria del Mar and to St. Pere de Puel.les are not found in the visitation archives.

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children. (In the parish of St. Miquel, one Rev. Domingo Prat was reported as in the

“estudis” of the house of the Marquesa de Ciutadilla, teaching grammar to twelve

children.) Not all of the listings of these priests specify their reasons for living in that

particular parish, but most of the notes point to a family connection or employment in a

private home as a teacher or personal priest for the home’s private chapel.

Directly addressing the concern about private chapels or oratories commonly

mentioned in “The Responses”, Climent also announced that not only the larger church

buildings, but also the oratories found in private residences (oratoris particulars) fell

under his domain in the pastoral visitations.566 If people did not report the address of the

private oratory and submit the original license for its use before Climent’s visit, then the

private oratory’s license to say mass would be automatically suspended. In the

documentation of the city parish visits, only St. Miquel Archangel and St. Jaume mention

the particular oratories inspected and approved (eight in each parish). The property of

dons, marqueses, counts, or wealthy merchants, the main purpose these oratories served

was to allow these owners the luxury of observing mass while in bed—quite an

expression of Catholic religiosity for the wealthy! This purpose is indicated in the

pastoral visitation records since the only circumstances which might cause an oratory to

be evaluated as deficient were if it did not have enough light to read or see clearly, if the

owner did not provide enough priestly robes and in the proper colors, if the holes in the

doors or window did not allow the recipient to see the mass from bed, or if from the other

566 Climent justified his authority by referencing Session 22 of the Council of Trent. ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorales, Vol.83bis (1770-1772), letter to parish of Saints Just and Pastor.

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side the mass celebrant could see any indecency. The records of the city pastoral

visitations mention no deficient oratories.567

Another important aspect of Climent’s pastoral visitations that addresses “The

Responses” was the inspection of teachers in their knowledge of Christian doctrine.

Climent had ordered that all teachers, or mestres de minyons, of reading, writing, and

grammar submit to an examination in Christian doctrine by two doctors in theology

(Joseph Carles, domer or cura of the cathedral, and Pau Codorniu, benefice holder in the

parish church of Sta. Maria del Pi). As one of the concerns of “The Responses” related to

improving the education of children in Christian doctrine, the proposed examination

served to ensure parish priests as well as Bishop Climent that all tutors, teachers, or

school masters present in the city could help provide their pupils with adequate training

in doctrine and knowledge of their Catholic faith. In April and May of 1771, the

appointed theologians examined two teachers in Sts. Just and Pastor, one in St. Miquel

(Domingo Prat mentioned above), two in St. Jaume, two in Sta. Maria del Pi, and five in

St. Cugat del Rech,568 all passing the exam. However, three in the parish of Sta. Maria

del Mar failed to appear for examination—Joseph Balius, Francisco Çarriera major, and

Francisco Çarriera y Mazano. Climent interpreted their absence as a lack of respect for

his episcopal authority and ordered that under the penalties of his episcopal court they

were to appear in front of the two designated examiners the very next day at five in the

567 ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorales, Vol.83bis (1770-1772), fol. 38-39 & 95-96, Notes on visit to St. Miquel del Archangel and St. Jaume. 568 While the teachers listed in the other parishes lived and taught in houses of the nobility, the five in St. Cugat del Rech almost all worked for merchants, a sign of a flourishing bourgeois or middle class community in this area of Barcelona.

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afternoon.569 While the three men followed the order, their initial disobedience

demonstrates that some teachers did not take the order of this pastoral visit seriously or

deemed the examination outside the domain of episcopal authority, thus giving them the

right to disregard.

In the same year of 1771 and in the same parish of Sta. Maria del Mar, Climent

further attempted to put into practice the sentiments of his pastoral instructions. In this

case, he used artwork for this parish’s church to communicate the message of his

controversial instruction of 26 March 1769 and of Claude Fleury in his 1682 publication

Mœurs des Israïlites et des Chrétiens. One of the implicit arguments of Fleury’s work

was that the practices of the early Church, influenced by the customs of the Old

Testament Israelites, defined true Christianity, and the goal of Climent’s instruction was

for all parishioners to read Fleury’s work intimately and apply it to their own lives as an

impetus for self-reflection and the reform of religious practices. In order to encourage

this kind of self-reflection and personal reform, Climent headed the selection committee

(along with the engineer of the royal armies Pedro Lucuze) that would choose the

winning proposal for the retablo mayor (or picture behind the main altar) of the parish

church of Sta. Maria del Mar. The advertised contest attracted entries from Catalan,

Castilian, and even Genovese architects, the winner being a local of Barcelona, Antoni

569 “Mariano Monròs Nunci jurat de nostra Cort Episcopal lo mateix dia no han dubtat los dits Balius y Çarriera, y Manzano mostrarse desobedients a dit nostre legitim manament en menyspreu de nostra Episcopal autoritat, y propri dany espiritual, comforme nos consta tot dits Actes de la pnt visita, a que en lo convenient nos referim: havem judicat, que debiam provehir, ordenar, y manar de nou, com en virtut del pnt. Decret novament provehim, ordenam, y manam baix las penas que de dret tingan lloch, als expressats Joseph Balius, y Fran.co Çarriera, y Manzano Mestres comparegan dema dijous 18 de corrent [mes de Abril] a las 5 horas de la tarde.” ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorals, vol.83bis, fol. 7-8, sign posted by Climent’s secretary Anton Soler, 17 IV 1771.

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Deodat Casanovas, whose retablo later featured Old Testament figures such as Abraham,

Isaac, and David. In an article that articulates how the retablo was a “reflection of the

Old Testament,” art historian Aurora Perez Santamaría finds close connections between

the retablo, Climent’s personal and financial sponsorship of the work, and the message of

his instruction on the Mœurs des Israïlites et des Chrétiens. She argues that this retablo

of Sta. Maria del Mar, “with great scenary effects, enshrines Israel as a symbol and

model… of a Christianity that returns to her roots.” Her conclusion is that:

The fact that Climent chaired the commission entrusted to select the project to be constructed, and the close iconographic relation of the work to fundamental aspects of his religious thinking, brings us to assume that he must also have been the mentor of the iconographic program. Effectively, a little after his pastoral [instruction on Fleury’s Mœurs] the occasion presented itself to put into practice the connection he was postulating between Israelites and Christians through the remodeling of Santa María del Mar.570

In an another important area of his ministry, Climent labored on programs and

reforms that dealt with Barcelona’s main difficulty—the large and growing number of

impoverished people filling the city streets. “In some streets of Barcelona where luxury

abounded there appeared as a sad contrast a great number of poor, beggars, and

vagabounds….”571 At the same time the rich all over the city were demolishing the

exterior of their homes in order to replace them with more “modern” façades572 and

570 “El hecho de que [Climent] presidiera la comisión encargada de seleccionar el proyecto a realizar, y la estrecha relación iconográfica de la obra con aspectos fundamentales de su pensamiento religioso, nos lleva a suponer que debió ser el mentor del programa iconográfico. Efectivamente, poco después de su pastoral se presentaba la ocasión de llevar a la práctica en la remodelación de Santa María del Mar la conexión que postulaba entre israelitas y cristianos.” “De gran efecto escenográfico, entronca con Israel, como símbolo y modelo, por parte de quienes idearon el programa, de un Cristianismo que vuelve a sus raíces.” Aurora Pérez Santamaría, “El Hondo reflejo de la Antigua Ley en el retablo/baldaquino de la basílica de Santa María del Mar de Barcelona,” In V Simposio Bíblico Español: La Biblia en el Arte y en la Literatura (Valencia-Pamplona: University of Navarra, 1999), pp. 495 & 505. 571 “En unas calles barcelonesas donde abundaba el lujo aparecían como triste contraste gran número de pobres, mendigos y vagos….”Tort i Mitjans, p.40.

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holding balls and parties for no apparent reason other than to show off their gardens and

wealth, they were leaving the poor to watch from outside:

On the very day 16 [of July 1772] there was a great ball in the Matamoros house. The reason for it was not known. The garden was magnificent, illuminated to perfection, since it formed different arcades, decorated with various oil lamps and all of it placed with thought and symmetry. In effect, that garden seemed a terrestrial paradise. There was also, in said garden, a music concert with trumpets and kettle drums, playing some marches. In the salon of the house was the ball, with another rather sufficient music concert. The concourse of lords and ladies was quite a lot, and the entrance of the house, from where one could see the garden, remained in totum occupied by the plebe of one and the other sex: men and women from the Tallers and Valldonzella neighborhoods who were grabbing on to the fence of the garden. The roofs neighboring the Matamoros house remained full of people, motivated by curiousity; and I with different [people] among this [house].573 (emphasis in original)

The growing gap between rich and poor and the lavish displays of wealth also

corresponded with a rise in robberies and banditry, people breaking into stores,

workshops, and even private homes to steal whatever they found of value.574

572 “També en lo Carrer de la Portaferrisa se demoleix lo Frente de Casa Magarola, respecte ser a la vellura per ferlo a lo modern, conforme los demes frontis [que] se reparan de las moltas Casas de Senyors de Barcelona.” AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, (11 III 1772). 573 “En lo propi dia 16 [of July 1772] hi hagué un gran ball en casa Matamoros. La causa s’ignora. Lo jardí estava magnífic, il.luminat a la perfecció, pues que formava diferentes arcades, guarnides de vàrios gresolets d’oli, y col.locat lo tot ab idea y simetria. Semblava, en efecte, aquell jardí un paradís terrestre. Hi havia també, en el referit, un concert de música ab trompes y timbales, tocant-se algunes marxes. En lo saló de la casa era lo ball, ab un altre concert de música prou suficient. Lo concurs de senyors y senyores fou lo bastant, y l’entrada de la casa, per aon se veia lo jardí, quedava in totum ocupat de la plebe d’un y altre sexo: hòmens y dones dels barris dels Tallers y Valldonzella que agoitaven pel reixat de l’hort. Los terrats veins a casa Matamoros quedaven plens de gent, moguda a curiositat; y jo ab diferents entre esta.”Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.38. 574 Calaix de Sastre reports various thefts as well as captures of bandits and thieves, many times resulting in harsh sentences such as execution to deter crime. On 29-30 August 1771, a severe punishment is described. Three of the 16 convicted were drawn and quartered: “Fou la gran sentencia—que mai a ben segur s’havia vist—de 16 reus, los 11 penjats y dels 11, los 3 después de morts, desquartisats sos membres; y los restants, passats Boria avall, assotats. Las donas que també cooperaren al gran robo, enviadas a la Galera. El qual fou de consequencia a la casa del Lledoner, qui va a Vilafranca del Penedes, havent-se atrevit estos infelices a altres maldats molt mes execrables y horrorosas de contar-se.” Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.35. In the Registra Litterarum of Climent’s episcopacy one finds several edicts that were posted to alert the guilty party of specific thefts that if they came forward and returned what was taken within six days they

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Now Climent had established some services to assuage some of the needs of the

poor. His ten gratis elementary schools opened in the city’s convents in 1767 were meant

to reduce the number of poor children roaming the city streets. In 1770, in compliance

with the “Letras Egecutoriales Apostolicas” of the Council of Trent, Climent forbade

regular clergy from passing out free medicine to the poor, instead ordering the Principal

of the Colegio de Boticarios (College of Apothecaries) to open four pharmacies (boticas)

in the city of Barcelona that would distribute free medicine to the poor who asked for it.

Not only was this distribution of medicine more open and observable, but it also ensured

that professionals treated the poor.575

In December 1771, Climent became involved with a new project that would

address further the needs of the numerous poor in Barcelona as well as attempt to reduce

the number of beggars and petty thieves for the benefit of society as a whole. The

proposal was to build a hospicio or casa de misericordia (a hospice, poor house, or

“house of mercy”) that would provide the needy with food and shelter. It was at this

juncture that the captain general of Catalonia, then the Count of Ricla, clashed directly

with Climent over this social welfare project. Installed as captain general by the Council

of Castile in June of 1767, Ricla had filled the post of the late Marqués de Mina. While

Mina had received Climent warmly (owing partly to the fact that he was married to a

Valencian wife), Ricla and Climent discovered that they differed profoundly with each

other after only a few months. Climent called Ricla a “zardanápalo, an epicurean who

would not be excommunicated. ADB, Section: Registra Litterarum, Vol.71 (1771-1777), 13 I 1772, 5 V 1772. 575 ADB, Section: Registra Litterarum, Vol.71 (1771-1777), Announcement of Climent (21 VII 1770).

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occupies himself with playing the bank, and in operas and dances,” and Ricla denied

Climent ordinary measures of protocol that demonstrated his disdain for the bishop.576

Because the problem of beggars and thieves was also a concern of the Barcelona

city council and regional governance in general, when Climent proposed to reform and

expand the services of the existing Casa de Misericordia operated by nuns and catering

only to women, Captain General Ricla wrote to Climent in December of 1771 to

communicate his and the city council’s reactions to his project. From Climent’s thirty-

page response to Ricla dated 21 January 1772, it is clear that Ricla desired to round up all

beggars and vagabonds in Catalonia and force them into one hospicio in Barcelona where

they would be required to work on public works projects in exchange for food and

shelter, using violence if necessary to guarantee production. Moreover, Ricla felt that in

order to be successful the endeavor had to be funded directly by a designated tax, making

the hospice an institution of Catalan government. The city council had a similar plan but

had proposed to Ricla that the projected poor house be administered strictly by the laity—

no clerics should be allowed on the board of governance. While Climent had intended

the hospicio first for the poor of the city and then the poor of the whole diocese,

requesting other dioceses to provide their own hospices, Ricla found that the most cost-

effective way to eliminate the problem of beggars and thieves in all of Catalonia was to

576 “Zardanápolo [sic], un epicuro que se ocupa en jugar a la banca, en óperas y bailes.” [A “zardanápalo” could be a term refers to someone like the legendary last king of Assyria Sardanapale who burned to death in his lavish palace.] Climent wrote to a friend, “…se entibia mi celo con la frialdad de los que pudieran remediar estos males y que me contemplo inferior a todos los obispos de España. Creeré que no hay otro más desairado. A más de otras visitas fui a dar pascuas y los días de su santo al capitán general y ni me ha vuelto pascuas, ni días (acababa de pasar san José) y a su ejemplo el intendente y la mayor parte de los ministros no ponen los pies en mi casa, siendo así que he cumplido estrictamente con todos.” AGS, Section: Gracia y Justicia, leg.777, Letter of Climent to Tormo (23 III 1768).

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furnish one big hospice to house those found roaming homeless from Tarragona to

Gerona.577 Climent’s response argued against such a proposal and defended his own

original plan as well as presented his own ideas for how best to save costs. In a few

weeks, Ricla left Barcelona (early February of 1772), to serve as Minister of War in

Madrid.578

Despite Ricla and the city council’s sentiments, Climent’s plan succeeded in great

part because his ideas were based on precedent: he made clear to the Council of Castile

that his ideas were inspired by the hospices in Madrid and Toledo and were more faithful

to the original purpose and intent for the Casa de Misericordia (truly a hospice) erected

in 1583 and entrusted to the Barcelona bishop’s oversight, even though by 1772 it was no

longer directly administered by the bishop. In short, Climent saw no reason why

establishing a more effective hospice necessitated the grand plans of the captain general

or the city council. He therefore proposed improving the existing one and adding to it by

providing similar services to poor men. Some eight hundred homeless women and 170 or

so young boys occupied the current hospice so that on average three shared a bed.

Climent proposed that at least two hundred of these women might find employment as

house servants for honorable people in the city if the hospice’s strict requirements on

such employment were relaxed.579 The space vacated by these women might then be

filled with young boys and girls. Climent proposed that the young boys of the hospice be

577 ADB, Section: Episcopologi de Josep Climent, leg.3 (3-54), Letter of Climent to Ricla (21 I 1772). 578 Ricla’s replacement was Bernardo O’Connor Phaly who in the next year would attempted to billet troops which provoked a riot, leading Climent to intervene to quell the disturbance and putting him in a position to be branded a “Catalan separatist.” 579 The hospice’s administration required that the employer provide for the girl for life or else give her 50 libras when he no longer required her services, deterring most from taking on such a commitment.

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allowed to become apprentices to a master tradesman at the eligible age, exempted from

the entry fine associated with such action, in hopes of eventually enabling them to

provide for themselves. Like Ricla, Climent proposed a one-day enforced “sweep” of

beggars and vagabonds. But instead of encompassing the whole of Catalonia, Climent

argued for a more practical sweep of only the city followed later by the diocese. Hand in

hand with this proposal, Climent also suggested that begging children be “collected” for

the hospice first followed by the adult beggars, and that, once the roundup of beggars was

completed, begging be made illegal after the space of some days. Since the purpose of

the hospice was supposed to be charity, not forced servitude to society, Climent argued

against Ricla’s idea that the use of force be allowed inside the hospice in order to extract

labor from its “inmates” or residents.

By comparing his designs to those of the Council of Castile and even to those of

other cities in Spain and Europe, Climent successfully rationalized his designs for

hospice reform against those of others in Barcelona. For instance, while the captain

general and the city council wanted one extensive, tax-funded hospice for all of Catalonia

because begging and theft were such problems, Climent was clear that not only did he not

consider it “licit” or justifiable to impose more taxes on people to establish and fund

hospices for beggars, but that no such tax could be found elsewhere in Europe, for

example in France or the Italian or German states. Instead, Climent believed that

alternative means of support were more prudent and more proven, such as the hospices in

Madrid and Toledo that had started factories or cottage industry from which the proceeds

went back into the hospice. Ricla had sent Climent various proposals for hospice

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funding, one of which had proposed workshops for singing, dancing, and comedy for the

residents of the hospice. While the idea was to produce men and women who could

maintain themselves on the stage or in street performances, Climent objected to such a

proposal since not even ancient Greece or Rome—cultures that had valued highly such

entertainment—had instituted any similar program.580 In contrast with the captain

general and the city council, Climent felt that the main source of funding for the hospice

of Barcelona must be voluntary alms-giving, based on the assumption that if people gave

to the hospice what they currently handed over to beggars, more than sufficient funds

would abound. Furthermore, Climent charged himself with preaching and writing so as

to persuade all of the need and benefit of contributing to the proposed hospice. Besides

at least two-thousand libras of his own income, Climent offered the Tridentine Seminary

(or Col.legi del Bisbe) as a venue to house additional poor men. Finally, Climent argued

that having clerics on the board of administrators was an idea supported by the Council of

Castile, adding that the general public was always more prone to support efforts in which

priests were involved rather than those strictly run by the lay elite. Even though the city

council pushed for a hospice that was entirely divorced from ecclesiastical participation,

Climent’s strategic argument, couched in terms of European precedent and the Council of

Castile’s position, made it easier for Climent to effect his ideas for the elimination of

poverty in Barcelona. It goes without saying that Ricla’s departure in 1772 further

facilitated Climent’s efforts.

580 The idea of using hospices to produce stage or street performers might have been Climent’s most basic moral objection to Ricla’s proposal.

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Climent explained to his priests and parishioners that he was moved to effect such

reform because “I have heard from parish priests and from many of my parishioners that

they lament the annoyance and horror caused them by such a multitude of vagabond

beggars who begin to ask them at their houses, or better said, to take from them with

violence that [money] which sometimes leaves them in need, or that which they could

otherwise give as alms to the true poor.” 581 By August, Climent asked his parish priests

throughout the diocese to contribute and collect alms that would serve to purchase beds

and provide initial maintenance funds for the expanded hospice, reminding them that all

would benefit from the “extermination of the murris582 and vagabonds who steal their

fruits.”583 Later that year, in Calaix de Sastre Maldà reported that the whole city was

asked to contribute money:

Day 19 and 20 of October, 1772, the general collection for the hospice has been made. There in the [hospice] the poor beggars will be gathered. This hospice will be the Col.legi of the Bishop, or Tridentine [Seminary], and the Hospital of Mercy for collecting the women who beg (or female beggars). And for this entire month, [the gathering of beggars] has to be put into practice. The poor who come from outside of the diocese should return to their home region; and for all of that a trial period remains for eight days.584

581 “He oido a los Parrocos y a muchos de mis Feligreses lamentarse de la molestia y horror que les causa tanta multitud de mendigos vagos que se echan en sus casas a pedirles o por mejor decir, a sacarles con violencia lo que a veces les hace falta, o lo que podrian dar de limosna a los verdaderos pobres.” AUB, Section: fons antics, 0703B-38/4/8, Letter of Climent to rectors of the diocese (26 VIII 1772). 582 Climent explains in his letter to Ricla that murris is the common label for people that have no home or religion. They travel in mixed groups—men, women, and children—but are “worse than the gypsies.” They spend more time stealing rather than begging, known as “fierce” since those that have been turned in and imprisoned have many times escaped and sought revenge many times by burning down the house of those that arrested them. See ADB, Section: Episcopologi de Josep Climent, Leg. 3 (3-54), letter of Climent to Ricla (21 I 1772). 583 “…el beneficio que experimentaran [the parishioners] del exterminio de los murris y vagabundos que les roban de sus frutos.” AUB, Section: fons antics, 0703B-38/4/8, letter of Climent to rectors of the diocese (26 VIII 1772). 584 “Lo dia 19 y 20 d’octubre de 1772 s’ha fet la capta general per l’hospici, en el que s’hi recolliran los pobres mendigos; lo qual hospici serà lo Col.legi del Bisbe, o Tridentino, y l’Hospital de Misericordia per recollir les dones que capten o mendigas. Y per tot aquest mes ha d’estar en pràctica. Los pobres de fora

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The reforms on Barcelona poverty had little time to produce noticeable results.

While Climent’s ministry remained focused on his parishioners, a political event

producing a popular uprising in the early part of 1773 entangled Climent in an episcopal

crusade which, because of its circumstances, left him flying an anti-regalist flag in the

face of the Council of Castile and the king of Spain. The “Motin de Quintas” or “Riot of

the Fifths” that occurred on May 4, 1773 in Barcelona embroiled Climent into yet another

high-level political affair because of the efforts he took to quell the riot and intervene for

his parishioners.

Quintas, or Fifths, referred to the tax levied in Spain in the form of military

service. Whenever the Spanish state desired more soldiers in its military, the king had

the established right to draft men. In the seventeenth century, this “tax” could only be

levied in the kingdom of Castile and was met with revolt when Spanish kings had

attempted to draft soldiers in Catalonia or Portugal. Olivares’ plan in the “Union of

Arms” had, in part, provoked the Portuguese and Catalan revolts of 1640. But after

Catalonia and Valencia (i.e., the Crown of Aragón) were defeated in the War of Spanish

Succession, the victorious Bourbon candidate became Felipe V who established a

centralized government that mirrored the absolutism of his grandfather Louis XIV and

abolished all regional privileges so that now the Spanish king had direct rule and power

to levy taxes in all of Spain. In order to pacify the recently defeated areas of Catalonia

and Valencia, no military drafts were attempted in these areas under Felipe V and

Fernando VI. But in 1770, Charles III published a cédula informing all that he planned to

del bisbat de Barcelona deuen tornar-se a sos domicilis; y de tot això queda lo temps tatxat [to test out a piece of fruit] per 8 dias.”Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.39.

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invoke his right to levy this tax on men between the ages of seventeen and thirty-six in

war-torn areas that had formerly been omitted in order to keep the peace and better

reintegrate the population.585 While Ricla was captain general of Catalonia, no draft was

effected in Barcelona, since he was successful at raising sufficient numbers of soldiers

through voluntary conscription. Once Ricla became Minister of War in Madrid, one of

his first acts of duty in March of 1773 was to write to his replacement, the interim captain

general O’Connor Phaly, ordering him to apply the general law of quintas in Catalonia.

(While quintas was effected throughout Spain, Catalonia and Valencia were to bear the

brunt of the burden of supplying soldiers.) The city council of Barcelona and the

governors of Catalonia appealed to Charles III, arguing that he should suspend the

proposed draft out of consideration for the success of Catalan agriculture and industry

and because voluntary service was keeping the peace, both of which would be harmed by

the draft. But it was to no avail, for by April the news of the draft became public,

prompting many seventeen to thirty-six year-old men either to hide or to emigrate to

France. In the midst of making pastoral visits in the countryside of the diocese, Climent

was prompted to return to the city because of the unrest. Given this situation, O’Connor

Phaly felt that he could not rely solely on the blind obedience of the city council and

tried, however unsuccessfully, to secure the help of the guilds, proposing that the guild

leaders be present with the aldermen while the enlistment was taking place. Finally, on

Tuesday, May 4 1773, the day the enlistment was to occur, the captain general closed all

the city gates, an act that gave rise to a general panic.

585 ACA, Section: Real Audiencia, leg.74, expediente 94 (17 III 1773).

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It was not that the Catalans acted entirely out of resistance to Castilian political

domination: the military had a reputation for prolonged tours of duty and other bad

conditions by the eighteenth century.586 While many young men had found the city gates

open for them to escape, even as late as the night before, on the day of the enlistment they

found all the possible exits closed and patrolled by soldiers. Around nine in the morning,

some took the extreme measure of climbing the city walls around the “Portal Nou”, only

to be fired upon when spotted by the armed guards at that spot. They killed at least one

boy and seriously injured at least another twelve. In response other men formed a riotous

group armed with wooden clubs, bars, and stones, and rounded up still other men,

whether or not they wished to be part of this crowd, as reported in Calaix de Sastre. The

account written by the episcopal secretaries records that a hard rain began to fall, forcing

the young men to leave the streets and seek the convents of the city, “principally the

covered cloisters of the Cathedral,”587 since at that time it was the only church of the city

that was entitled to the right of asylum. “Enraged as a chimera, leaving the ears of the

pious scandalized,” the mob of men marched to the cathedral, demanded the key to the

belfry from a priest, and all climbed up the bell ropes, causing the bells to chime “a

rebato” (as an alarm) from 9:30 in the morning until 12:30 in the afternoon.588 The non-

586 Cristina Borreguero y Beltrán has studied various mutinies and uprisings connected with the quintas levies in the eighteenth century and has found that the riot of Barcelona in 1773 was not provoked by a subsistence or political crisis but rather by a straightforward opposition to the “new” military draft. See Borreguero y Beltrán, “Los Motines de Quintas,” Cuadernos de Historia Moderna 10 (1989-1990): pp.147-159; and El reclutamiento military por quintas en la España del siglo XVIII (Valladolid: Secretariado de Publicaciones, Universidad de Valladolid, 1989). 587 “Entretanto, sobrevino una fuerte lluvia, que precisando a los Jovenes a dejar las calles, los juntó en los claustros de los Conventos, pero principalmente en los claustros cubiertos de la Catedral.” Biblioteca de Catalunya (hereafter BC), MS. 3792: Memorias concerniente a la Renuncia del Obispado por el obispo Joseph Climent, fol.2-3.

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stop chiming of the “somatén” was essentially a sounding of the public “alarm” or

“warning” bell that had not been employed in Barcelona since the days of the War of

Spanish Succession. Naturally sounding such an alarm caused panic among most of the

city inhabitants, causing them to close their stores and shut the windows and doors to

their homes. At this point Bishop Climent decided to take a leading role in resolving the

situation revolving around the large group occupying the cathedral. He sent his vicar

general Felix Rico over to the cathedral to ascertain what would make the rioting group

disperse. Upon learning that their demands boiled down to a suspension of the enlistment

and no quintas, Climent dispatched Rico to O’Connor Phaly to communicate this and ask

him to pardon the young men by conceding their request at least temporarily so that they

would peacefully disperse and return to their homes.

Captain General O’Connor Phaly conceded the request, and Climent walked over

to the cathedral filled with a crowd of upset men. According to the glorifying account

written by the episcopal secretaries, Climent was met with shouts and cries of “father”

from the people upon entering the cathedral.589 Climent took to the pulpit and told them

of the captain general’s pardon and suspension of the quintas, preaching to them so as to

quiet them down and calm their fears. Climent managed to convince them to disperse;

however, since the people did not trust such public edicts and feared a later investigation

of which men rang the bell, it was only on the condition that he would serve as their

588 “Rabiant de quimera, deixant escandalitzats los oidos de la gent pia,” the Baron of Maldà gives this account in Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.40-41. 589 “En este conflicto los Canónigos y demas gente de juicio, que por una parte veían que en la confusa multitud ni habia direccion, ni intento determinado; y por otra conocian que con facilidad podian ocasionarse fatales estragos: pasaron al Palacio del Sr Obispo, suplicandole con las mayores instancias que bajara a la Iglesia, que sin duda con la grande veneración y amor que el Pueblo le profesaba, lograria

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spokesman and walk down to the palace of O’Connor Phaly to secure a verbal and

written confirmation of the pardon.590 Thus, Climent left the pulpit, followed by a

number of the men, and went to the palace of the Captain General O’Connor Phaly: “To

whom [Climent] they would not permit that he go there in his coach, but instead on foot,

accompanying his holiness until the palace [of the captain general], Climent saying to

them that they should quietly leave and return to their own houses, that the issue was now

on his charce and that they should not fear anything.”591 Because of the common desires

of O’Connor Phaly and the other city leaders to quell the disturbance, they granted the

guarantee of pardon, and Climent returned to the cathedral to the men who had occupied

it and sent them finally home. Climent advised the shop-owners on the way back to open

up their shops and offices without fear of further rioting.

By midday peace had returned to the city, and all were hopeful that they had seen

the end of the disturbance. The afternoon, however, offered a new challenge.

The people of the neighboring villages who during the morning had not been able to enter the city, and with the sound of the bell had known of the commotion, entered in a very increased number later when the city gates were open; and the coincidence of the celebration of the Provincial Chapter of the Dominicans, whose Church and large cloisters are always the most frequented, especially by the people of the countryside—all together there an immense number of peoples who began to fear another commotion [uprising]. However, the [regular] priests, some canons of the Vicar General that were sent from his holyness, and innumberable countrymen of wisdom—the persuasions from these men managed

disipar aquella confusa nube que amenazaba a toda la Ciudad las mayores desgracias. [El Sr Obispo] bajó despues a la Iglesia entre las aclamaciones de todo el Pueblo.” BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, fol.4-5. 590 “Este dijo que la voz comun de la muchedumbre era, que no se fiaban en lo ofrecido en los bandos publicos: que temian que luego de disipado el motin se harian diligencias para averiguar los que habian tocado a someten y que se procederia contra ellos, y los que de qualquier modo se hubiesen distinguido. En consequencia suplicaban a S Ima que pasara a casa del Comandante General a cerciorarse de que se egecutaria todo lo ofrecido en los bandos….” BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, fol. 5-6. 591“A qui no permeteren que hi anas en cotxe, sí que a peu, acompanyant a sa Illma. [Climent] fins a Palacio [of the captain general], dient-los que se n’anassen quiets a casa seva, que la cosa corria per son compte y que no se temessen de res.” Calaix, p.41.

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to disperse it all. After that point, the people did not try to renew the pretensions of the morning, but rather to insist on the punishment of those who in the morning had shot at some boys who were not the least armed and who were not trying anything except to flee [the city].592

Because of the morning shooting in which one youth had immediately died and at least

twelve were gravely injured, young men again gathered in the afternoon “in solidarity” to

demand revenge on the Portal Nou gate-keepers (“burots” despised for their duty of

assessing taxes on incoming goods) who had shot at the unarmed young men. Having

been informed of this new threat to the public peace, Climent knew that the easiest way

of calming them was the arrest and imprisonment of the guilty guards. Once again,

Climent sent his vicar general Felix Rico to speak with O’Connor Phaly, and after a brief

conference the captain general ordered the gate-keepers’ imprisonment, the

announcement of which successfully dissipated the angry crowd. The account in Calaix

de Sastre further accentuates the central importance of the shooting of unarmed men on

May 4th, 1773:

Afterwards, various meetings were held in the Palace regarding what had happened with the uprising of the boys and single young men, from which event resulted not just a few disgraces: because of the insolence and violence with which the gate-keeping guards acted in shooting fire-arms at some who were going outside of the city gates, they gravely injured 12 or 13 fugitive boys. And this was what most affected the souls [of the people].593

592 “La gente de los Pueblos vecinos que por la mañana no habian podido entrar en la Ciudad, y con la campana habian conocido la comoción, luego que las puertas de la Ciudad se abrieron, entraron en crecidísimo número; y la casualidad de celebrarse el Capitulo Provincial de los Domínicos, cuya Iglesia y Claustros capacísimos son siempre los más frequentados en especial de la gente del Campo, juntó allí una imensidad de Gentes, que hicieron temer otra comoción. Sin embargo las persuasiones de los Religiosos, de algunos Canónigos del Vicario General que fue embiado de S. Ilma y de inumerables Paysanos de juicio, lograron desvanecerlo todo. Bien que entonces no intentaba la gente renovar las pretensiones de la mañana, sino instar el castigo de los que por la mañana habían disparado contra unos muchachos, que sin la menor arma no intentaban sino la huída.” BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, fol.7-8. 593 “Después se tingueren varies juntes a Palacio, acerca de lo succeit en punt a l’alvorot dels minyons y joves solters, del qual ne resultaren no poques desgracies, a causa de la insolencia y violencia que los

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The day’s events immediately resulted in increased defensive measures inside and around

the city—grilled gates to close off streets and town squares, added artillery in the

fortresses of Montjuic and the Ciutadella, and more canon at the city gates. Even two

diputats from Madrid came to the meetings during the following days in order to discuss

what should be done to secure the public peace more effectively. Given the alarm the

bells had caused, no other bells chimed for the rest of the day at the cathedral. In Madrid,

Ricla, who was somewhat suspicious that Climent had allowed the somatén to be

sounded, ordered in August that the church bells of the cathedral would be destroyed so

that the somatén, prohibited since the days of the War of Spanish Succession, would be

prevented from sounding again and bringing back to the Barcelonese people the

memories associated with it from the day of quintas or even farther back to the war of the

early eighteenth century.594

Both the city council and Climent wrote letters to Madrid, begging the king

forgive the city for the outbreak and proceed with mercy. The city councilors wrote

copious letters telling of their obedience and loyalty to the king, but they also

recommended that the king take some action in response, especially considering the

“disgrace” of the now two dead and twelve injured:

burots cometeren en disparar los trabucs a alguns que isqueren fora d’un dels portals, pues feriren malament a 12 o 13 minyons fugitius, y esto fou lo que alterà més los ànimos.” Calaix, p.41. 594 “Dia 14 d’agost de 1773. A les 6 hores de matí se començà la maniora de trencar-se o romprer-se ab ajuda de grossos malls, la campana d’hores de la Seu, lo que s’ho emprengueren los mariners y durà alguns dias contínuos per costar-los molt de trencar-la, per lo tan gruixuda. Fins posaren foc al dessota de la campana, per calentar bé lo metall. En l’inter, que era en lo mes de setembre, vingué ordre de la Cort peraque se suspengués el fondre’s la campana [que] s’anava de prompte a buidar. Per conseguent, se trencà lo motllo que ja d’alguns 3 mesos quedava fet, assegurant-se no haver-hi més campana, per lo molt que tocà la dita al sometent el dia 4 de Maig per las quintas.” Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.41.

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Even disregarding the calamities that have been noted here, his Majesty could expect little or no profit from the forced service of these subjects. The experience has shown that the Catalan military drafts have been the least appropriate for the handling of arms and those who have by choice taken up this glorious career have been excellent soldiers, having the greatest part of the first deaths in the hospitals resulting from illnesses caused by the oppression they suffered.595

Climent, on the other hand, wrote directly to Ricla despite their previous differences,

asking him to intercede with the king to pardon the inappropriate actions that took place.

But Climent never lost an opportunity to exert his authority as bishop, once again

dangerously comparing Charles III to the excommunicated emperor of Rome Theodosius:

In the end, I should not nor do I think to mix myself up in matters inappropriate for my ministry; but while this obliges me to desire and procure that my parishioners do not offend God, nor the King, it also moves me to implore the mercy of his Royal Majesty; imitating in this hand because in virtue and wisdom the most Holy Bishops interceded for their parishioners in similar cases. And the King’s piety being as notorious as that of the Great Theodosius and other Christian Princes, I hope that my parishioners are able to experience it.596

In the end, Charles III excused the incident only on the condition that the quintas

still take place. “The very same Secretary of War, the Count of Ricla, brought about the

kind of draft that would comply with the Government’s lay even though it be with some

artifice.”597 Essentially, Ricla fixed the draft so that the twenty-nine draftees selected on

595 “Aún prescindiéndo de las calamidades que se han apuntado, es poca o ninguna la ventaja que V.M. pueda prometerse del servicio forzado de estos naturales. La experiencia ha hecho ver que los quintos catalanes han sido los menos a propósito para el manejo de las armas y que han sido excelentes soldados los que por elección han emprendido esta gloriosa carrera, habiéndo la mayor parte de los primeros muertos en los hospitales de resulta de las enfermedades causadas por la opresión que sufrían.” AHCB, Section: Informes i Representacions, 1773, fol. 101-106, Letter of Ajuntament to Charles III (5 V 1773). 596 “En fin yo no debo ni pienso mezclarme en asuntos agenos de mi ministerio; pero este mismo al paso que me obliga a desear y procurar que mis feligreses no ofendan a Dios, ni al Rey, también me mueve a implorar la misericordia de su Real Magestad; imitándo en esta parte ya que en la virtud y en la sabiduria a los mas Santos Obispos que en semejantes casos intercedieron por sus Feligreses. Y siendo la piedad del Rey nro sr tan notoria como la del Gran Theodosio y otros Príncipes Christianos, espero han de experimentarla mis Feligreses.”BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, fol.10 (letter of Climent to Ricla, 4 V 1773). 597 “El mismo secretario de la Guerra, el conde de Ricla, hizo llegar la especie de que se cumpliera la ley del Gobierno aunque fuera con algún artificio.” Tort i Mitjans, p.353.

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June 11, 1773 were the same ones he had paid off to enter military service as such

peacefully. While the city was continually reminded of its subjugation to the will of

Madrid, and even more so after the increased fortifications and military presence

provoked by the riot, the people of Barcelona survived the affair relatively unscathed. On

the other hand, the event was very instructive for the politicians of Madrid who sought to

strengthen their governance of the city. In short, the result of the motín de quintas was to

demonstrate the popularity and influence that Bishop Climent possessed with the general

population of Barcelona.598

Another result of the motín de quintas was the establishment of an approved

organization representing the numerous guilds in Barcelona. While the leaders of various

guilds had declined O’Connor Phaly’s request to be present with the city leaders during

the proposed draft, they wrote to him immediately in response to the riot, apologizing for

their non-cooperation and offering their help with pacification efforts if first they could

organize a representative body for all the city’s guilds so as to better collaborate with him

on the best means of complying with the quintas draft in the future. O’Connor approved

their request under the condition that their meetings be supervised by the head of the city

council (the “mayor,” or alcalde mayor). In their first two meetings, just days after the

riot, the body elected twelve diputados (or deputies) and began to act as a Diputación, or

delegation, by writing a letter to the king that explained why the riot occurred and

598 Illustrating the popularity and attention Climent received in Barcelona, the Baron of Maldà describes Climent’s pastoral visit to one city parish: “4 Maig de 1772: En la Iglesia del Pi consagra lo Sr Bisbe Climent 340 aras de Altar poch mes o menos la qual funcio se comensa en lo referit dia a las sis del mati fins a 12 horas, y en la tarde se continua desde las 3 a las 9 del vespre y no se pogue encara concluhir ab tot lo citat dia 4 de Maig. Lo endema dia 5 torna lo Sr Bisbe a las 6 del mati a la propria Iglesia y se acaba la funcio a 2 quarts de una despues de mitgdia. La gent de ambos sexos en la dita Parroquia fou en gran

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requested his forgiveness. By their third meeting on 11 May 1773, no other

governmental representatives appeared to supervise the meetings, sending an implicit

message to some guild deputies that the state approved of their political independence. In

response, the deputies wasted no time in deciding in session that the guilds they

represented would individually contribute money to subsidize the Diputación for its

expenses in governance. But many guilds hesitated to comply with this decision, since

the law in Spain was clear that the only non-governmental, non-religious institutions that

could raise money were hospitals, hospices, local prisons, and other charities. The

individual guilds’ refusal to contribute was officially reported to the Audiencia as well as

to the city council which did nothing to show disapproval of the economic organization

of the Diputación. Because of his sympathy with the group, Bishop Climent agreed to

contribute any needed money to fund the Diputación’s efforts.599

Meanwhile, Madrid was trying to proceed appropriately after the Barcelona riot,

responding with a series of measures. One interim captain or “comandante” general

replaced another as O’Connor was transferred elsewhere and a Felipe de Cabanes became

the new office holder. Furthermore, Ricla ordered the Audiencia in Barcelona to send to

Madrid any information it came across pertaining to the riot. In such a context, despite

the Diputación’s tacit approval by O’Connor, Cabanes, the Audiencia, and Ayuntamiento,

Madrid began to look at it with suspicion, especially in the light of the poorly crafted

numero, de manera que no se hi cabia y al entrar y eixir lo Sr Illm de la Iglesia, se tocaren totas las Campanas segons estil.” (Emphasis mine) AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A (4 V 1772). 599 Tort i Mitjans suggests that his sympathy partly emanated from his desire that all Catalan countries, including Valencia, recuperate their historic rights and autonomy and partly from the influence he might have had on the group through one deputy Bartomeu Amat—brother of Climent’s Jansenist friend and colleague Felix Amat, future bishop of Barcelona. See Tort i Mitjans, p.355.

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letter the Diputación sent the king in December of 1773 asking that he exempt all of

Catalonia from the quintas scheduled to be renewed and implemented in 1774.600

While the petition of the Diputación letter was presented to and considered by the

government in Madrid during the spring of 1774, the government of Madrid took other

measures to ensure its control over the population. Established in Madrid in April 1773,

but not published in Barcelona until June of 1773, the king’s Council of Castile approved

an edict that tightened up restrictions on all prelados eclesiásticos and their licenses to

publish papers and books on religious topics.601 Although neither Climent nor any of his

publications are mentioned in the document, the impetus for the decree is explicitly

stated. In June of 1772, an article of anonymous authorship entitled Erroris Domus

Aristotelici in veritatis aulam conversa Doctrina Praeceptoris Angelici D. Thomae

Aquinatis Drama Armonicum was published in Barcelona at the print shop of Thomas

Piferrer. Since the article did not have a publication license granted by the appropriate

authority nor disclosed its author, it was unlawful. Even though this cédula did not refer

to Climent’s publications, it is hard to believe that his actions did not precipitate such an

order given the amount he published, the problems some of his publications had incurred,

and the fact that the royal cédula found fault particularly with Barcelona. It seems that

600 Tort i Mitjans relates that “La carta se atreve a afirmar de forma casi imprudente que la pobreza y desgracias que se experimentan en las provincias interiores del reino se deben al servicio militar. Por esto la Diputación alaba la medida de Felipe V, de 1745, de declarar exenta Catalunya del servicio militar obligatorio, a la que atribuye el progreso demográfico, agrícola e industrial del Principado, casa que podría desaparecer, dice el escrito, con las quintas.” Tort i Mitjans, p.356-7. 601 “Real Cédula de S.M. y Señores del Consejo, por la que se previene lo que se ha de observar por los Prelados Eclesiásticos en quanto a dar licencias para la Impresión de Papeles o Libros de los que expresa la Ley 24 con la limitación y en la forma que se contiene.” (Madrid: imprenta de Pedro Marin, 20 April 1773), announced in Gazeta de Barcelona 1773, no.23 (8 June): p.204.

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Madrid was not content to let religious publications nor the literature Climent promoted

go uncensored.

Just as he had done in 1771 and 1772, in June 1773 Climent continued his

pastoral visitations throughout the diocese after the issues arising from the motín de

quintas had been settled. Designating a few months out of each year for the visits, by the

end of June, 1774 Climent’s records indicate that he had visited 204 out of the 207

parishes in his bishopric. Looking at the records from other Barcelona episcopacies, this

number of visited parishes is quite high. As Climent had stated in the edict announcing

his visits, his zeal in this matter was owing to the fact that bishops normally forewent

official visits to the seven city parishes because their proximity to the episcopal palace

put them under everyday supervision. His predecessor Sales had been quite meticulous

in stopping at each parish outside of the city walls in the late 1750s, but in the earlier part

of the decade Bishop Aguirre had only visited about one-fourth of the diocese. Climent’s

successor Bishop Gavino Valladares y Mena also paid pastoral visits to all the parishes

outside of the city in the later 1770s, so Climent’s number of visited parishes seems to be

slightly higher owing to the city parishes.602 But quantity is not the only important point

of comparison. Pastoral visitations typically involved the sacrament of confirmation for

all young children in the parish as well as the visit of the parish church and the inspection

of its chapels, altars, and sacristy.

As Climent had made clear in his first visits to the city parishes, his visitations to

the rural areas and population centers outside of Barcelona city would be different since,

602 ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorales, vol.81 (Aquirre), vol.82 (Sales), vol.83-85 (Climent), vol.86-88 (Valladares). Another difference in the records is that Climent’s are in Catalan while his predecessors record in Latin and his successor Castilian.

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in addition to the traditional features of the visitation, he also planned to monitor the

private oratories and chapels that the parish priests had complained about in “The

Responses” and study the facilities and supplies which parish priests had at their disposal

for educating young children in reading, writing, and Christian doctrine. In the parish of

Santa Maria de Piera, for example, Climent personally visited the several private

oratories and public chapels of the fair-sized parish, comprising about 1225 communing

parishioners. In the oratory of Casa Sastre (literally “the tailor’s house), Climent found

all to be “decent”, renewed the license to celebrate mass there, but forbade it expressly on

the festas exceptuadas (holiday exceptions): “[the day of] Christmas, Circumcision [New

Year’s Day], Epifany, Ascension, Resurrection [Easter], days of Pentecost, Corpus

Christi, Conception, Birth, Annunciation, Purification, and Assumption of Holy Mary,

All Saints’ Day, Sundays of Advent and of Lent.”603 And in July of 1773, Climent

visited the smaller parish of St. Just Desvern, comprising about 390 communing

parishioners, where he was informed that the Chapel of Santa Anna

“que se troba erigida cerca de la casa y dintre los limits de la Posesió de Dn Francisco Dusay… esta bastant decent pero te confessionaris. No tenia llicencia, pero en atenció de ser antiquissima, ha concedit sa Ilma nova llicencia en fecha de 13 Sept 1773 al tenor de la que se inserta fol anyadida la expresa prohibició de tenir confesionaris o adminstrar en dita Capella ningun sacrament.”604 So while he allowing the private oratories and public chapels to continue with

their services, his restrictions represented an effort to solidify the parish church as the

central place of worship in the parish. Assuming that the owners and administrators of

603 “Nativitat, Cirumcisió, Epifania, Ascensió, Resurrecció de Nostre Senyor Jesu Christ, dias de Pentecostes, Corpus, Concepció, Nativitat, Anunciació, Purificació y Assumpció de Maria Ssma, dia de tots sants, Dominicas de Advent, Quaresma.” ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorales, vol. 84, fol.413-414 (visit of November 1772).

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these chapels and oratories took Climent’s orders seriously, the 1767-protests of the

parish priests in “The Responses” were successfully addressed and resolved through

Climent’s pastoral visitations from 1771-1774.

As for the educational facilities examined during Climent’s visitations outside of

Barcelona, some of the larger parishes had more than one active teacher of elementary

education (for example, Mataró, which reported that its 7300 communing parishioners

had five such teachers). But most parishes had just one who was either a lesser

clergyman of the parish or, if a very small parish, the parish priest himself. Regardless,

Climent in his visits examined them—just as the city school masters had been

examined—in their knowledge of theology and doctrine. The purpose of such an exam

was clearly communicated to the teacher in St. Feliu de Codines, Climent visiting

the study [room] for the instruction of children in said Parish in which reading, writing, counting and grammar are taught and this duty in the care and direction of Rector Manuel Berenguer priest who gave notice to his Illustriousness [that] he was complying with his obligation in said instruction areas, giving notice of his care in the area of Christian Doctrine. For which effect and for that of learning to read and that for them to be more fearful of God our Lord and to learn the practice of virtue and good habits, his Illustriousness gave the exact Exam of Christian Doctrine to this Master in order to have satisfaction of his good conduct and sufficiency.605

Furthermore, the pastoral visitations gave Climent the opportunity to attend to the unique

cases of some parishes. For instance, in his letter of “The Responses,” parish priest

604 ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorales, vol.85, fol.39b-40. 605 “El estudi de la ensenyanza dels minyons de dita Parroquia en lo qual se ensenya de llegir, esriurer, comptes y gramatica y esta encarregat al cuydado y direccio del Rt Manuel Berenguer Pbre qui adverti sa Ilma cumplia sa obligacio en ditas ensenyanzas, advertinli sos cuydados en la de la Doctrina Christiana, per qual efecte y per lo de aprendrer a llegir y lo que es mes a ser temerosos a Deu nre Sr y aprendrer la practica de las virtuts, y bons costums; reparti sa Il ma lo precis Examen de Doctrina Christiana al referit Mestre per tenir satisfaccio de sa bona conducta y suficiencia.” ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorales, vol.84, fol.113-114 (15 October 1771).

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Ambrosio Lexidor of Castelldefels lamented that the processions of his parishioners

sometimes crossed the border into another parish, taking them so far away from home so

that they could not return in one day. In July 1773, Climent, through his “Edicts donats

en visita” (“Edicts Given in Visitation”) in Castelldefels, addressed the concern of parish

priest Lexidor:

As it has arrived to our attention that on September 8, the holy day of the Birth of our Lady, [the people] go in procession from this Parish Church to the hermitage [shrine] of Our Lady of Brugués in the parish of Saint Peter of Gava, that which [has been] prohibited many times by our predecessors, [the people] remaining later to eat lunch in said hermitage, a very reprehensible thing among Christians and that is expressly prohibited in the “Ritual” of our Bishopric in the chapter “de Processionibus” where it orders Parish Priests that with the occasion of the processions they should not permit either food or drink. For this and to avoid the irreverences that necessarily follow from similar pilgrimages and processions, we order that on the next holy day such a procession is not made going to said Hermitage or to any other outside of the parish. And for the consolation of the parishioners of this parish we permit that a procession is made around this parish Church, singing afterwards inside her the service [sung mass] that they were accustomed to singing in the mentioned Hermitage. (emphasis mine)606

Even though Climent had addressed the unique complaint of the parish priest, the fact

that such processions had been prohibited “many times by our predecessors” indicates

that the likelihood was low that these parishioners would abandon the hermita for the

sake of a procession around the parish church. Nevertheless, those who held any

reverence for the office of bishop and episcopal authority might have abstained from the

next day’s usual procession out to the hermita.

606 “Com haje arribat a nra noticia que en lo dia 8 de September festa de la Nativitat de Nra Sra se va en professó desde esta Iglesia Parrl fins a la Hermita de Nra Sra de Brugués de la Parra de St Pere de Gava, lo que esta moltas vegadas privat per nres predecessors, quedantse despres a dinar en dita Hermita, cosa molt reprehensible entre Christians y que esta expresament prohibit en lo Ritual de nre Bisbat en lo titol de Processionibus, ahont mana als Rectors que ab ocasio de las professons no permetan ni menjars ni vegudas; perso y per evitar las irreverencias que necessariament se segueixen de semblants romerias y professons, manam que en lo succesiu no se fasa la tal professo anant a la referida Hermita, ni en altra fora de la parra: y per consol dels feligresos desta parra permetem que fasa al rededor desta Iglesia parrl, cantant

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The Demise of Climent as Bishop of Barcelona

Climent took pains to effect some change of religious observance at the “ground

level” of his diocese in the parishes he visited; by spring of 1774, however, Climent’s

involvement with the Diputación of guilds would further prevent him from effecting

greater religious reform in the diocese of Barcelona. In Madrid during the early months

of 1774, the Diputación’s spokesman presented an unartfully-written letter of the guild

leaders that advised the king to exempt all of Catalonia from the next quintas scheduled.

Since the spokesman was unable to provide any expressed, written confirmation that the

guild’s request had been granted, he wrote to the guild deputies in March of rumors that

abounded that the king was prepared to consider another system for gathering the desired

number of troops without forced conscription in Catalonia. The spokesman in Madrid

said that the Barcelona noble, the Marqués de Rubí, had given him this good news and

that the rumored royal inclination was owing to the persuasive effort of Rubí and

lieutenant general Pignatelli.607 In an incredibly imprudent move, four of the Diputación

deputies wrote to Rubí in Madrid before they had received written confirmation of

anything, thanking him for his help in a resolution that had not yet been resolved.

Surprised by the letter and wanting to safeguard himself against possible accusations of

collaborating with Catalanistas, Rubí handed the letter over to the Count of Ricla who in

turn delivered it to the president of the Council of Castile, Don Manuel Ventura Figueroa.

despres en ella l’ofici que acostumaban cantar en la mencionada Hermita.” (emphasis mine) ADB, Section: Visitas Pastorales, vol.85, fol.16a-17b. 607 BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, fol.9. Tort I Mitjans reports that the incriminating letter of the Diputación was sent to Pignatelli, not Rubí; however, the account and intercessory letters of Climent all reference Rubí as the letter’s recipient. Tort i Mitjans, p.357.

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By May, Madrid ordered the Audiencia of Barcelona to imprison the four deputies

and open up a scrupulous investigation of all current and past Diputación activity. As a

result of the investigation, the Council of Castile, in particular the bureaucrat

Campomanes, found not only Climent but also the present captain general Cabanes to be

implicated as supporters of the group. Although the Diputación of Barcelona guilds had

no explicit political goals besides the exemption from quintas, their letter to the king and

their mere existence was enough to implicate them as Catalan separatists seeking special

treatment for Catalonia above other areas of Spain. Tort i Mitjans relates the fate of the

guild body:

In its final verdict to present to Charles III, the Council, solidified by the opinion of the [prosecuting] lawyer of Catalonia and Aragón [Campomanes], accused Catalonia as a whole, with its clergy and people, of wanting to obtain once again its rights, liberties, and autonomy. It goes without saying that among the variety of measures taken in consequence was the abolition of the Diputación of the colleges of Barcelonese guilds. (emphasis mine)608 Meanwhile, the four deputies remained imprisoned. Climent knew from his

friends in Madrid about the delicacy of the situation and the danger any involvement in

the situation would cause him, incriminating him further as a Catalan separatist and

enemy of the regalist government. Nevertheless, after three months of their

imprisonment, Climent wrote to Ventura Figueroa on 20 August 1774, asking for the

deputies’ release for their own good and the good of their families. He justified his

intercessory letter out of his duty as a pastor:

608 “El Consejo, solidarizado con el parecer del fiscal de Cataluña y Aragón [Campomanes], en su veredicto final a presentar a Carlos III acusó a Cataluña entera con su clero y pueblo de querer conseguir de nuevo sus fueros, libertades y autonomía. Ni decir tiene que entre la variedad de medidas tomadas en consecuencia estuvo la abolición de la Diputación de los colegios de gremios barceloneses.” (emphasis mine) Tort i Mitjans, p.358. The Diputación was officially dissolved in January of 1775.

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Because they are some poor artisans that were living and maintaining their families with the work of their hands: so that some of them would have perished if I had not helped them, as I do in compliance with my [priestly] obligation. But, since with my aid one cannot compensate for the damage that their houses endure, and as for the other time the very same prisoners, their wives, and children do not cease from begging me that I take interest in soliciting your consolation [support], I judge that I cannot excuse myself from consenting to their pleas. Because this work of mercy is so characteristic of the Episcopal ministry that for the space of many centuries, as your grace knows, Bishops were authorized by their Princes so that every week they visited jails, consoled the prisoners, and found out about the state of the [legal] cases with the charge of letting the Sovereigns know of the mistakes [oversight] that they noticed in the the Judges. And even though this practiced ceased, the obligation of the Bishops did not stop in seeking the freedom of their imprisoned parishioners in the best way that they could. 609

This intercession and the language of Climent’s letter strike at the heart of Climent’s own

conception of the duties of a bishop—a conception shaped in part by the eighteenth-

century notion of Early Church history. Despite his justifications, however, Climent’s

letter only exacerbated the Council’s exasperation with Barcelona, perceiving the letter as

further “Catalan” interference in and disrespect for the governing efforts of Madrid.

Climent’s financial connections to the Diputación and his political connections with

quintas in the past caused the Council of Castile, particularly Campomanes, to find his

involvement anti-regalist. Climent’s letter of intercession was the last straw, signaling

the need to remove him from his Barcelona post, and in the space of a few weeks

Campomanes presented to the Council of Castile his report on Climent.

609 “Porque son unos pobres Menestrales que vivian y mantenian a sus familias con el trabajo de sus manos: de modo que algunos de ellos huvieran perecido si yo no los hubiera socorrido, segun debo, en cumplimiento de mi obligacion. Pero, como con mis socorros no puede compensarse el menoscabo que padecen sus casas y como por otra parte tiempo ha que los mismos presos, sus Mugeres, y Hijos no cesan de rogarme que me interese en solicitar su consuelo, juzgo que no puedo escusarme de condecender a sus ruegos. Porque esta obra de misericordia es tan propria del ministerio Episcopal que por espacio de muchos siglos, como VSI sabe, los Obispos estuvieron autorizados por los Principes paraque todas las semanas visitaran las cárceles, consolaran a los presos, y se enteraran del estado de las causas con el encargo de avisar al Soberanos los descuidos que advirtieren en los Jueces. Y aunque cesó esta práctica, no cesó en los Obispos la obligación de procurar del mejor modo que puedan la libertad de los presos Feligreses suyos.” BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, letter of Climent to Ventura Figueroa (20 VIII 1774), fol.11.

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In September 1774, Campomanes judged Climent guilty of giving money to the

Diputación, helping the families of the imprisoned deputies, daring to intercede for the

four imprisoned instead of patiently waiting the decision of the government, and—finally

and most gravely—guilty of collaborating with the Catalan separatist desires of the

Diputación. Yet, of what Campomanes’ report judged Climent guilty was precisely what

Climent believed the Church had ordained him to do as bishop. Nevertheless, President

Ventura Figueroa presented this report to Charles III, and the result of Madrid’s actions

showcased the eighteenth-century conflict of interests between regalism and an

enlightened Catholicism that held out for a return to the spirit of the Early Church.

The king was convinced that Climent could no longer serve in Barcelona; it

would be virtually impossible to successfully draft men in Barcelona into military service

as long as Climent remained their bishop.610 However, instead of arresting him or taking

overt action against him for his involvement with the Diputación, Charles III proposed

that Climent be transferred to a new bishopric in Spain, one that did not present the same

conditions as those in Catalonia. The Council of Castile was forced to accept the king’s

decision (even though they may have desired a harsher one), and in February 1775

Climent was informed that he would become the new bishop of Málaga.

610 The Memorias relate “En todo esto convenian los contrarios [those against Climent] del Sr Obispo, alomenos en publico; pero anyadian que la confianza que el Pueblo de BCN tenia en su Obispo hacia impracticable el sorteo mientras el Obispo permaneciese en la Ciudad; pues se atreverian a otra comocion, esperanzados de que de todo los sacaría el Obispo a quien el Pueblo creia deber el perdon de la pasada. Por otra parte, decian aqui no se trata de castigar al Obispo o de pasarle a otra Mitra de menos renta y honor que la de BCN, sino a una de aquellas que regularmente pretenden los Obispos de BCN. Que si el actual por su humildad no pretende, no por eso deja por sus meritos de ser digno que el Rey le ascienda. Semejantes expresiones no es mucho que tomaran cuerpo en una Corte en que son continuas las translaciones de una a otra Mitra, especialmente de los Obispos de BCN que de las 4 partes las 3 pasan luego a otras Mitras.” BC, Ms. 3792, Fol.15-16.

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While Climent’s renunciation of the bishopric of Málaga was not approved,

Charles III did concede his request to renounce both bishoprics and retire to his home in

Castelló de la Plana.611 In April of 1775 Climent announced his plan to retire to the

secular and regular clergy of his diocese who responded immediately by writing letters to

Madrid petitioning that Climent be allowed to remain bishop of Barcelona because of all

the good he had done in the diocese.612 Despite all the protests to the contrary, Climent

had to leave his post in Barcelona, saying his personal good-byes and departing from the

city on July 1, 1775:

As proof of his great love for his sheep [his Grace Don Joseph Climent] has left as a departing gift the exercise of the Forty Hours—so pious and of edification of the Faithful—or the exposition of the Holy Sacrament (Praised be it forever) in all the Churches of Barcelona and its surroundings, promising that this Devotion would be very accepted by God our Lord and for the benefit of Souls. It remains established for the remaining half of the present year 1775, and it is said it will continue in the future if some alms are collected.613

Replaced officially (and not coincidentally) by the Vicar General of Madrid on 7

November 1775, Climent failed to convene his desired synod. Given the developments

611 Climent wrote a letter to the king dated 11 March 1775 arguing that he was not a Catalan separatist but rather a loyal subject and that if he could not continue on in Barcelona he would like to retire completely. Manuel de Roda read the letter to Charles III who responded positively, and Roda communicated to Climent in his letter dated 5 April 1775 that he could renounce both bishoprics. Copies of the letters are found in BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, fol.24-32. 612 The Cabildo of the Cathedral, the city parish priests, and various regular clergy all wrote letters to Madrid. BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, fol.36b-73a. 613 Desde lo dia 1 de Julio ab lo motiu de la renuncia del Bisbat de BCN, lo Actual Illm Dn Joseph Climent en proba del Gran amor de sas Ovellas ha dexat per prenda en son despido lo exercici tant pio y de edificació dels Fiels de las 40 horas, o exposició del SSm Sagrament (Alabat sia per a sempre) en totas las Iglesias de BCN y sos contorns, prometentse seria esta Devoció molt accepta a Deu nostre Senyor y profit de las Animas, la que queda establerta per lo mitg any present de 1775 y se diu si se continuara en avant, suposat que se recullen algunas limosnas. Lo Illm Actual [Climent] se manté avui en dia 9 de Octubre de 1775 en la rectoria del Poble de Sant Just de Esvern y desde alli se’n torna a son Pais de Castelló de la Plana dins del reyne de Valencia y se diu si ve per Bisbe de BCN Don Gavino Valladares y Mesia, Vicari General de Madrid,” AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A (1 VII & 9 X 1775).

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that occurred during his episcopacy, keeping him occupied and sometimes vulnerable

politically, Climent had waited for and never found an advantageous moment to hold a

synod that might have been construed as “anti-regalist” in Madrid. Nevertheless, Climent

still felt he had achieved some successes, listing them in his petition to the king to stay in

Barcelona:

I have been able to increase incomes in more than a fourth [of them] with some care in their collection and for the noted rights to taxes that are now being made and it has been centuries that they have not been made. I have re-established in this Cathedral the preaching of the Divine Word [Gospel] as the Holy Council of Trent had laid out, that had been interrupted. I have added to this City ten gratis elementary schools. I have improved the teaching of Theology. I have established communal life in three convents subject to my jurisdiction. And without violence, with softness I have remedied some abuses…. (emphasis mine)614

Climent’s Legacy in Barcelona

Climent’s departure from Barcelona might not have immediately had an impact

on day-to-day life in the city of Barcelona. In looking at accounts of city life after

Climent’s resignation, however, some aspects appear which suggest the uniqueness of

Climent’s episcopate. The accounts of Calaix de Sastre begin with July 10, 1769, a

couple years after Josep Climent was installed as bishop of Barcelona. Thus, for over six

years of Climent’s episcopacy, Calaix provides commentary on Barcelona city life from a

non-clerical perspective. Although there are no dated entries before Climent's episcopate

with which to make comparisons, the manuscript contains many detailed entries through

614 “…he podido aumentar en mas de la quarta parte las rentas con algun cuidado en su recaudación y por los cabreves que se estan haciéndo y siglos ha que no se habian hecho: he restablecido en esta Iglesia Cathedral segun dispuso el Sto Concilio de Trento la predicación de la Divina Palabra que se habia interrumpido: he añadido a esta Ciudad diez escuelas gratuitas de primeras Letras: he mejorado la enseñanza de la Theologia: he establecido la vida comun en tres Conventos sugetos a mi jurisdicción: y sin violencia, con suavidad he remediado algunos abusos….” (emphasis mine) BC, Ms. 3792, Memorias, fol.22-23, letter of Climent to the Secretary of Cámara the Marqués de los Llanos (15 II 1775).

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1785. (Subsequent volumes record until 1815.) This allows for some evaluation of the

distinctiveness or unique qualities of Climent’s episcopacy by means of the Calaix de

Sastre, making links between those qualities and Climent’s efforts at enlightened reform.

What is obvious is that the years corresponding to Climent's episcopate (1769-1775) are

related in briefer, more matter-of-fact entries that are fewer and farther between in dates

than those years after 1775. In fact, just the entries for 1776 in Calaix are equivalent in

length (measured in pages) to the whole of the entries for 1769-1774. One conclusion

could be that the earlier entries are less elaborate because the “'moral-rigorist” Climent

encouraged austere religious practices that emphasized internal rather than external

demonstrations of devotion. Less was written from 1769-1774 because fewer visual

religious manifestations were taking place. While this conclusion might be true (and

would certainly further the argument of this dissertation), other explanations are possible.

The author could have begun writing brief entries when he started Calaix de Sastre but

over time developed his art of writing into more elaborate descriptions—the change in

writing style after 1775 completely coincidental. Yet another factor that contributed to

the disparities of detail on processions was a royal decree, recorded in Calaix on

February 3, 1770: “A decree is made public ordering the suspension of all congregations

and brotherhoods [i.e., religious confraternities].”615 Along with this decree, the

pragmática verbo professons of 1770 suspended the processions of semana santa (the

passion or holy week). Coincidentally (or not), in 1776 the suspension of holy week

processions ended, and Calaix provided full descriptions of the resumed processions. So

615 “Dia 3 de febrer se publica un decret en ordre a suspensió de totes congregacions i germandats.” Calaix de Sastre I, 1769-1791, p.31.

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regardless of Climent’s connection to the royal decree and pragmatic, the religious

practices in the city streets of Barcelona during the episcopate of Climent were less

external, visual, and flamboyant, and after Climent they resumed to some extent, being

vivid manifestations in the streets of the city.

Calaix de Sastre also recounts how much Climent was remembered in Barcelona

after his departure and then his death. On New Year’s Day 1778, the account found in

Calaix demonstrates the political place of importance that Climent occupied and still

maintained among the people of his diocese. It is not clear if at that time people in

Barcelona knew of his whereabouts, but it is clear that his memory was fresh in their

minds. On display since late fall, 1777, were five wax figures made by a “Catalan.” For

a small price of admission, people could view his representations of these local and

national celebrities:

These last figures, copied from their originals, are of our catholic monarch Charles III, seated alone with two guards of honor (alabarders) to the right and left of His Majesty. The other characters were the Excellent Lords Count of Aranda, the deceased prince of Masserano, he that was the Marquis of la Mina, etc. who were all placed closed to the lord king. In the last piece was the Deceased Illustrious [Bishop] of Barcelona, don Josep Climent, seated in his recliner with two pages, one at each side, dressed in their ecclesiastical robes and barefoot, etc. …These figures seemed animated. I entered to see them and even though the admission was at a peseta it didn’t seem at all bad [a cost] to me since they were finely worked and even more since they were made by a Catalan.616

616 “Estes últimes figures, copiades de sos originals, son la del nostre catòlic monarca, Carles III, sentat en son solio, ab dos guàrdies d’alabarders a dreta y esquerra de S.M. Los altres personatges eren los Exms. Srs. Conde d’Aranda; el príncep difunt de Masserano; el quòndam marquès de la Mina etc., que estavan tots estos immediats al senyor rei. En l’última peça estava assentat, ab son genuflectori al davant, l’Illm. Difunt de Barcelona, don Josep Climent, ab dos patges, un a cada costat, vestides ses sotanes y en peus, etc. …Les quals figures semblaven animades. Entrí jo a veurer-les y no em sabé gens de greu, encara hagués estat la paga a pesseta, per lo ben treballades, y més sent hetxures d’un català.”Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.65 (1 JAN 1778).

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On November 28, 1781, Climent passed away at 75 years of age in his home in Castelló

de la Plana. The news reached Barcelona by December 4 where church bells chimed nine

times in his memory after the eleven o’clock hour. Two days later a memorial service for

Climent took place:

The news having come that the past Illustrious [bishop] of Barcelona Don Joseph Climent has died on the fourth of December, 1781. They will sound for him nine chimes in all the belfries of the Cathedral at eleven o’clock in the morning as he was Bishop of this City and Diocese. And on the sixth of this present [month], in said Holy Church the [funerary] honors are made to him as for a member of the cathedral chapter Requiescat in pace. In all the Parishes, three days of funeral ceremonies will be held for him except in the Parish Church of Pi in which only one day is held for the Deceased Bishop of Barcelona Don Joseph Climent, and also in the Church of Saint Catherine of the Dominican Fathers, his relatives [and friends], etc. will pay for one solemn day for said deceased Illustrious [bishop].617

Enlightened Despotism versus Enlightened Catholicism

The story of Climent’s episcopate and his demise in Barcelona translates into a

story of Enlightened Catholicism against Enlightened Despotism. The definition of

Enlightened Catholicism that pertained to Climent was the eighteenth-century, Jansenist-

like tendency of promoting interior, more cerebral, spirituality among Catholics, which

went hand-in-hand with enforcing the Tridentine mandates of councils and the use of the

vernacular in preaching and teaching. Enlightened Despotism, roughly defined, was the

tendency of absolutist European governments to seek national progress and prosperity

through efficient, centralized government control over all areas of life, but in particular

617 “Havent vingut la noticia de haver mort lo Illm pasat de Barna. Dn Joseph Climent lo dia 4 de Desembre de 1781. Se li feren los 9 tochs de totas las Campanas de la Catedral a las 11 horas abans del mitgdia com a Bisbe que fou de aquesta Ciutat y Diocesi. Y lo dia 6 del present se li fan las honras en la dita Santa Iglesia com a un Canonge Requiescat in pace. En totas las Parroquias se li feren 3 dias de exequias menos en la Iglesia Parroquial del Pi que fou sols un dia per lo Difunt Bisbe que fou de Barna. Dn Joseph Climent, y tambe en la Iglesia de Santa Catarina de

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investing more concern and money on that which developed industry and trade (political

economy) as well as the sciences (medicine, sea navigation, and the academy in general).

Climent’s desire to convene a synod, his reasons for postponing the synod, the

reforms in Barcelona he did effect, and the reactions those reform efforts engendered at

the city and state political levels can all be reduced to terms that portray the tensions

present in eighteenth-century Spain between Enlightened Catholicism as embodied in

Climent and Enlightened Despotism, embodied in the government of the king of Spain,

his Consejo de Castilla, and its henchman in local government posts. The crux of the

matter was that even though the representatives of Enlightened Despotism in Spain

claimed to be the staunchest defenders of Catholicism, they could not exist on an equal

playing field with the advocates of Enlightened Catholicism who, under the auspices of

Tridentine reform, sought to return to the practices of the Early Church and could not

prioritize temporal political demands before the spiritual needs of the Church.

While at times the efforts of Enlightened Despotism benefited the cause(s) of

Enlightened Catholicism, at other times the two became direct competitors. The most

vivid illustration of direct compatibility remains the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 from

Spain and in 1773 their total extinction from Christendom.618 Besides the avenues

opened for greater influence over parishioner spirituality, the cause of Enlightened

Catholicism in Spain also profited from the mass amount of ex-Jesuit wealth that Madrid

re-allocated to the diocesan churches. As bishop of Barcelona, Climent, for example,

Pares Dominicos, ne pagaren un de solemne per dit Illm difunt los seus familiars, etc.” AHCB, Calaix, MS. 201A, (4 XII 1781) P.224-225. 618 See Egido Lopez and Pinedo, Las Causas “Gravísimas” and Dale K. Van Kley, “The Expulsion of the Jesuits,” in Stewart J. Brown and Timothy Tackett, eds, Enlightenment, Reawakening, Revolution, 1660-1815, vol.VII of The Cambridge History of Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).

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happily received thousands of books—the entire library—formerly in the local Jesuit

convent that then became the bulk of the new library at the episcopal seminary that he

would soon open.

The compatibility of Enlightened Despotism and Catholicism, however, always

labored under limitations. For instance, the regalist government in Madrid decided on

whom, how much, and in what manner the ex-Jesuit wealth would be employed.

Climent, against his own wishes, had to cede to the regalist will of Captain General Ricla

and unhappily watch in 1769 as the coat of arms of the king became a permanent exterior

fixture on the former Jesuit convent, the new home of the episcopal seminary.619 Further

incompatibility between Enlightened Despotism and Enlightened Catholicism appeared

when the royal government decided not to re-allocate certain Jesuit wealth to the

institutions of the Church, utilizing it themselves to rival the Church in areas it had

previously monopolized. In January 1768, the former Jesuit seminary of Cordelles in

Barcelona became the “Imperial and Royal Seminary of Our Lady and Santiago of

Cordelles, entrusted to the zeal and direction of our Captain General the Excellent Sr.

Count of Ricla”:

The first day of January 1768 the Seminary will begin to govern itself with the regulations that his Excellency has well formulated, as much for the economy and government of him [Charles III], as for the education of the Seminarians, who will be instructed, more than in just Moral education, on the use of Globes, in Geography, History, and other useful knowledge; and in the classes that will open on the seventh of the same month for the Public, Elementary Education, Grammar, Latin Rhetoric, Latin and Spanish Poetry, and Mathematics.620

619 ADB, Section: Episcopologi de Josep Climent, leg. 3 (unnumbered document on Jesuit wealth). 620 “empezará el dia primero de Enero de 1768 a gobernarse el Seminario con los reglamentos que s.Exc ha tenido a bien formar, asi para la economia y gobierno de él, como para la educacion de los Seminaristas, a quienes a mas de la Moral, se les instruirá particularmente en el uso de los Globos, en la Geografia, Historia, y demas conocimientos utiles: y en las clases que se abrirán el 7 del mismo mes, para el Público,

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Seminaries had always been the domain of either regular or secular clergy. This new

seminary would train future priests to enter the sphere of the Church, conceiving it as a

“Spanish Catholic church” with the king as the religious figurehead.

The expulsion of the Jesuits resulted in a limited gain for some proponents of

Enlightened Catholicism who focused on education. In October of 1767, the Consejo de

Castilla passed a provisión for the reintegration of “School Masters and Secular Tutors in

elementary education, Grammar, and Rhetoric, providing competition for these teaching

positions and professorships, and establishing living spaces and boarding houses for the

School Masters and pupils wherever it be convenient.”621 School masters had always

existed outside of the church as well as inside of it, but it was always implicitly

“Christian education.” This provision, however, besides creating the possibility for an

alternative to Climent’s ten gratis elementary schools, directly funded and grew “public

education” in Spain. Furthermore, the Consejo de Castilla added in 1768 that

“throughout the kingdom, daily affairs and teaching must employ the Castilian

language.”622 So while Enlightened Catholicism might have promoted the use of Catalan

in pastoral work since many in Barcelona only understood Catalan, Climent’s new

las Primeras Letras, Gramatica, y Retorica Latina, Poesia Latina y Española, y las Matematicas.” Gazeta de Barcelona 1767, no.52 (29 Dec): p.464. 621 “Maestros y Preceptores seculares en la enseñanza de las primeras Letras, Gramática, y Retórica, proveyéndose estos Magisterios y Catedras a Oposición, y estableciéndo viviendas y casas de pupilage para los Maestros y Discípulos en los Colegios donde sea conveniente.” Gazeta de Barcelona 1767, no.42 (20 Oct): p.312. 622 “En todo el Reyno se actue y enseñe en lengua Castellana.” Gazeta de Barcelona 1768, no.29 (19 July): p.247.

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elementary schools were required to teach in Castilian.623 (Climent compromised by

providing instructional material with Castilian and Catalan printed side by side.624)

In another area of eighteenth-century life, the regalist government in Madrid

found methods to replace the historic guilds and confraternities all over Spain. Thanks in

part to the economic theories of prominent Madrid bureaucrats Campomanes and

Jovellanos, the establishment of the real monte de piedad occurred all over Spain. Such

theorists believed that guilds and brotherhoods were outdated institutions that drained

money out of the economy and inefficiently provided services.625 While the montes de

piedad did not attempt to replicate the structures of guilds and brotherhoods, they were

set up to serve the same economic function of providing workmen’s compensation and

social security to widows and orphans. Madrid’s goal was that the montes de piedad

would eventually phase out the guilds and confraternities in the case that they could not

outright dissolve them. The success of their ventures was regularly announced in

Barcelona’s gazette:

The Royal Mutual-Benefit Society of this City in this year of 1768 has helped 8745 families with 1,022,852 reales of Catalan currency that its pledges have

623 David A. Bell has written about the French revolutionary government’s attempt to impose the French language on the republic’s large rural minorities and thereby link language and nationality. Bell finds that Roman Catholicism played an influential force in the revolutionary debates over whether to make use of local languages or suppress them—these debates closely tied to the revolutionary restructuring of the Church and waged disproportionately by clerics. Thus, it is possible to argue that French revolutionary nationalism’s goal of forging a single nation out of diverse multilingual populations was a product of and reaction to the Catholic Counter-Reformation goal of bringing these same populations and others together into a single church (even though many clerics argued that the means included the use of the local vernacular rather than the national language). “Lingua Populi, Lingua Dei: Language, Religion, and the Origins of French Revolutionary Nationalism,” American Historical Review 100 (1995, no. 5): pp.1403-1437. 624 AUB, Section: fons antics, 0703B-38/4/8, “Sentencias sacadas de la Sagrada Escritura: vertidas en lengua castellana y catalan e impresos para la ensenyanza de los ninyos de las escuelas del Obispado de Barcelona” (1769). See the next chapter for more on Climent’s schools. 625 See Antonio Rumeu de Armas, Historia de la Previsión Social en España: Cofradías, gremios, hermanidades, montepíos (Barcelona: Ediciones “El Albir”, S.A., 1981).

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amounted to; that of its actions [performance] 975,480 reales of the same currency, having produced the voluntary alms of those and those of the Auction House 23,860 reales and twenty dineros of the referred to currency that were invested into the holy ends for which the Royal Society was founded. 626

Even though guilds and brotherhoods were not major objects of reform for Enlightened

Catholicism, they had historically been established by secular or regular clergy and were

tied to individual churches. The modernizing efforts of Madrid, while their purpose was

to prosper the economy for the good of all, still continued the track of secularization that

shrunk the autonomy of local churches in Spain.

As mentioned earlier, the diocese of Barcelona along with the rest of the

archdiocese of Tarragona had a long history of diocesan synods and provincial councils.

The efforts of Enlightened Despotism had ended that history in the mid-eighteenth

century by changing the system in which the churches collected and submitted their tax to

the king. In the 1760s and 1770s Climent attempted unsuccessfully to re-establish some

synodality or conciliarism—a goal pertaining to Enlightened Catholicism—in the

Catholic Church in Barcelona, failing because in this instance the convocation of such a

synod was too risky against the powerful forces of Enlightened Despotism.

While this chapter has focused on the tensions between Enlightened Catholicism

and Enlightened Despotism embodied in the events of the episcopate of Climent, the

overall success of Climent and his brand of Enlightened Catholicism in Barcelona cannot

be measured adequately by the final result—the forced abdication of Climent as bishop.

626 “El Real Monte de Piedad de esta Ciudad ha socorrido en el presente año de 1768 a 8745 familias con 1,022,852 rs moneda Catalana que han importado sus empeños; el de los desempeños 975,480 rs de la misma moneda, habiendo producido las limosnas voluntarias de estos y los de la Sala de Almonedas 23,860 rs y 20 dineros de la referida moneda que se invierten en los santos fines para que está fundado el mencionado Real Monte.” Gazeta de Barcelona 1769, no.3 (Jan 17): p.28.

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Instead, the success of local programs established and reforms achieved during this time

period show that Enlightened Catholicism was an effective promoter of “Enlightenment”

as defined by the larger European phenomenon. The final chapter of this dissertation

focuses on the reforms of Climent and how they, as part of a program of Enlightened

Catholicism, furthered the expansion of a “public sphere” in Barcelona—a

materialization of the Enlightenment in societal, rather than purely intellectual, terms.

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CHAPTER 6

CATHOLIC REFORM AND ENLIGHTENMENT IN BARCELONA, 1766-1775

Crusading for greater austerity and open deliberative procedures in the form of

councils to bring about a more spiritual church, Climent and his efforts as bishop of

Barcelona reveal a unique side of the Spanish Enlightenment. While most associate the

“republican” virtues of austerity with Enlightenment thinkers such as Rousseau and

Mably, and therefore incompatible with Spanish Catholicism, Climent held such virtues

essential to his program of Catholic reform. For Climent, councils were the ideal

mechanism to restore austerity to the Catholic Church and reform the popular, mostly

external, expressions of Catholic piety in Barcelona. While the issues surrounding the

failure to convene a synod in Barcelona pertained to tensions between a certain

enlightened Catholicism and Enlightened Despotism, as illustrated in the events of

Climent’s episcopate, in this chapter the tenuous relationship between the different

strands of Spanish Enlightenment becomes the context in which the unique nature of

enlightenment in Barcelona proceeded.

Even with the constraints of Enlightened Despotism, “enlightenment” still

occurred in Barcelona because of the larger program of reform which Climent

implemented, despite his inability to convene a diocesan synod. Climent focused on

reform by means of the restructuring of the episcopal seminary’s curriculum, the opening

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of a public library, the establishment of ten gratis elementary schools within the city of

Barcelona, and the prolific publication of religious literature that embodied a “publish-or-

perish (will-your-parish)” attitude, and all of these developments increased literacy and

expanded the print culture available in Barcelona. Climent opted not to take a hard-line

stance against popular religious practices by out-right prohibiting external expressions

such as processions, but he chose instead to foster a more internal spirituality in his

parishioners by means of education and religious instruction that would ideally lead them

to realize the errancy of their ways. Corresponding with the Jansenist trait of seeing the

internal marks of the faith (doctrine, dogma) as more important than the external

markings (how one saw Catholicism expressed), the main objective of Climent’s

episcopacy was to internalize the faith of parishioners. In an environment that promoted

greater understanding and personal reflection on the Catholic faith, it was conceivable

that errant religious practices could be corrected without provoking opposition from the

laity or challenging the political power of Madrid. While it is difficult to gauge the level

of short- or long-term success such a program of enlightened reform achieved, evidence

suggests that such efforts on the whole were quite successful and won a positive

reception among the people of Barcelona.

In looking at Climent’s work in education and literacy in Barcelona, the theory of

Jurgen Habermas is employed to argue that such work promoted a “public sphere” in

Barcelona. Habermas contended that in the eighteenth century with the rise of

capitalism, the bourgeois class that developed transformed the public sphere from one

that was centered in courtly life to one that grew out of developing media forms such as

journals and gazettes and brought about the use of reason among private people coming

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together to form a public. Thus, the center of his treatment concerns the eighteenth

century and presents the Enlightenment as a social as well as an intellectual movement.627

James Van Horn Melton has more recently synthesized the scholarship that the

Habermasian concept initiated among historians of the eighteenth century.628 The public

sphere that Habermas introduced was essentially a Marxist one; the scholarship that

resulted from Habermas’s work, however, has not developed the bourgeois aspect of the

public sphere that Habermas emphasized. Since social cohesion and class consciousness

of the bourgeoisie in Old Regime Europe is widely contested, scholars have instead

characterized this public sphere as “enlightened.” Melton recognizes how exactly the

public sphere materialized by examining the areas of reading, writing, theater, salons,

taverns and coffeehouses, and freemasonry in the eighteenth century. Overall, he pays

close attention to how each of these areas related to the gendered, religious, economic,

social and regional attributes of the public sphere(s). By such a nuanced study, Melton

advances the idea that multiple public spheres co-existed in Enlightenment Europe

because it took on different forms and levels of engagement due to the particular

conditions in each country.

In light of the scholarship of Habermas and that synthesized by Melton, the

expansion of print culture and readership under Climent that promoted a Barcelonese

public sphere placed the episcopacy of Climent within the greater phenomenon of

Enlightenment. In fact, the Enlightenment materialized and permeated to the lower levels

of society in Barcelona under Climent because he made efforts to increase the literacy of

627 See Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. 628 Melton, The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe.

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those who did not have the means to pay for education. He established a lending library

at the seminary that was relatively open to the public (although novels or modern

fictional books were not on the shelves), and he published and widely disseminated his

sermons, pastoral instructions, and other works that promoted a critical Catholic mind

within the city and diocese (in Catalan and Castilian). The overlapping of Catholic

reform and the promotion of a public sphere led to an idea of “Catholic enlightenment,”

and thus furthers the discussion of multiple enlightenments in eighteenth-century Europe

in which the causes of faith and reason are not necessarily opposed to each other.

If one can contend that open forums of discussion enhance a public sphere, then

the convening of councils—open, deliberative governing bodies—can be seen as an

element of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, particularly that associated with

“Classical Republicanism.”629 In the Catholic Church, the regular convening of

provincial councils had been enjoined by the sixteenth-century Council of Trent, but by

the early- to mid-seventeenth century, attempts at holding such councils had become

scattered and almost non-existent. In the eighteenth century and in a context of

enlightenment, the Jansenists of France, Italy, and the Netherlands picked up the torch for

the conciliar aspect of Tridentine reform and became the loudest spokespersons for the

convening of councils. Dutch and exiled French Jansenists held the controversial

Provincial Council of Utrecht in 1763, and the Italian and Austrian Jansenists, the Synod

of Pistoia in 1786. Such councils were full expressions of Jansenism’s eighteenth-

century efforts at reforming the ecclesiastical structure of the Catholic Church, in an

629 See Chapter Two above on Climent’s ecclesiology for an in-depth discussion of classical republicanism.

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attempt to move it from the hierarchical towards a more lateral structure of inter-clerical

relations. As Dale K. Van Kley concludes in Religion and Politics in Enlightenment

Europe, “Whether it be called ‘reform’ Catholicism, ‘enlightened’ Catholicism, or

‘Jansenism,’ the general drift of these efforts tended toward a more deliberative and

decentralized ecclesiastical structure better able to accommodate national liturgical

differences and forms of lay initiative….”630

While synods were not a novelty in the context of the Barcelonese church,

Climent’s 1767 proposal for a synod corresponded with his vision for more lateral,

horizontal relations among clergy rather than the hierarchy perpetuated by Rome. The

idea of convening a council—in this case a diocesan synod—was an integral element of

Climent’s desire to restore the Church to its original ecclesiastical form and to re-

establish the Church’s intended function or spirit in society. Since the diocese of

Barcelona and the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona had historically convened synods

and councils up until only a decade past, Climent would have felt even more justified in

his jurisdiction to convene a synod. Yet the tenuous relations between a certain

enlightened Catholicism and Enlightened Despotism precluded the convocation of a

synod. Whereas the proposed synod would have facilitated the church’s ability under

Climent to isolate key areas in which reform was needed to ensure the proper practice of

Catholicism by laity and clergy alike, the inability to convene one left Climent to

concentrate on other, indirect means to bring about the orthodox understanding of the

faith and the strengthening of ties between parish priests and their parishioners. These

630 For more on the larger context of councils as a form of Tridentine and Jansenist reform, see Van Kley’s chapter on “Catholic Conciliar Reform in an Age of Anti-Catholic Revolution: France, Italy, and the

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indirect means, successfully implemented (at least during Climent’s episcopate), involved

the education of Barcelonese parishioners and the dissemination of literature, promoting a

popular “enlightenment” through the expansion of a public sphere.

Exposing the rise of the “public sphere” in Barcelona and its relationship to the

episcopacy of Climent demands the examination of the secular sponsors of

“enlightenment” and the perspective of these established, local institutions or groups in

order to see how they would have competed with or complemented the efforts of

Climent. In fact, the public sphere as defined by Habermas was completely secular in

nature, leaving out any role for religion, and consisted of private people (albeit

bourgeoisie) coming together in public spaces and using reason to form something of a

“public opinion.” Gazettes and journals mediated such opinion as well as other forums of

discussion such as salons. So the question remains: Did Barcelona have such a secular

public sphere of private people coming together in public, non-religious forums? What

kind of a print culture existed in late eighteenth-century Spain to develop such a public

sphere?

The Secular Public Sphere in Barcelona

Given the importance of censorship in eighteenth-century Spain and the large

disparity between numbers of literate and illiterate Spaniards, it is difficult to discuss the

emergence of a “public sphere” or a level of print culture that reflected the opinion or

attitude of the non-elite of Spanish society (or “the public”). Teófanes Egido Lopez, in

his study Opinión Pública y Oposición al Poder en la España del Siglo XVIII (1713-

Netherlands, 1758-1801” in the edited work by Bradley and Van Kley, Religion and Politics in Enlightenment Europe.

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1759), found that in the first half of the eighteenth century a partido castizo (or a party of

“purebreds”), comprised of aristocrats who had lost power with the transition to Bourbon

centralized government, waged a battle for public opinion through clandestine press,

pamphlets, political satires, and salons critiquing the politics of Philip V and Ferdinand

VI and calling for a return to the governing style of the Habsburg dynasty.631 While in a

few cases popular songs, poems, and satires demonstrate that this group was successful in

galvanizing public opinion (in 1758-1759 with the deaths of Barbara of Braganza and

then that of Ferdinand VI), Egido concludes that overall it is unclear to what extent this

critique penetrated public opinion because it is hard to find print culture from this period

that reflected a “communal sentiment” of Spaniards about state politics.632 Furthermore,

with the inauguration of the reign of Charles III, the party of purebreds became one of

reformistas who clung to a “messianic hoping” that the government of Charles III would

bring a return of lost power. For Egido, this clandestine print culture critiquing Spanish

government only pertains to the first half of the eighteenth century.633

If something that resembled a secular “public sphere” emerged successfully

during the monarchy of Charles III, it did so with the sanction of the Bourbon State.

Given that the Bourbon monarchs, particularly Charles III, embraced and encouraged

certain new ideas associated with “enlightenment,” the Spanish State promoted literacy

631 Egido Lopez, Opinión Pública y Oposición al Poder en la España del Siglo XVIII (1713-1759) (Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid, Secretariado de Publicaciones e Intercambio Editorial, 2002 [1971]), 2nd ed. 632 “La prensa en este momento aparece como formadora y creadora de la opinión en vez de constituir un reflejo del sentir común.” (p.37) “Aunque en algunas ocasiones hayamos podido registrar el encuentro de las directrices de la oposición y la respuesta favorable traducida en la agitación popular, el grado de penetración de esta prensa informal de combate, salvo en raras excepciones, sigue siendo una incognita, y para despejarla se necesitarán nuevos estudios y fuentes nuevas que ojalá se logren descubrir e interpreter.” Egido Lopez, Opinión pública, pp. 37 & 333.

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and print culture to the extent that it led to the development of the sciences and a more

competitive national economy, resulting in new educational institutions throughout Spain

established by the state to advance such developments. In Barcelona this phenomenon

materialized with the state’s founding of the Academy of Medicine, the Colegio of

Surgery, the Junta of Commerce, the Nautical School, the School of Nobles Artes, and

the Academy of Natural Sciences.634 Thus, the enlightenment that was supported and

protected by the state targeted and benefited the social and economic (and sometimes

religious) elite, as it was that group that could effect the state’s desired results. (If this

type of enlightenment created a public sphere, it would necessarily be defined as

aristocratic and limited to a small number of men.)

One way in which this state-sponsored enlightenment materialized was through

the sponsorship of royal academies (reales academias) in different cities in Spain in

which the affluent men of the city and surrounding region could become members. In

Barcelona, the state had a particular interest in solidifying the Catalan capital’s inclusion

and participation in the enlightened program of the Bourbon monarchy—since it would

also solidify the monarchy’s political control over the city and region. Given the amount

of political control and censorship exerted by the Bourbons in the region after the War of

Spanish Succession ended in 1714, it is hardly surprising that a royal academy was

established in Barcelona and that this royal academy would be the main secular sponsor

of enlightenment for Barcelonese society. In fact, the royal academy of Barcelona was

the closest alternative to a secular Habermasian public sphere. Yet, this alternative was

633 “El mesiánico esperar,” Egido Lopez, pp.253-5. 634 Joan Mercader, Els capitans generals, segle XVIII, (Barcelona: Vicens-Vives, 1963), pp.143-147.

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decidedly elitist (non-Bourgeois) and consisted of several Catholic clergy alongside of

the lay members.

As an extension of the Real Academia Española, Spain officially established the

Real Academia de Buenas Letras de la Ciudad de Barcelona in 1752. This organization

replaced and subsumed a local group of men who had, along with their fathers, associated

in salons since the early 1700s, and since the families of its members had become

felipistas (supporters of the Bourbon successor Philip to the Spanish throne) by the end of

War of Succession, the group’s meetings had always been tolerated by Madrid.

Comprised of members of the nobility and as well as secular and regular (Dominican and

Augustinian) clergy, this institution was commissioned by the king to promote the study

of “the sciences” in his dominions.635 Catalan historian Antoni Comas, in his study of the

academy, argues that during the eighteenth century the three main continuities in the

establishment were its interest in history, its cultivation of language (Catalan to a certain

extent), and its interest in poetry.636 While the Academia held regular meetings in

Barcelona, it is difficult to decipher if or how it promoted a public sphere in Barcelona,

since many of its members came from outside of Barcelona, or even Catalonia (coming

from Castile and some from Portugal and Italy) and also since it did not extend its

membership or regularly publish its proceedings. In 1756, the Academia of Barcelona

635 Memorias de la Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona (Barcelona: Academia de Buenas Letras de la Ciudad de Barcelona, 1756), Vol. 1: p. 11. “Que siendo uno de los principales medios para fomentar el estudio, y progresso de las Ciencias, que tanto deseo florezcan en mis Dominios, el establecimiento de Academias, o Juntos de Hombres Estudiosos que con la conferencia se comuniquen sus tareas, y acrisolen sus discursos y descubrimientos….” By 1756, some lawyers and one medical doctor were listed as members. 636 Antoni Comas, L’Acadèmia de Bones Lletres des de la seva fundació l’any 1700 (Barcelona: Reial Acadèmia de les Bones Lletres, 2000).

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published a volume on its membership, history, and goals, but then remained void of

publications until the 1800s.

The volume the Real Academia did publish in 1756 entitled Memorias de la Real

Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona637 does provide information as to who the

group was, where their interests lay, how they functioned as a group, and what was

produced as a result of their efforts. The Academy statutes state that only 40 men could

be actual members of the Academy and that each admittance of membership be done by a

secret vote of the other members.638 As stated in the prologue and Resumen Histórico of

the Academy in the Memorias, the chief objective of the group was to compile and

publish “una Historia completa de Cataluña” (“a complete history of Catalonia”), full

with material on its traditions, “instrumentos” (tools or instruments), seals, coins, and

inscriptions.639 Once compiled, this national and complete history would be given “to the

public in the urgency of truth.”640 A secondary objective of the royal academy of

Barcelona lay in instructing the youth of the nobility in history; natural, moral, and

political philosophies; and in rhetoric and poetry. In the sense that it furthered the study

of the sciences and history, such an agenda made the Real Academia de Barcelona a local

637 Memorias de la Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona (Barcelona: Academia de Buenas Letras de la Ciudad de Barcelona, 1756). The original title of the 1756 volume is Real Academia de Buenas Letras de la ciudad de Barcelona. Origen, progresos, y su primera junta general. 638 However, the list of “actual” members in the volume records 51 individuals (including the president, vice president, and secretary) as well as seven additional “honorary” members, giving the impression that “40” was more of a rough guideline as long as sufficient levels of exclusivity and social hierarchy were being maintained. In 1756, of the 51 members listed 21 were secular or regular clergy, 13 were government officials (mostly lawyers), nine were titled nobility, four were listed solely with the title of “don”, three were affiliated with the university or higher education, and one was a medical doctor. 639 Memorias, prologue and p. 16. 640 “…que se dé al público en el apuro de la verdad…” From page 17 of the Memorias. The attention to “rational” history is part of the Enlightenment’s educational agenda.

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and secular institution of enlightenment—however limited the number of Barcelonese

“enlightened” by its agenda.

In the summary of the history of the royal academy of Barcelona, the detailing of

the meetings (juntas) shows that since its establishment as a narrowly defined group in

May of 1729, the Academy met ideally once a month for about two hours to discuss

literature, to work on and approve its compilation of a “history” of Catalonia, and to vote

on and approve pertinent matters of the Academy, such as the admission of new members

and termination of delinquent (non-participating) members. While the eighteenth century

did not see the publication of the desired “history”—mostly due to lack of funds—the

Academy published two-hundred plus pages of “Observaciones sobre los principios

elementales de la Historia” [“Observations on the basic principals of history”] in 1756,

during its time of highest financial solvency.641 These instructions written for the noble

youth’s study of “history,”642 loosely defined, explained how to criticize literature

(whether classical or contemporary works) by observing different qualities of the author

and manuscript.643 In evaluation of such details and instructions as recorded in the

Memorias, the Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona represented a certain type

641 See Comas’s first chapter of L’Acadèmia de Bones Lletres des de la seva fundació l’any 1700. 642 “para la Joven Nobleza que debe cimentar su estudio en la solidez de la Historia universal.” Memorias, p.103. 643 The most important observations to make in the opinion of the Real Academia concerned the patria and religion of the given literary piece’s author, and then his integrity, prudence, erudition, age, vocation, and time and place. As the reader made observations on these areas of the author, he would be critiquing literature in a scientific way, questioning the truth of what was read by giving considerable weight to the “patriotic” and religious affiliations of the author. It is interesting to note that in the Memorias, the “patria” of the author was something that could give his work a certain trait, stated as the “genio común de la Nación.” Religion on paper should not affect the writing of history, but “what is written on the soul penetrates one’s Naturaleza (nature).” Memorias, pp. 107-8.

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of enlightenment—one that was subservient to the system of privilege in a hierarchical

society as well as to the Bourbon monarchy, and so by definition keeping within the

parameters of orthodox Catholicism but not necessarily in an outright effort to serve it.

Thus, if Climent’s brand of Enlightened Catholicism promoted a public sphere

universally throughout Barcelonese society, then the Real Academia and its members,

sponsoring a public sphere which served the ends of enlightened despotism, would have

no interest in affiliating with or promoting the kind of enlightenment which Climent

desired.

Print Culture in Barcelona

Besides print culture of academies such as the Memorias, the city of Barcelona

had a modest amount of print that circulated, almost exclusively in the Castilian language

and with the approval (“con licencia”) of the absolutist government. Focusing on the

developing censorship in eighteenth-century Spain, Jesús Castañon in his analysis of one

of the more prominent serial publications of Madrid from 1737-1742—El Diario de los

literatos de España—describes the emergence of literary criticism in “journalism” in the

Spanish eighteenth century.644 In qualifying the importance his study, he points out that

while literary critique in journalism had existed almost a century before in other areas of

Europe, it was not until the eighteenth century that Spain began to see such an

emergence, the Diario de literatos of Madrid being one of the first materializations.645 El

644 Jesús Castañón, El Diario de los literatos de España (Madrid: Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, 1971). 645 “…Aparece la nueva Crítica literaria periodística, que, existiendo ya en Europa casi un siglo antes, hace sus primeras armas en nuestra Patria con el Diario de los Literatos de España: 1737-1742.” Castañón, El Diario, p.41. On page 15, Castañón writes that “el primer intento, eficaz y serio, de cimentar la Crítica literaria periodística en nuestra patria lo constituye el Diario de los Literatos de España, Madrid 1737-1742.”

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Diario was an eight-volume series (1737-42) of commentaries on various works and

intellects of the age written in a style of polemic and satire by a small group of intellects

in Madrid who showed a preference for linguistic matters, juridical themes, and the

sponsorship of empiricist “philosophy” in the face of the immobility of the scholastic

one.646 More importantly, however, the Diario was an indicator of a larger cultural

phenomenon in Spain to read and write pamphlets and periodicals. In the Bourbons’

efforts to maintain an absolutist state, Ferdinand VI felt it prudent in 1749, because of

this growing interest in print culture, to issue a decree mandating that all papers, however

brief they may be, have a license solicited in order to gain royal approval for publication.

This control over print culture escalated so that by the end of the century, “censorship had

to adopt… a more intolerant tone with each advance.”647

Compared to the policies of Ferdinand VI, Charles III introduced more freedom

of press in Spain, inspired by the French and British press and primarily through the

promotion of weekly and ad-hoc daily newspapers that communicated (only the) current

European events that the regalist government wanted to make known to its public. While

periodicals in Spain at this time were showing “a greater intent to be ‘enlightened’,

646 Castañon, p. 13. 647 “… y la censura tuvo que adoptar, a lo largo del siglo, un tono cada vez más intolerante, especialmente en tiempos del Juez de Imprentas don Juan Curiel.” Castañón, El Diario, p.6. Teófanes Egido López outlines a considerable opposition movement in early eighteenth-century Spain fueled by the bitterness and resentment of the former grandees of Spain who had suffered a loss of political power and social prestige because of the Bourbon program to dislodge them from power between 1700-1759. Such opposition sparked a pamphlet war between the Bourbon government and the grandees, many times employing political satire to express grievances. Yet Egido concludes that neither side represented a genuine expression of Spanish public opinion. See Egido’s conclusions on pages 331-333 of Opinión Pública. Or for an example of political satire in the mid-eighteenth century that labeled “political, clandestine journalism,” see Egido’s Prensa clandestina española del siglo XVIII: “El Duende Crítico” (Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid, 2002), p.23.

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didactic, utilitarian, and critical,” these intentions, however, were heavily concentrated in

communicating information on “economic societies founded all over Spain after

1765.”648 In Barcelona and its surrounding area, more government-approved periodicals

circulated as well, although not nearly to the extent that they did in Madrid. While

Madrid published 140 different periodicals over the course of the century, Barcelona did

not even reach a tenth of that number, and of those publications all but one were copies of

those that came out of Madrid. The Gazeta de Barcelona was one such periodical that

was essentially the “Gazette of Madrid” with a few additions of local news, and during

the episcopate of Climent it was published weekly, Maldà also making occasionally

mentioning it in Calaix.649 Before 1792, the only original periodical to come out of

Barcelona was also the only one published a daily basis—the Diario Curioso, Histórico,

Erudito, Comercial, Público y Económico in January and February of 1762, later

becoming the Diario Curioso, Histórico, Erudito, Comercial, Civil y Económico in June

1772 until July 1773.650 Despite its uniqueness and being the first daily periodical of

Barcelona, the Diario published little news and mostly hagiography, history, and literary

648 “…Aquests periòdics del vint primers anys del regnat de Carles III es diferencien molt de la premsa anterior, notant-s’hi sobretot una major intenció <<il.lustrada>>, didàctica, ultilitària I crítica en la qual queden reflectides les preocupacions de les societats econòmiques fundades arreu d’Espanya a partir de 1765.” Henry Ettinghausen, “La premsa a Catalunya abans de 1792,” 200 Anys de Premsa diària a Catalunya (Barcelona: Fundació Caixa de Catalunya, 1992): P.36. 649 AHCB, Gazeta de Barcelona, Manuscript R. s.d. 8 (1766-1775). 650 Pedro Angel de Tarazona, Diario Curioso, Histórico, Erudito, Comercial, Público y Económico (Barcelona: Imprenta de Cristoval Escuder, 1762); Diario Curioso, Histórico, Erudito, Comercial, Civil y Económico (Barcelona: Imprenta de Juan Forns, de Carlos Casas, y de Juan Centene librero; 1772-1773). Both periodicals are found in the Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona.

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columns, leading historians to conclude that the Barcelonese press in the eighteenth

century was meagre and unoriginal.651

Besides periodicals and pamphlets, books were an important part of print culture

in Barcelona. Various printers in the city center published books on commerce and

maritime trade, agriculture, poetry, and religious histories of particular saints as well as

the history of the Society of Jesus.652 Overall, the books available represented a mixture

of mostly religious and some secular topics. Demonstrating the way in which both

religious and secular themes were represented on bookshelves, one publishing house that

worked with Climent and the Barcelonese Church inserted a list of twenty-four books as

a “general assortment” of what was available at its bookstore in one of its 1785

publications called Vicios de las Tertulias [Vices of the Salons].653 Citing the titles of the

books, many of which were translations of works known and read by Jansenists in France

and Austria, the Piferrer publishing house seems to have been a sort of “Jansenist”

bookstore, yet it also vended popular literature such as La Economía de la vida humana

(The Economy of Human Life), Academia Doméstica (Domestic Academics), La

Infancia Ilustrada (Enlightened Infancy), and even Fábulas literarias por Don Thomás

de Yriarte en 40 géneros de metro (Literary Fables by Don Thomas de Yriarte in 40

651 See Ettinghausen; Joan Torrent and Rafael Tasis, Història de la premsa catalana (Barcelona: Editorial Bruguera, 1966), vol.I: pp.31-32; Paul Guinard, La Presse espagnole de 1737 à 1791, formation et signification d'un genre (Paris: Centre de recherches hispaniques, Institut d'études hispaniques, 1973): pp.209-215. 652 By inputting “Barcelona” as a publication location in the whole of the eighteenth century, the web-based database Worldcat produces a list of about 100 books whose titles reflect these topics. 653 Gabriel Quijano (Priest of the Benedictine Order), Vicios de las Tertulias y concurrencias del tiempo; excesos y perjuicios de las conversaciones del dia, llamadas por otro nombre CORTEJOS: DESCUBIERTOS, demostrados y confutados en seis conversaciones entre un eclesiástico, y una dama, o señora distinguida por D. Gabriel Quijajo, Presbytero O.S.B. (Con licencia) (Barcelona: Por Eulalia Piferrer Viuda, vendese en su Librería, administrada por Juan Sellent, 1785).

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Genres of Meter). In his dissertation on books in eighteenth-century Barcelona, Javier

Burgos Rincón found from the records of notaries that one-third of the Barcelonese

estates inventoried post mortem contained at least one book.654 From the book titles

listed, thirty-five to forty percent were religious literature—mostly hagiography or moral

(over dogmatic) theology out of the scholastic tradition. In addition, Jesuit titles

abounded over those of Jansenism which always proceeded from a foreign country. A

close second category in numbers of texts was that of humanities, comprised of a larger

subcategory of history. Overall, the titles were almost exclusively in Castilian instead of

Catalan.

But not only do the notary records indicate the types and numbers of books, they

also reveal the kinds of people who were reading them. Not surprisingly, Burgos found

that the different-sized groups of people and the percentage of which owned books

corresponded to a “pyramid of cultural hierarchy.” While the clergy were small in

numbers relative to other groups, they remained atop the pyramid since one-hundred

percent of their inventories listed at least one book (the Bible being an obligatory

possession). Greater in numbers were the lawyers and doctors who nearly all owned at

least one book. Ninety percent of titled nobility owned books; and over sixty-five

percent of large-scale merchants; sixty percent of non-titled nobility; one-third of small-

scale merchants; one-fourth of civil servants; eighteen percent of artisans; and well under

ten percent of a group which included farmers living in the city, wage-workers, and

servants, were listed as owning at least one book in all the notary records of the

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eighteenth century.655 Since these percentages do not account for book-owning trends

within the century, Burgos added that in the second-half of the century the percentage of

artisan book possession doubled, the number of lawyers and doctors owning books

became extremely high, and overall the size of personal libraries increased (particularly

those containing at least ninety-nine books, owned by titled nobility, high clergy, and

some doctors and lawyers). Given the particular groups of people and the types of books

they owned, Burgos concluded that Barcelonese reading society was “in between

modernity and tradition.”656

On the whole this context of print culture in Barcelona seems representative of a

Catholic society whose eighteenth-century experience of “enlightenment” was

intertwined with maintaining a Catholic identity. Furthermore, while not ruling out the

influence of periodicals or pamphlets filtering in from other parts of Spain or France, the

indigenous promotion of print culture and the rise of a public sphere from secular sources

in Barcelona appears to have existed only to the extent that it promoted “enlightenment”

of and for the nobility and people with substantial economic means. The forty-plus

members of the Real Academia de Buenas Letras and the various salons held in the

members’ houses concerned themselves with keeping class boundaries air-tight and

perpetuating the nobility. Since the only “enlightened show” in town was that of the Real

Academia, catering to the elite of Barcelonese society, Climent’s program of education

654 Javier Burgos Rincón, “Imprenta y Cultura del Libro en la Barcelona del Setecientos (1680-1808),” doctoral dissertation (Department of Modern and Contemporary History: Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, November 1993). 655 Burgos Rincón, 795-796. 656 “Una sociedad lectora barcelonesa a caballo entre la modernidad y la tradición.” Burgos Rincón, p.800.

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and literacy was all the more important in bringing “enlightenment” to the non-elite of

Barcelona. Under such circumstances, enlightenment in Barcelona took on a very

Catholic form, as the “popular” brand was sponsored by a bishop.

The majority of the non-elite of Barcelona, if they read at all, read in Catalan.

While Catalan historian Antoni Comas, in his study of the Real Academia, gave credit to

the elite body for its interest in cultivating the Catalan language and maintaining its

importance, its actual utilization of Catalan did not go beyond the discussion of Catalan

poetry and a handful of other Catalan works. (It published in Castilian.) Comas qualifies

this by contextualizing the group’s Catalan interest within a time of strong centralizing

influence and pressure from Madrid against the use of the Catalan language.657 Yet from

1766 to 1775 Climent took it a step further than the Real Academia and actively used

Catalan as a pastoral language,658 accepting it as an official language of preaching,

teaching, or communication between priests and parishioners throughout the Barcelona

diocese.

Climent’s motives for promoting the use of Catalan, in a time of such pressure

from Madrid against its use, were more concerned with practicality than national pride.

Climent’s goal as the shepherd of the Barcelonese flock was to reform the local religious

657 Comas, p.40. Of particular note is the apendix in the 1756 volume of Memorias written by a prominent member, the Marqués de Llió. Llió writes about romance vulgar (vulgar latin), vindicating the Catalan language “with two titles of nobility, having been the language of popes and kings and being the first of all romance languages.” [Veiem, doncs, com el català en els moments de més indefensió és enaltit a l’Acadèmia amb dos grans títols de noblesa: haver estat llengua de papes i de reis i ésser la primogènita de les llengües neollatines.] 658 See www.arqbcn.org/historia.html, the website of the archdiocese of Barcelona, written by archivist Dr. Josep Maria Marti Bonet. In seventeenth-century Habsburg Spain, the debate raged regarding which languages were acceptable in religious instruction. Ultimately, Catalan was approved as such a language in the Catholic Church in Spain. See El Catecismo romano ante Felipe II y la Inquisición Española by Pedro Rodríguez (Madrid: Ediciones RIALP, 1998).

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practices of his “sheep.” The use of Catalan in the Church would only enhance

communication between priests and parishioners, increasing the likelihood that errant

practices could be eradicated through Catalan preaching and education. The idea was

that parishioners lived in the darkness, not having access to scripture or catechisms in

their first language. Without the lights of scripture or Catholic doctrine, Catalan

parishioners negotiated their expressions of Catholicism by how particular saints

intervened on their behalf in droughts, famines, storms, epidemics, etc. The fervent

devotion to saints led to an overabundance of saints’ days, and by extension more

veneration of images, processions, feasts, and dances.659 Thus, Climent believed that if

the laity could have access to these lights of scripture and Catholic doctrine, it would

entail a more profound understanding of the faith and promote internal piety on a daily

basis at the expense of outward, external manifestations of Catholic devotion.

Educational Reforms in Barcelona: The Episcopal Seminary and Public Education in the

City

Outright mandates prohibiting processions, feasts, dances, or devotions to saints

would not have clearly communicated to parishioners in general the reasons behind such

decisions. For Climent, the goal of dissipating the darkness that the Barcelonese flock

lived in could only be achieved by promoting an internalization of the Catholic faith by

means of religious instruction. He clearly spelled this out in his first sermon as bishop:

My will, my desire has to direct itself to the end that there be little harmful influence and few scandals. And in order to achieve this, the arms of my militia do not have to be physical [of the flesh] but rather spiritual, such as those of Saint

659 Studies that have addressed such practices and the role of saints and miracles in other parts of Spain include: Christian, Local Religion in Sixteenth-Century Spain and Sara Nalle, God in La Mancha: Religious Reform and the People of Cuenca, 1500-1650 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992).

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Paul. I mean to say: I do not have to make use of harsh or violent measures because I do not figure myself to be [violent or harsh], like the Princes of Peoples who, according to what the Lord said, dominate and oppress them. Instead I conform myself to doctrine and the example of our Divine Master…660

Climent sought to strengthen this means of reform by training priests to be agents of

“enlightenment.” While the Jesuit theological influence which tended to promote

external manifestations of parishioner piety had permeated the episcopal seminary of

Barcelona, Climent found that with the Jesuit expulsion the time was at hand to diminish

that influence and reform the education of those who would become educators in order to

dissipate the darkness of image-veneration and other wayward Catholic devotion. Such

reform would also allow for the possibility of a public sphere in the diocese of Barcelona

if such priestly education could take root.

For education reform to be widespread in the diocese, Climent had to take aim at

the seminary of Barcelona which had been founded in 1593 by the bishop of Barcelona in

response to Tridentine mandates. In the seventeenth century, the episcopal seminary had

enjoyed close ties with the University of Barcelona and the Dominican order, but

inadequate financing limited their enrollment. While the number of students they

matriculated increased dramatically in the eighteenth century (42 students in 1736), the

episcopal seminary held much less social prestige than the Jesuit seminary of Cordelles

and had to compete for society’s finest clientele.

The list of seminary students in 1737 included only one “Don,” whereas all 35 Cordelles matriculants in 1762 boasted that honorific distinction. The subject matter taught in the seminary also reflected the lower social standing of its

660 “Mi solicitud, mi deseo se ha de dirigir al fin, de que sea poca la zizaña, pocos los escandalos. Y para conseguirlo, no han de ser carnales las armas de mi milicia, sino espirituales, como las de San Pablo; quiero decir: no he de valerme de medios duros, violentos: porque no me figuro ser, como los Principes de las Gentes, que segun dijo el Señor, las dominan y oprimen; sino que, conformandome con la doctrina y ejemplo de nuestro Divino Maestro....” Climent, “Primer Sermon”, Colección, vol.1: pp.117-118.

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clientele. Its ordinances show far less concern for the politesse, etiquette, and social separation prevailing at the Jesuit school. Its curriculum also reveals stronger resistance to the teaching of physical science, in contrast with the Jesuits’ well-known fondness for mathematics.661 In 1768, Climent proposed an overhaul of the episcopal seminary curriculum, for

the proper instruction of future clergy. While the expulsion of the Jesuits as an order

occurred on 2 April 1767, the Consejo Extraordinario created by the Spanish government

did not give the royal order to abolish the “Jesuit school” or announce the reform of

philosophical, theological, and moral studies until August of 1768.662 With the royal

decree of the extinction of the Jesuit school, Climent saw his opportunity not only to

distance the clergy from Jesuit works on speculative and moral theology in an effort to

wipe out the traces of they moral laxism they promoted but also to make the episcopal

seminary the seminary in Barcelona by revamping its prestige with better curricula and

students.

By the end of that September, Climent sent a letter to the presidents and students

of the academies of moral theology in the seminary of Barcelona, announcing his

proposed curricula for the new courses. By November of the same year, the letter was

not only published in pamphlet-form in Barcelona but also in Madrid, further

disseminating Climent’s ideas on reform.663 As Climent stated, the overarching goal was

to reform “the customs of our flock.”664 The future clergy, therefore, needed preparation

661 Amelang, Honored Citizens, p.169. 662 Luis Sánchez Agesta, El pensamiento político del despotismo ilustrado (Madrid: Instituto de Estudios Políticos, 1953), pp.109-13. “Lo Rey ab decret real manà extinguir en tots sos renyes las càthedras de la escola dita jesuítica y que no se usia de autors jesuitas per la ensenyanza…peró est decret sa ha poch observat.” 663 Gazeta de Barcelona 1768, no.46 (15 November): p.396.

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for achieving this goal by studying works that introduced them to Scripture, the acts of

Councils, and the works or writings of “Holy Fathers” of the Church such as Augustine

or Thomas Aquinas—works that “might have been extinct from Spain, if a just and

superior providence had not expelled from her those [Jesuits].”665 As reading for his

pastors-in-training, Climent focused most of his attention on the use of the Summa of

Thomas Aquinas and the Suma of Vincent Ferrer, as both works (in a scholastic manner)

demonstrated Catholic theological tenets with references of Scripture, Councils, and

Church fathers.666 Other recommended authors and works included Melchor Cano’s

Locis Theologicis, the acts of the Council of Trent, the writings of Fray Luis de Granada,

and not surprisingly those of Carlos Borromeo as well as Claude Fleury’s Mœurs des

Israelïtes and Mœurs des Chrétiens.

In his letter to the teachers and students of theology of Barcelona (also published

in the Nouvelles Ecclésiastiques of 27 September 1769), emphasizing a return to the spirit

of the early Church, Climent maintained that theology must be studied from its “very

source” and was careful to point this out because most of the theological works published

in Spain since the end of the seventeenth century had not used or incorporated Scripture

or conciliar authority. Instead, because of the theologically laxist influence of the Jesuits,

664 “Para que siendo fieles cooperadores nuestros tengamos el gozo de ver logrado el santo designio de la reforma de las costumbres de nuestros feligreses.” Climent, “Carta a los Presidentes y Estudiantes de las Conferencias o Academias de Teología Moral de esta Ciudad,” Colección, Vol 1: pp.186-7. 665 “…En pena de haber sido la causa de que se apolilláran en las librerías los Concilios y obras de los Santos Padres: las quales quizá se hubieran extinguido en Espana, si una justa superior providencia no hubiera expelido de ella a los que (decimos lo que todos saben, y lo mismo que años ha decíamos) notaban de Hereges, o de sospechosos de heregía a quantos escribían y estudia ban los libros de Teología Moral….” Climent, “Carta a los Presidentes y Estudiantes”, Colección, Vol.I: pp.168-9. 666 It is of interest to note that after the expulsion of the Jesuits, the Dominicans became the next order to monopolize theological instruction. Although Climent was not affiliated with Dominicans, he had to

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they had critiqued the opinions of other Catholics. Climent proposed that they commence

studying ethics through curricula that adhered to the readings of conciliar decrees and the

Church fathers, while at the same time examining whether the material conformed to the

word of God.667 Thus, there was an ultimate emphasis on the “very source” of Scripture

rather than human opinion.

Among the works entrenched in Spanish theological curricula but faulted by

Climent were those by the Spaniard Vincent Ferrer. Climent revered Ferrer but objected

to his views on the sacrament of penitence. While Ferrer had held that attrition was a

sufficient disposition of confession, Climent maintained that attrition could never satisfy

the requirements of penitence, yet he did not go as far as Luther to hold that the fear of

hell (as a basis for embracing the gospel) was a sin.668 Only a contrite heart, a heart of

true love for God, would satisfy the requirements of absolution before God—overall, a

classic Jansenist position. Furthermore, this was a departure from years under the

dominant influence of the Jesuits in which only a fear of punishment for sin was needed

to have one’s sins pardoned. Climent attempted to convince the students and professors

of theology that Augustine held that the beginnings of love for God were a necessary

element in penitence. Looking to his Catholic brothers in France, Climent pointed to the

French theologian Jacob Bossuet as refuting the sufficiency of basic attrition and the

Faculty of Theology in Paris as declaring love for God to be necessary in the Sacrament

consider the Dominican contingent in Barcelona when he selected the new curricula for theological studies. Tort i Mitjans, p. 169. 667 “Suite des Nouvelles Ecclésiastiques du 27 septembre 1769,” Les Nouvelles Ecclésiastiques, 153-155. 668 Ibid, 154.

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of Penitence in 1716.669 As defined by the Council of Trent, the sacrament of penitence

was a “laborious baptism.” Unfortunately, “Christians do not believe or know [this].”670

Climent spelled out that training priests to explain the catechism in the vernacular and in

a manner in which all people could grasp was an integral step in communicating this

necessity to parishioners. Ecclesiastical discipline had to be reestablished so that the

faithful would actively seek assurance of full conversion of their hearts to God.

The larger theme of Climent’s letter was a condemnation of Molinism and

Probabilism671 that the Jesuits had made popular by the seventeenth century and that had

disturbed Augustinian and Thomist Catholics alike because such moral and speculative

theologies contradicted the teachings of Augustine and Aquinas, particularly regarding

the grace of God. In particular, such theologies had led to a less strict observance of the

Sacrament of Penitence as well as a looser definition of what was an indulgence and

more obscurity regarding God’s remission of sin. Thus, on the parish level such

theologies had the tendency to make sacraments more external motions to go through

rather than meaningful expressions of an internalized faith. Because the existence of

Jesuit authors and doctrine was quite prevalent among the clergy due to pre-1767 Jesuit

involvement in educational institutions in Barcelona, Climent called upon the professors

and students of the Colegio Episcopal to cease reading and studying works that contained

669 Climent, “Carta a los Presidentes y Estudiantes,” Colección, Vol. I: pp.174-177. 670 “Suite des Nouvelles Ecclésiastiques du 27 septembre 1769,” p.155. 671 Molinism, briefly defined, was a system adopted by the Jesuits, among other Catholics, that reconciled the mysterious relationship between God’s efficacious grace and human free will by emphasizing the freedom of the will and de-emphasizing the role of Divine grace in the work of salvation of the individual. Probabilism contended that, when there was a question of whether a particular action adhered to the law of God, the individual could follow any slightly probable opinion postulated by any given theologian (rather than directly consulting Scripture and doctrine) in favor of the liberty to perform that action. Thus, in the morally laxist interpretation, one could act freely and without guilt of conscience.

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Probabilist maxims. Directly citing the French Abbé Mably, “one could learn more about

moral behavior and knowledge from the Officiis that Cicero wrote than from such works

[of probabilism and scholastic theology].”672

In fact, Climent even recommended that theology students learn French in order

to take full advantage of all of the instructive books written on moral theology and

ecclesiastical history (by Jansenists); however, a reader of French must refrain from

reading Voltaire because “between the flowers of erudition and eloquence one finds

venomous asps of impiety.”673 In saying this, Climent himself distinguished between

different definitions of Enlightenment in the later eighteenth century: he associated the

enlightenment of Voltaire with impiety since it advocated the de-establishment of

religious institutions—namely the Catholic Church—as bastions of society. On the other

hand, the enlightenment associated with the Jansenists in France and the push for an

“enlightening” of the Catholic Church (primarily through the convening of councils) was

one that Climent advocated and promoted by means of curricula reform at the episcopal

seminary. The new curriculum—emphasizing the “very sources” of Scripture, acts of

Church councils, and patristic theology that supported the use of councils and a return to

the austerity of the early Church—of Climent’s seminary reform was an implementation

of enlightenment associated with classical republicanism.

672 “De modo, que el doctísimo Padre Mabillon no reparó en decir, que las reglas de las costumbres y ciencia moral se aprende major, que en tales obras, en la de Officiis, que escribió Ciceron.” Climent, “Carta a los Presidentes y Estudiantes,” Colección, vol I: p.168. 673 “Las Obras de Voltaire: porque en todas y especialmente en las que ha publicado [Voltaire] en prosa, se hallan mezclados, entre las flores de la erudicion y eloquencia, los venenosos aspides de la impiedad….” AUB, section: fons antics, 0703B-38/4/8, no.6 bis. p.7, “Carta del Il.mo Señor Don Josef Climent, Obispo de Barcelona a la Exc.ma Señora Doña Maria Francisca de Portocarrero, Condesa del Montijo” (30 V 1774).

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Not only curriculum changes, but also a change of location and student profile for

the seminary occurred. While the students coming from the Jesuit seminary of Cordelles

might have always thought themselves of a higher social status than the rest of the

seminary students, Climent tried for his part to ensure that teachers not show any

prejudice against the ex-Jesuit students in order to promote friendship and equality

among seminary students. If a student coming from the episcopal seminary was honored

for academic merit, then a student who originated in the Jesuit school of Cordelles would

also be honored.674 Furthermore, the seminary had established its residence in the convent

of the nuns of Virgin Mary of Montealegre in 1593 (since only two such nuns were left),

but with the Jesuits gone, Barcelona’s prestigious Colegio de Belén was left a vacant

building. Madrid designated the property as now belonging to the diocese and for the use

of its secular clergy. While Climent was disheartened at Madrid’s insistence that the

shield of the monarchy rather than of Barcelona’s episcopacy be mounted on the outside

of the building, he had the Tridentine seminary moved to this ex-Jesuit turf in 1771 and

renamed the institution the Colegio episcopal de Nuestra Señora de Montalegre—

becoming the principal center of higher education in the city of Barcelona.675

One of the first efforts made to ensure a better understanding of the Catholic faith

among parishioners during Climent’s episcopate was the immediate establishment of ten

elementary schools in the city of Barcelona. While the University of Barcelona had been

closed by the Bourbons in 1714 and the Jesuits’ predominant influence in educating elite

youth had been eradicated with their expulsion in 1767, Climent had to contend with a

674 Tort i Mitjans, p.177.

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low number of university-trained adults as well as the recent decrease in educational

institutions that trained youth. By July of 1767, Climent successfully established free

elementary education for the youth of the city, working toward greater literacy of the

general public, beyond traditional class lines.676

Climent announced his plan to set up the gratis schools on June 26, 1767 and

stated in that announcement that they would begin to receive students by the end of that

month. As, “the good of the Church and the State principally depends on the rational

Christian education of the youth” (emphasis mine), Climent stated that the most useful

means to that end were the establishment of “public schools” designed for children to

learn primeras letras (elementary education) and the “rudiments of religion.”677 While

Climent noted that most medium-sized towns in the bishopric of Barcelona had a

sufficient number of teachers maintained by the community, in the city of Barcelona only

individuals who had the means to hire teachers could educate their children, and Climent

lamented that this led to the youth of the poor “roaming lost on the streets.”678

To provide for the education of the city’s youth, the bishopric of Barcelona

established the elementary schools in ten corresponding “conventos” or monasteries.679

675 In 1775, as a parting act as bishop, Climent established 118 chaplaincies from the “Plan Beneficial.” Tort I Mitjans, p.178. 676 The ten schools Climent established in 1767 targeted the education of boys rather than girls, since the city was void of such schools for boys but already had four established charitable schools specifically for girls run by nuns. 677 “El bien de la Iglesia y del Estado principalmente depende de la racional christiana educación de la juventud.” Climent, “Edicto para dar noticia a sus feligreses del establecimiento de las escuelas de primeras letras,” Colección, vol. 1: p.133. 678 “Son innumerables los niños pobres que andan perdidos por esas calles.” Climent, “Edicto para dar noticia,” Colección, Vol.1: p.134.

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The funding set forth for this project came primarily out of the rentas or annual income

of the see of Barcelona.680 As the location of such schools were pre-existing convents or

monasteries, the funds were dedicated mainly to supplying materials and curricula for the

students. Since the targeted public of this project was the urban poor, the schools were to

provide the reading primers and catechisms for those who could not afford them.

Moreover, the convents used in the project were from different areas of the city so that

the children of various neighborhoods could attend without having to travel long

distances.681 The episcopacy of Climent targeted the regular clergy (instead of the

secular) to be the main supporters of this project since there was always at least one

member of a convent devoted to education in terms of the instruction of reading, writing,

and Christian doctrine, and using regulars as teachers alleviated the need to pay seculars

or independent schoolmasters. Even though the regulars were not bound by any

obligations outside of their order and thus did not have to comply with his plan, Climent

had persuaded the orders associated with the ten convents—specifically, Dominicans,

Franciscans, Augustinians, Carmelites, Mercedarians, Cayetanos, and Trinitarians—to

give freely of their services by reminding them of their duty to help their bishop and

parish priests and that their vocation as preachers and confessors was akin to the pastoral

679 The convents, abbeys, or monasteries were those of San Domingo, San Francisco, San Agustin, nuestra Señora del Carmen, de la Merced, del buen Suceso, Santísima Trinidad, San Francisco de Paula, San Cayetano, and San Sebastian. 680 Climent spent 1000 pounds (libras) of his monthly salary to start up the ten gratis schools. Tort I Mitjans, p.80-1. 681 Climent, “Edicto para dar noticia,” Colección, vol. I: pp. 137-142. While this phrase gives the impression that the urban economy might be at a low-point, it is important to note that it started to improve at about this time so that when describing a map dated to 1765-1775 modern scholars would write: “in the last third of the eighteenth century a transformation process of the city begins, which is to be decisive. Inside the structure of the militarized city, an economical revival takes place… which, little by little,

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ministry of the Church of Barcelona. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the Jesuit

expulsion, the regular orders were all, in a sense, “on probation” in Spain. Since one of

the projects of Enlightened Catholicism was to develop the regular clergy into a clergy

which had a more useful function in society, the news of this project of “Catholic

Enlightenment” won positive responses in other parts of Europe, demonstrating the high

esteem in which Climent’s counterparts held him.682

Climent added another twist on the duty of the regular clergy in this venture by

linking service to the king as falling under their duty to serve God. The expulsion of the

Jesuit order from Spain earlier that year had left a large vacancy in the work in education

of laity, and in Barcelona that vacancy occurred with the closing of the Jesuit Colegio de

Belén y de Cordelles. During the first month that the free elementary schools were open

in Barcelona, Climent took the opportunity to write to the king to give him “new proof”

that the various religious orders were demonstrating useful service to the Church and

State by dedicating their time to teaching the children of the city.683 And as the Minister

of Grace and Justice Manuel de Roda replied, the king was thankful for the work done in

establishing such schools “so that those that the regulars of the Company had possessed

would not be missed.”684 While the regular clergy of Barcelona had complied with

Climent’s wishes out of their religious zeal (according to Climent), Climent warned them

influences the urban structure.” See Montserrat Galera, Francesc Roca, and Salvador Tarragó, Altas de Barcelona, 2nd ed. (Barcelona: Col.legi Oficial d’Arquitectes de Catalunya, 1995), pp.230-1. 682 The Abbé Clément praised the project, as did the Archbishop of Lyon Antonio Malvin. ASSP, CC, MS. 1289, letter of Clément to Climent, June 1769, folio 230. For, the Archbishop of Lyon, see Appolis, Le tiers parti, p.474. 683 A “nueva prueba.” Climent, “Carta a los Prelados de las Religiones en cuyos Conventos se han establecido nuevamente Escuelas,” Colección, vol.1: p.145. 684 “Para que no se echen menos las que tenían los Regulares de la Compañía.” Ibid, p.146.

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that given the recent expulsion of one religious order, it did not do the other orders any

harm to remind the king of their allegiance and show service in this regard.

Such schools promoted the literacy of a large percentage of the urban youth of

Barcelona who previously did not have such an opportunity. Yet, the realities of

providing for the day-to-day existence of a family had forced many Barcelonese parents

to employ their children as early as five years of age. Climent could advertise all of the

benefits an education would give their children, but he could not guarantee that long-term

benefits would win out over the short-term in the eyes of the urban poor. Climent warned

in his edict on the new schools, “Do not be so rebellious to the will of God or cruel to

your children that for the vile interest of a small daily wage that they can earn from the

age of five to ten or twelve years, you would miss the opportunity that is offered to you

that they be rational and virtuous.”685 The edict was published and available in stores that

sold the Gazeta by June 30, 1767, the proceeds of which went to a charity for poor

women.686 In “The Responses,” the city parish priests indicated that such words did not

go completely unheeded, thanking him for the wise foresight he showed in educating

boys (in Christian doctrine), but they also pointed out that for those children who were

poor and worked in factories other means were necessary to achieve complete success in

their education.687

685 “No…seais tan rebeldes a la voluntad de Dios y tan crueles con vuestros hijos que por el vil interes del corto jornal que ellos puedan ganar desde los cinco a los diez o doce años de edad, querais malograr la ocasión que se os ofrece, de que sean racionales y virtuosos.” Climent, “Edicto para dar noticia,” Colección, vol.1: p.142. 686 Gazeta de Barcelona 1767, no.26 (June 30): p.220. 687 “Primerament en quant al punt de la ensenyanza de la Doctrina despues de donar a VSI las degudas gracias de la sabia providencia de ferla ensenyar als minyons, [the city parish priests] esperan que lo zel de VSI li sugerirá medis per que se logra la Instruccio per las minyonas; per los qui van per las Fabricas , y per

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Regardless of the success of Climent’s warning among the city poor who lived a

hand-to-mouth existence, the schools generated plenty of popular demand—even among

those who had the means to pay for their children’s education in the past—making

Climent’s gratis schools a lasting feature the city. Such efforts toward greater literacy

among the general public were not necessarily good news for those in Barcelona who

profited from schools featuring teachers of a high social pedigree, and, as documentation

from the Audiencia of Aragón makes clear after this date, these men contested free

elementary education before losing their livelihood. For some time in Barcelona, the

Brotherhood of San Casiano had run its own Colegio de Primeras Letras, consisting of

twenty-two to twenty-four private schools throughout the city. Since the appearance of

the gratis schools, however, the brotherhood was left each day with fewer pupils—all in

all, an insufficient number of matriculants to pay its schoolmasters. Facing school

bankruptcy, the brotherhood made court appeals to the Audiencia of Aragón (eventually

gaining the attention of the Council of Castile) in 1767, 1770, and 1772 based on its

previous official approval from both regal and municipal authorities and bargained that it

would admit poor pupils if the king were to grant them funds originating from

expropriated Jesuit wealth. Climent, on the other hand, had been wise in planning the ten

schools and immediately petitioned Manuel de Roda for royal approval of free

elementary schools in July 1767. Since the response Climent received was a letter from

los Pobres.” ADB, “The Responses,” Letter of Barcelona city parish priests. (Even though there were four schools for poor girls in the city of Barcelona, there are still poor girls who are put to work who do not receive an education.)

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the king blessing the project as service to both the Church and the king, the Council of

Castile could do nothing in defense of the Brotherhood of San Casiano’s colegios.688

By July of 1769 Climent published his Sentencias sacadas de la Sagrada

Escritura “for the instruction of children in the schools of the bishopric of Barcelona.”689

Going beyond teaching the basics of reading and writing, the schools also aimed at

educating children on Christian virtue. In his aim of enlightening Catholic faith through

education in these schools, Climent’s Sentencias underscore his efforts at teaching youths

Christian doctrine by translating scripture not only into Castilian but also Catalan—the

primary language of Barcelona—enabling an easier grasp of scripture for the many not

well-versed in Castilian. Although similar to Catalan, Castilian was still a separate and,

thus, second language for those native to the diocese of Barcelona. Proficiency in

Castilian was something of a mark of education, and even though it was imposed

increasingly as the official language of Bourbon Spain, Catalan remained the

“vernacular” for the middling to lower classes.690 Just as Climent had endorsed Catalan

as an official language for pastoral work within the diocese, providing this bilingual

pamphlet for the children educated in these ten free schools was a means of

“illuminating” the Catholic faith to and increasing the (Catalan and Castilian) literacy of

those who previously had been devoid of such lights.

688 Tort Mitjans, pp. 83-85. Climent makes reference to the response of Charles III in “Carta a los Prelados de las Religiones en cuyos Conventos se han establecido nuevamente Escuelas.” See Vol.1 of Climent’s Colección. 689 Climent, “Sentencias sacadas de la Sagrada Escritura: vertidas en lengua CASTELLANA Y CATALANA e impresos para la ensenyanza de los ninyos de las escuelas del Obispado de Barcelona” (Barcelona: Juan Jolis and Bernardo Pla, 1769). 690 James Amelang in his study of “patrician” or upper-class culture in the city of Barcelona describes how the elite of Barcelona commonly referred to Catalan as a language of “common people, women and children.” See Chapter 8 “Signs of Identity” of Honored Citizens of Barcelona.

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The Sentencias focused on the basic (and for children, some not so basic) areas of

doctrine: the proper fear and love for God; love for neighbors; love and respect for

parents; wisdom; prudence (as “the science of the saints”); temperance (in food, drink,

and women); patience (in work and with verbal insults); disgust towards cursing, lies, and

sins; observance of God’s law; devaluing the things of this world (particularly the

“concupiscence of the flesh and eyes”); choice of good company; and also penitence.691

Thus, a balance was sought between the elementary education of reading and writing and

the education of Christian doctrine in the gratis schools established in 1767. The basic

goal of promoting literacy along with Catholic virtue was to give students the means to

eliminate doctrinal ignorance, with the hope that children would also educate their

parents upon returning home. While free or “public” and Christian education promoted

the internal spiritual growth of young parishioners as well as a public sphere in

Barcelona, Climent also took other actions to bring enlightened Catholic reform to the

older masses of Barcelona.

The Expansion of Print Culture in Barcelona: The Public Library and Prolific

Publications of Bishop Climent

On the whole, Climent encouraged the clergy of his diocese to read avidly the

many books and pamphlets on religious matters, specifically those that promoted the

teachings and discipline of the early Church. Through their preaching and teaching, his

clerics could pass on what they had read to their flock. However, Climent preferred that

individual parishioners take an avid interest in reading as well, and throughout his

691 Climent, “Sentencias,” p.14: “La ciencia de los Santos es la Prudencia.” And p. 36: “Porque todo lo que hay en el mundo es concupiscencia de la carne, concupiscencia de los ojos, y sobervia de la vida.”

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episcopacy he disseminated works, in the city of Barcelona particularly, so that all levels

of society could digest the literature for themselves and improve their understanding of

Catholic doctrine. During his nine-year tenure as Bishop of Barcelona, Climent himself

authored twenty-five publications, collaborated on five other local publications, and

published ten translated works. Ranging from his own pastoral instructions and primers

for his primary schools to translations of Fray Luis de Granada, Claude Fleury, Nicolas

Letourneux, or Thomas a Kempis, Climent made literature available that promoted the

expansion of the Catholic mind.692

Climent took his reform a step further in 1772, overseeing the establishment of a

library at the seminary that would make the seminary’s theological and religious tomes

available to the public, enhancing the education of not only the clergy but also the literate

of Barcelona. With the expulsion of the Jesuits, the king through his real comisario

(royal commissary or deputy) ceded the building and entire contents of the Jesuit Colegio

de Belén to the bishop of Barcelona in April 1771. With this cession, the episcopal

seminary integrated thousands of books from the old library of the Colegio de Belén into

its own holdings, formerly a small collection.693 Reflected on an inventory of the library

compiled in 1785, seventy-five percent of the library’s initial holdings emanated from the

Jesuit colegio—mainly works of theology, biblical exegesis, asceticism, and mysticism,

as well as Greek and Latin classics—while the remainder came from the old episcopal

seminary—mostly books on Scripture, theology, grammar, and “patrology” (or studies of

692 For a complete bibliography of these publications see Tort Mitjans, pp. 417-20. 693 See http://www.arqbcn.org/historia.html, an overview eighteenth-century church history in Barcelona written by archivist Dr. Josep Maria Martí Bonet of the Diocesan Archive of Barcelona.

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the Church Fathers).694 By 1785, the resulting library numbered 14,005 books, and

while it was not indicated how many books the library had acquired since 1772, this

inventory reveals that this new and public library was incredibly large for the time period,

especially since approximately two-thirds of Barcelona did not own a single book. Not

only the first library of Barcelona (and consequently today the oldest, “the Public

Episcopal Library of Barcelona in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was [also] one

of the most valuable libraries in Spain.”695

Even though the library officially was founded in 1772 when the Episcopal

seminary moved into the old Colegio de Belén, it was until March 3, 1775 that Climent

received written royal permission to open the doors of the library to the public. It seems

that in order to make the library’s holdings “public” the episcopacy of Barcelona had to

meet certain requirements of the Spanish government. But the idea of a public library in

Barcelona was not a novelty after the Jesuit expulsion; in fact, Charles III was known to

have erected “public” libraries from ex-Jesuit books in at least seventeen other Spanish

cities, libraries that were to be accessible to the “studious public” of the vicinity.696 So

what postponed the library’s opening seems to have been nothing different than the time

and effort it took to hurdle the requirements laid out by regalist government for all cases

in Spain. Announced in September 1774, one of those requirements was for the bishop to

694 Félix Amat (Archbishop of Palmira and retiring librarian of the library), “Inventariorio de los Libros, Papeles y Demás Efectos Pertenecientes a la Biblioteca Pública Episcopal de Esta Ciudad, Formado el Año 1785,” 2 vols., transcribed by José María Martí Bonet (Madrid: Fundación Juan March, 1976). Available in the Episcopal Library of Barcelona (call number R.301.417). 695 José María Martí Bonet, Introduction of “Inventario,” vol. 1: fourth page (no pagination). 696 In Ávila, Burgos, Logroño, Cartagena, Cuenca, Guadix, Baeza, León, Lérida, Oviedo, Palencia, Salamanca, Santander, Santiago, Segorbe, Tarazona, and Zaragoza, Charles III erected libraries for the “estudiosos de la ciudad” and as “propiadad del público estudioso.” Martí Bonet, Memoria of “Inventario,” vol. 1: eighth page (no pagination).

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suggest to the king three candidates for the job of librarian, all of whom could not have a

benefice or any other office with a perpetual income. In 1775, as one of the last efforts of

Climent as bishop, he was successful in getting his top recommendation, Felix Amat de

Palau, approved as librarian by Charles III so that finally the library could open to the

larger public. While Barcelona was not unique in having a public library, it is clear that

Climent had intentions for the library that diverged from the norm. Instead of just

seminarians or students in Barcelona, Climent had designs that this library would serve

all of his parishioners697—yet another way in which the tendency or spirit of Climent’s

reform was universal rather than “classist” or elitist in nature.

Furthermore, Climent believed that if the appropriate religious instructions and

literature were made available for his parishioners to read, they then would read (or have

someone read to them) such instructions, see the error of their ways, and correct their

abuses themselves, without the risk of creating any social tensions. This belief prompted

Climent to take on a “publish-or-perish (will-your-parish)” attitude which stayed with

him throughout his episcopacy. The idea was not to indoctrinate, but to enlighten.

Climent could not force people to read what he suggested; instead, by publishing

literature and making it accessible (sometimes both in Catalan and Castilian), Climent

was encouraging parishioners to develop their thoughts on their own spirituality as they

engaged the material. This indirect means of reforming piety would ideally communicate

the “original,” intended meanings and purposes behind the sacraments and visible forms

of the Church and lead to fewer local devotions and more uniformity in Catholicism.

697 Martí Bonet concludes this since in Climent’s recommendation of Amat over the other two candidates he spells out how exactly Amat’s qualities would benefit all parishioners, or a public that goes beyond

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When more direct action was taken to correct “errant” popular religious behavior that

placed too much emphasis on devotion to images, the role of processions, and dances in

honoring saints, the priest ran the risk of losing the clout with his parishioners or even

provoking outright disturbances of the peace.698 “The Responses” and the Acts of Synod

in Barcelona attest to this risk since rural chapels continued to be preferred as worship

centers over the parish church, and parish priests wrote despairingly that their

admonitions went unheeded by parishioners. And while prolific publication of religious

literature could not always guarantee success in correcting abuses, Climent’s tactic

contributed to his positive reception by the people of Barcelona until even after he was no

longer bishop. More than any other example of Climent’s reform program, the

proliferation of print culture which he sponsored—and at times funded almost entirely—

is the most practical illustration of enlightenment that occurred in Barcelona under the

episcopacy of Climent.

To aid his parishioners in understanding the true meaning of Catholicism, Climent

published pastoral instructions examining every aspect of religious life. From the time he

became bishop in 1766 Climent increased circulation of the written word, starting with

his first sermon of Advent which he had printed and distributed to all parishes where they

could be posted in a plaza or church door for all of the town to read. Actually, Climent

made known his positive attitude towards his Catalan parishioners as well as his proposed

synod to the larger public of the city of Barcelona—not only to those who could fit into

“students.” Martí Bonet, Memoria of “Inventario,” vol. 1: eighth page (no pagination) Martí Bonet, Memoria of “Inventario,” vol. 1: tenth page (no pagination). 698 Such a disturbance of the peace occurred later in the century, in 1787 Pistoia (Tuscany, “Austria”) when the Jansenist clergy ordered a much-revered sacred image removed from a church, provoking a riot of the peasantry. See Dale Van Kley’s chapter in Religion and Politics in Enlightenment Europe.

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the cathedral building on one Sunday—by publishing it in pamphlet-form and

disseminating copies to bookstores where anyone could pick one up in exchange for a

charitable contribution.699 As Borromeo had reformed the use of indulgences in his

province, Climent circulated an instruction throughout the city of Barcelona in 1771 on

the meaning of an “indulgence.”700 Furthermore, the same issue of the Gazeta de

Barcelona that announced the publication of this instruction also mentioned four

additional publications which Climent had sponsored. The “Rudimentos de la Gramática

Castellana” to be taught at the episcopal or “Tridentine” seminary, the “Sentencias

sacadas de la Sagrada Escritura” printed for educating the youth of the ten gratis schools,

the Latin work Conciones de tempore & de Sanctis written by Fray Luis de Granada as

well as the six books of the Rhetórica Ecclesiástica by the same author (Climent himself

having translated it into Castilian)—these works were all available in the city of

Barcelona by January 1771, and the Rhetórica Ecclesiástica even enjoyed a second print-

run two years later.701

Climent’s biggest effort at distribution in his episcopacy was Claude Fleury’s

Mœurs des Israelïtes et des Chrétiens.702 Translated into Spanish and published by the

699 Gazeta de Barcelona, 1767, no.23 (June 9): p.196. 700 Climent, “Edicto e Instrucción a todos sus feligreses,” Colección, vol. II: pp. 5-116. The instruction is discussed in detail in Chapter Two. Just as Climent followed Borromeo’s example with the indulgence, he also mimicked Borromeo’s dedication to pastoral visitations. The publication of the edict and instruction is announced in the Gazeta de Barcelona, 1771, no.5 (January 29): p.44. 701 Gazeta de Barcelona, 1771, no.5 (January 29): p.44; Gazeta de Barcelona, 1773, no.9 (March 2): p.76. 702 Claude Fleury, Mœurs des Israelïtes et des Chrétiens (Paris: Pierre-Jean Mariette, 1739 [1682]). See above on the controversial pastoral instruction of March 23, 1769 that Climent published regarding the Mœurs.

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thousands since 1737,703 plenty of copies of the Mœurs were still available for purchase,

at a low price, as late as 1769. Fleury’s work was an anti-luxury treatise that proceeded

in a manner that idealized the image of the early Church as pristine and austere. As the

work traced the history of the Church back from the Israelites in the Old Testament to the

early Church, Mœurs enabled readers to see the logical and reasonable evolving of the

Church that, when looking at the present state of the Church in society, made clear to the

reader the necessity to return to the practices of the past, of the early Church. Hoping

that it would serve as a sort of catechism and that his parishioners to see the error of

luxury and the necessity for a more rigorous moral discipline in their daily lives, Climent

made hundreds of copies of the Mœurs available at several locations in Barcelona at the

low price of two and a half pesetas with the proceeds to benefit a ladies’ convent in the

city.704

In another effort to reform Catholicism as practiced in his diocese, in 1774

Climent published some words on the sacrament of marriage authored by a seventeenth-

century French cleric Nicolas de Tourneaux whose work was earlier condemned by

Jesuits and Pope Benedict XIV as “Jansenist.” Climent received the Spanish translation

of Tourneaux from the hand of María Francisca de Portocarrero, the Countess of Montijo.

The Countess herself being a figure of Spanish enlightenment as the regular hostess of

salons (and Jansenist salons no less),705 she had taken it upon herself to translate Las

Instrucciones Christianas sobre el Sacramento del Matrimonio of Tourneaux from the

703 Climent, Colección, vol. I: p.188. 704 Gazeta de Barcelona, 1769, no.24 (13 June): p.208.

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French for other Spanish women to learn “the science of health that the Lord came to

teach his faithful people for the remission of their sins.”706 Montijo had done the work of

translating, and Climent urged her to publish the translation, although Climent recounted

to her the many obstacles in the path of getting her translation published. Mentioning

that no woman had published a similar type of work in Spain for centuries, he opined that

it was better in the end to keep her identity hidden in the publication.707 On September 6,

1774 the Gazeta de Barcelona “publicized” the Instrucciones cristianas sobre el

sacramento de Matrimonio.

Climent valued the Instrucciones themselves because he found out from “The

Responses” and his pastoral visitations that the observance of the sacrament of marriage

in the city of Barcelona was in a worse state than that of marriage in the outside pueblos.

Given the previous practice of giving dispensations or “graces” to those who wanted to

marry in secret and forego the public ceremony in church, it was not uncommon for the

role of the priest to say a simple “Ego vos in Matrimonium conjungo”708 (“Therefore, I

join you in Marriage”). Climent was very grieved by what he saw as being a mockery of

705 See Paula de Demerson, María Francisca de Salas Portocarrero, Condesa de Montijo: Una figura de la Ilustración (Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1975). 706 “La ciencia de la salud, que el Señor vino a enseñar a su plebe, o Pueblo fiel, para remision de sus pecados.” AUB, section: fons antics 0703B-38/4/8, no.6 bis, “Carta del Il.mo Señor Donn Josef Climent, Obispo de Barcelona, a la Exc.ma Señora Doña Maria Francisca de Portocarrero, Condesa del Montijo” (30 V 1774), p.9. 707 From this letter, as well as the books of Quijano and Demerson, it seems that some sort of feminine public sphere existed. Enough women could read so that some books were published for a female audience. Montijo was also one of many women well-versed in languages (French, Latin, Castilian, Catalan, etc.). Studying the Countess of Montijo would open up the subject of Jansenism’s relationship with “feminism.” 708 AUB, section: fons antics 0703B-38/4/8, no.6bis, “Carta del Il.mo Señor Don Josef Climent… a la… Condesa del Montijo,” p.30. Climent goes on to say: “De suerte que ningun infiel, viendo lo que se practica, podrá imaginar que se recibe un Sacramento; sino que se celebra un contrato profano, y tal vez

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marriage as a sacrament. Yet, his words to the Countess of Montijo express his preferred

strategy of dealing with such abuses: “I resolved to suspend [my teaching on marriage]

until after having published these Instructions, with the confidence that by this gentle

means the remedy that I desire will be achieved” (emphasis mine).709 Such words show

how Climent perceived the need to compromise in different methods of reform. While

just giving sermons on abuses of the Sacrament of Marriage might not have effected the

desired results, preaching in combination with literature, accessible even to those who did

not attend mass would give the Church greater agency in and over society.

Given Climent’s candid denunciations of the popular religious practices of his

flock, one might expect a more pronounced effort from him to deter such abuses.

Climent, however, was consistent in opting to publish literature that spoke to the desired

ends of reform so that it be internalized. In a way, this behavior was consistent in

promoting introspective spirituality.710 Forbidding the errant external forms and forcing

the internal could not guarantee increased spirituality and deeper understanding of the

Catholic faith in a social context in which the majority of Barcelona was not literate and

could not depend on solely personal meditation of doctrine and scripture. The reform of

seminary curricula, the establishment of free elementary schools, and the “publish-or-

con menos seriedad y decencia que los de compras y ventas.” Marriage is now a profane contract to be bought. 709 Ibid (a Montijo), p.32. “resolví suspenderla sobre este particular, hasta despues de haverse publicado estas Instrucciones: con la confianza de que por este medio suave se logrará el remedio que deseo.” 710 Outside of the city, but within the diocese of Barcelona, Climent went to great lengths (literally!) to visit personally all 200+ parishes. While all bishops attempted to make some pastoral visitations, Climent’s predecessors had generally visited only particular parishes outside the city or simply just those in the city itself. In contrast, Climent made his pastoral visitations over 3 years in all parishes, preaching to each congregation on the importance of knowing the meaning of the confirmation some were about to receive. Once again, Climent was focusing on increasing the knowledge of his parishioners.

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perish (will-your-parish)” mentality—these were all efforts to expand literacy, promote

the discussion or digestion of doctrine and religious instruction, and bring parishioners to

a point where internal as well as external forms of Catholicism were pursued and

understood on their own terms.

In sum, the demise of Climent as bishop of Barcelona occurred because his

“show” of Enlightened Catholicism was stealing the “stage” of popular support from the

“show” of Enlightened Despotism. Since his program of enlightenment sought to expand

the public sphere universally in Barcelona, without focusing on class or privilege,

Climent was well-received and appreciated by a public that had been all too used to the

dominance of and attention paid to “honored citizens” in society.711 Throwing into the

mix Climent’s ethnic ties to Catalonia and his use of Catalan in all his pastoral work, by

1774 it was clear to the protagonists of Enlightened Despotism in the Consejo de Castilla

that these attributes only worked against their centralized control over Barcelona—or

even Catalonia as a whole. In light of the past 100-150 years of Catalan history, the

government in Madrid in the 1770s was all too aware that the Catalans continued to be

receptive and partial to anything that sparked a sense of national identity in their minds.

Because of his dedication to parishioners that he made evident in the motín de quintas,

interceding for the rioters in the cathedral with the captain general and quelling the

tumult, Climent was a manifest threat—a leader to whom the people in Barcelona

listened and thus capable of leading a popular revolt. Since any idea of popular revolt

711 Since in Honored Citizens of Barcelona, Amelang clearly shows that class and privilege were defining elements of Barcelona’s political elite from at least the 1400s on, it seems logical that Climent’s reform programs, which did not privy one social group and sometimes necessitated that a privileged social group be stripped of a former honor, would win him the favour of the greater public, from merchants to tradesmen and farmers.

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was the last thing tolerated by an absolutist state, Climent and his sense of episcopal duty,

embodying Enlightened Catholicism, had to retire and disappear.

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CONCLUSION

Climent’s retirement as bishop of Barcelona did not result in his disappearance

from the work of enlightenment and reform. The inroads he had made over the course of

his episcopate left a mark on the European religious scene, his work serving as a positive

example to many both in and outside of Spain. Climent sought reform from the bottom

up, and from side to side, rather than the top down through the help of the regalist state or

Rome. The diocese was to be administered as a forum for the increased communication

between bishops, a first step towards the establishment of regular provincial and national

councils and for the reform of the clergy and laity. His various conflicts with authority

make evident that his critique of the relations within the Church and between church and

state were exceptional for his time. In the Netherlands, Italian states, and France and as

late as 1798, several references to Climent reveal the international notoriety he had

gained as a model for others in implementing enlightened reform in Catholic Europe.

As early as 1768 the Jansenist periodical Nouvelles Ecclésiastiques broadcast the

words and developments of Climent to its readership, mainly in France, taking particular

interest in his pastoral instruction on Fleury’s Mœurs and keeping updated on his affairs

until his death in 1781. Of course in Utrecht, the Netherlands, the members of the

Catholic Church there had much to say in honor of Climent; his words in support of the

Church of Utrecht in his controversial pastoral instruction on the Mœurs caught even the

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attention of the pope and caused him to be investigated in Spain. The records of the

National Assembly of Tuscan bishops and archbishops convened in Florence in 1787

mention that the Jansenist bishops put forward the example of the late Climent—a bishop

who was successful at instilling Jansenist-inspired interior spirituality over the excessive

external forms of Catholicism that were typically popular in Spain, and at the same time

remaining well-received and even loved by the laity. Given that popular riots were

erupting in other parts of Tuscany at the time in reaction to Jansenist reforms and that the

majority of Tuscan bishops were unsure of the prudence of such rigorous reform of

popular religious practices, the Jansenist bishops who mention Climent demonstrate that

they found his case to be persuasive enough to be used in an episcopal debate that

determined the survival of Jansenist reform in the region.

In 1797, the Bishop of Blois Henri Grégoire cited the sage perspective of Climent

of Barcelona when he addressed the first National Council of the (post-Terror)

Constitutional Church of France.

Climent, bishop of Barcelona, who died in 1781, complained of how the bishops of the Christian world did not correspond with each other. This illustrious prelate [felt] that the diversity of Catholic churches should take interest in each other’s existence, mutual glory, in re-establishing mutual communications, of which the first centuries of Christianity offer the most touching examples. The writings of [the Church] fathers are full of letters to pastors in other countries; the subscriptions to national and provincial councils often attest to the presence of bishops who came from other lands. …To reclaim such communications is to recall a neglected duty, but also a sacred duty, since it is based on the principles of charity. It is, moreover, an infallible way for all churches to tighten the bonds of unity, of enlightenment, of encouragement, and to keep our rights safe from ultramontanist invasions.712

712 “Climent, évêque de Barcelone, mort en 1781. se plaignoit de ce que les évêques du monde Chrétien ne correspondent pas entre eux. Cet illustre prélat que les diverses églises de la catholicité s’intéressassent à leur existence, à leur gloire mutuelle, en rétablissant ces communications, dont les premiers siècles du christianisme offrent de si touchans exemples. Les écrits des pères sont remplis de lettres à des pasteurs d’autres pays; les souscriptions des conciles nationaux et provinciaux attestent souvent la présence d’évêques venus d’autres contrées. …Réclamer ces communications, c’est rappeler un devoir méconnu,

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That Climent would be pointed out as an example for bishops in the French Republic and

that his ideas were remembered after the years of the Revolution indicate that his

international reputation was quite substantial. The post-Terror Constitutional Church

even published a review praising the reform work of Climent in its periodical, the

Annales de la religion, in 1798. The writer of the review examined the cases of

Switzerland, England, and Spain to find out if nos prétendus philosophes (“our supposed

philosophes”)—that is anti-Christian philosophes—ever founded any public institutions

or establishments that served a social welfare function anywhere in the world. The

conclusion was that these philosophes never founded a one, and the reviewer asserts that

only religion and religion alone has ever erected such institutions. In the review, one of

the illustrations of social welfare institutions sponsored by religious groups was that of

the hospice, or poor house, in Barcelona that Climent funded.

This work [the hospice] is of the celebrated M. Climent, Bishop of Barcelona…. His life was a fabric of good works. His zeal embraced every way that might result in the happiness of humankind whether in this life or the next. He busied himself with spreading the use of the national language and saw to the composition of Spanish grammars. He reformed colleges, founded schools for the poor, and extended his solicitude to the hospitals and prisons. The author of his biography observes that he preferred to anticipate and attend to problems rather than to find remedies for them [after the fact], and that the [monetary] advances that he distributed with the greatest pleasure were such that put the poor in a situation of ceasing to be so.713

mais un devoir sacré, puisqu’il est fonde sur les principés de la charité; c’est d’ailleurs pour toutes les églises un infaillible moyen de resserrer les liens de l’unité, de s’éclairer, de s’encourager, et de mettre leurs droits à l’abri des invasions ultramontaines.” Henri Grégoire, “Compte rendu par le citoyen Grégoire au Concile national, des travaux des évêques reunis à Paris,” (Paris: Imprimerie-Chrétien, 1797). 713 The review is anonymously written; however, it is not impossible that the author of the review is the Abbé Clément himself, who, as Constitutional Bishop of Versailles since 1797, was quite close to the editors of the Annales. Translation of Dale K. Van Kley. “Recueil de mémoires sur les établissements d’humanité, publié par ordre du minister de l’intérieur, 14e partie,” Annales de la religion, vol.9 (1798): pp.159-160.

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From these favorable, international, and post-humus remarks on Bishop Climent, it seems

clear that, despite the constraints of Enlightened Despotism preventing him from

implementing his vision, forcing him to retire, Climent was ultimately successful in

achieving his most basic goal—being a servant of reform within the Catholic Church,

inspiring others to continue the work he began.

But Climent’s case does not stand alone as an example of enlightened reform

attempted in Catholic Europe within the parameters of Enlightened Despotism. The

tensions between Enlightened Despotism and Enlightened Catholicism existed in other

European countries at the time as well. By illustrating other attempts at Catholic reform

and their relative success or failure, a comparative perspective develops that helps place

this study in a larger European context.

In France, the Bourbon monarchy had convoked the Assemblies of the Gallican

Clergy for taxation purposes. “Since the assemblies were indispensable to the monarchy

for the voting of money, the prelates made them a forum for formulating the policies and

grievances of the Gallican Church and pressing its demands upon the government. … As

so often under the ancien régime, ways of getting things done were found outside the

archaic structures and hierarchies.”714 But in 1725 and 1726, the Assembly recommended

the summoning of provincial councils in France so that the Church could better resolve

its internal problems, and when a provincial council was actually convened in Embrun in

1727—coincidently the first and last such council to be held in eighteenth-century

France—the results were detrimental. Far from representing Jansenism and or

challenging the papacy in any way, this council on the contrary proceeded with papal

714 McManners, vol. I: p.188.

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approval against one of the few Jansenist bishops in France, the eighty-year-old Jean

Soanen of Senez, interdicting him from his functions and subjecting him to exile for the

rest of his career. Followed in 1730 by a royal decree providing for the enforcement of

the papal bull Unigenitus as a law of both church and state, this council provoked a

violently hostile reaction of public opinion, leading John McManners to conclude in his

study on eighteenth-century France that “the Council of Embrun did incalculable harm to

the cause of religion in France.”715

Another example of reform attempts centered on convening councils occurred in

the Dutch Protestant Republic, of all places, where the two Catholic churches that

remained were isolated from the rest of the Catholic world. While one of the two

churches continued in obedience to direct orders from Rome, the smaller one, the Church

of Utrecht, heavily populated by ex-patriot French Jansenists, sought out more

independence in matters of diocesan governance yet still recognized the pope as a

figurehead and desired to remain part of the Catholic Church. When the Utrecht clergy

appealed the papal bull Unigenitus in 1717 and elected a new Archbishop of Utrecht (a

title unused since 1572) consecrated by a French Jansenist bishop in 1724, the pope

responded with a formal sentence of excommunication of all the clergy of the Utrecht

archdiocese. In an effort to re-establish communion with Rome, the secular clergy of

Utrecht convened a provincial council in 1763, enjoying “the Dutch Republican

government’s de facto favor, which, while still denying basic civic rights or

burgherrechten like guild membership to old Catholics, allowed this church a publicity in

715 McManners, vol. II: pp.416.

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a polity that came closer than any other in eighteenth-century Europe to realizing a

separation of church from state.”716 In an effort to show their continued Catholicity, the

members of the council condemned the errors of a French Jansenist living in exile in the

Netherlands who had gone to far in his pronouncement against the pope, denying the

primacy of Rome. Furthermore, the council condemned the errors of some French Jesuits

who undermined Augustinian definitions of grace and predestination and promoted

frequent communion—condemnations that ultimately served as something of an

ecclesiastical sanction for the Parlement of Paris who had condemned the same errors or

“assertions” earlier that year. In terms of success, the council of 1763 fell short of

restoring communion between Rome and Utrecht.

Failing any such happy ending, the publication and selective sending of the council’s Actes at least produced not only a thousand or more signatures of adhesion on individual and collective letters to the Archbishop of Utrecht [including Climent’s own written sympathy], especially in France in the years immediately following the council, but it also lent contemporary substance to the half-mythical image—as well as hope for the miraculous revival—of a pre-curial apostolic church in which everything had been decided on collegially and in council.717 A unique example of a proposed council in eighteenth-century Europe was that of

the 1792 Synod of Mainz in the German principalities. While the council never occurred

due to the city’s invasion and occupation by French troops, it would have been unique

and potentially effective in establishing enlightened Catholic reform since it was called

by the Archbishop of Mainz, Elector Friedrich Karl von Erthal, who was not only the

religious but also the secular authority in Mainz. Elected in 1775, Friedrich Karl had

716 Van Kley, “Catholic Conciliar Reform,” Religion and Politics, p.54. 717 Ibid, p.57.

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been successful in reforms that enhanced education in the region and appointed ministers

and officials who took the place of ex-Jesuits or pro-Jesuits and sought to reform

remaining vestiges of baroque piety. “The abolition of certain external forms of worship

should not be interpreted as indifference on the part of the government; indeed it paid

closer attention to the imagined needs of the people than any of its predecessors. In

addition to their weekly sermons, parish priests were ordered to offer religious instruction

every Sunday afternoon and twice during the week.”718 (This requirement of parish

priests harkens back to one of the main issues in “The Responses” in 1767 Barcelona.)

T.C.W. Manning, in his study on Friedrich Karl, considers him an example of

“enlightened absolutism.” In order to save the University of Mainz from continual lack

of funds, Friedrich Karl secularized the property of three monastic orders in order to fund

the university while keeping the university’s religious ties strong. In 1782, he appointed

a university curator who would promote higher education in Mainz for the production of

useful citizens and officials (rather than scholarship in and for itself). Because of the

potential economic benefits it would bring, Friedrich Karl also promoted the toleration of

Protestants and Jews in Mainz.

But “the climax of the reforms was intended to be a diocesan synod. Such a

meeting had last been convened in Mainz in 1548 and in any German territory in

1609.”719 The idea for a diocesan synod came out of the proto-conciliar meeting at Ems

that took place in 1786 between the four prince-archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, Trier,

and Salzburg. Responding to papal usurpation of ordinary episcopal jurisdiction in the

718 T.C.W. Blanning, Reform and Revolution in Mainz, 1743-1794 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1774): p.176.

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Germanies, mostly in the form of papal nuncios such as the newly established one in

Bavaria, the four prince-archbishops adopted an anti-papal reform program called the

Punctatio in this meeting which called for an end of such papal and ultramontane

prerogatives in favor of restored episcopal ones. “Had it succeeded, this movement

would have proceeded to the calling of a national council and the establishment of a

German national church, or at least a synod in Mainz scheduled for 1792….”720 But

success did not come, partly because Joseph II’s lack of interest in synods and councils as

well as his disapproval of Friedrich Karl or any other German prince-archbishop gaining

political power (albeit, in the form of religious jurisdiction) at the expense of his own in

the Austrian Empire. (Needless to say, Joseph II found the Germanies to be more or less

a nuisance in matters of governing the empire.) Yet, this lack of success resulted in

Friedrich Karl and the archdiocese of Mainz deciding to “go it alone” in Catholic reform;

since pan-Germanic action looked doubtful in the short-run, a diocesan synod was

planned for Mainz in 1792. As early as 1789, Friedrich Karl and his ministers started to

prepare for the synod, sending out a circular ordering all parish priests, clergy of the

Cathedral Chapter, the Vicariate, and the theological faculty to compile lists of desirable

reforms which could then be addressed and resolved in council. Since the French

invasion and occupation prevented the synod in 1792, the potential reforms such a synod

would have brought remain unknown.721

719 Blanning, p.178. 720 Van Kley, “Religion and the Age of Patriot Revolutions,” un-published paper used with permission of the author. 721 However, given the recent prominence of the synod held in the Tuscan diocese of Pistoia in 1786, and the influence that the Tuscan reform program had had in Mainz, one can envision that the German synod might have shared similar traits. Blanning, p.178.

462

One synod, however, gained notoriety in eighteenth-century Europe—that of the

Tuscan diocese of Pistoia in 1786. Convened by clergy of the Jansenist persuasion, this

synod was unique in that it enjoyed the sponsorship of the region’s enlightened despot—

Peter Leopold the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

That remarkable contrast [from the French situation] reflects an anterior difference between the French and Italian situations: that whereas the French monarchy had long vindicated its Gallican liberties vis-à-vis the papacy, Italian princes and potentates had yet to gain them, and could only do so and still remain Catholic with the aid of Catholics and a theology that, although Catholic, were also anti-papal. Hence the late-eighteenth-century alliance or at least marriage of convenience between absolutists in need of clerical help in aggrandizing the secular jurisdiction’s control over people as subjects at the expense of the church’s as “faithful,” and Jansenists, who, having given up on the papacy, looked to secular rulers to help them undertake the reform of the church.722

The Synod of Pistoia garnered the overwhelming support of diocesan clergy with almost

every priest—parish priest or lesser clergyman—present, and served the interests of

Leopold who desired a national council convened someday. Yet some of the Jansenist-

inspired initiatives that the synod established in the diocese alienated some clergy and

much of the laity, such as prohibitions against visual and auditory distractions: “loud

organ music and the display of relics in favor of instructional books and vernacular

translations whereby the laity might ‘even participate in the sacrifice.’ …It was this

bookish offensive against devotional practices it considered ‘exterior,’ ‘material’, or

smacking of ‘superstition’ that so deepened the gulf between Jansenist and indigenous

popular religious sensibility.” Proving to be the synod’s undoing, the initiatives against

722 Van Kley, “Catholic Conciliar Reform,” p.80.

463

baroque piety resulted in popular riots in Pistoia and Prato, bringing the era of Jansenist

Absolutism to an end.723

But not only in Tuscany did Enlightened Catholic reform provoke popular

resistance. “While the riot in Prato set out to save the threatened relic of the Virgin

Mary’s girdle,”724 a popular uprising occurred in Mainz a month later in June 1787

because of Elector Friedrich Karl’s desire to enlighten his parishioners in the

understanding of their faith. The great majority of parishioners could not read or even

understand the Latin liturgy used in Catholic services, and so by 1786 Friedrich Karl and

his suffragean bishop Valentin Heimes composed a new German hymnbook that would

provide a uniform liturgy for the archdiocese that afforded parishioners to sing and read

their worship liturgies in the vernacular rather than in Latin. While some parishes

seemed to adjust smoothly to the new German liturgy introduced in February 1787, many

parishes found the new vernacular hymnbook too Protestant and Lutheran in particular.

In most parishes they were content simply to ignore the new Hymn Book and continue singing in Latin, but where the local priest insisted on carrying out the Vicariate’s orders, a serious conflict arose. Copies which did find their way into the hands of the peasants were promptly torn up and burnt. …In a number of villages in the Rheingau [the most over-populated and economically depressed region of the country] there were outbreaks of violence and intimidation, and at Rüdesheim something approaching an insurrection broke out.725

Confronting guards and breaking into jails, the peasants proceeded to resist the

imposition of the new non-Latin hymnbook to the point that the central government had

to intervene, sending three hundred troops into the archdiocese to quell the uprising.

723 “Jansenist Absolutism” is a phrase borrowed from Dale K. Van Kley in his chapter on “Catholic Conciliar Reform.” Ibid, p.82-84. 724 Van Kley, “Religion and the Age of Patriot Revolutions,” unpublished paper used by permission. 725 Blanning, p.208.

464

Perhaps the most distinguishing element of Climent’s legacy in comparison to

that of his counterparts in eighteenth-century Catholic Europe is that, instead of

provoking popular riots with his reforms, he was able to win a fair amount of support

from the laity. When a riot did occur in Barcelona because of a forced military draft,

those involved in the uprising actually looked to Climent for help, and he interceded on

their behalf and restored peace. In the aftermath when the city’s guild leaders trespassed

the limits of their position in the eyes of Madrid, it was Climent who petitioned for their

pardon, ultimately costing him his position as bishop. Thus, it is not so surprising that in

1778 an exhibition in Barcelona, which even charged admission, featured a wax figure of

Climent—one of five figures in total, including high-profile men such as Charles III and

the Count of Aranda—made by a “Catalan.”726 And in December 1781, his death

resulted in memorial services throughout Barcelona, in and outside of parish churches.727

More than anything else, the case of Josep Climent i Avinent demonstrates the

possibilities for reform in eighteenth-century Spain. In studying his ideas, his goals, his

obstacles, and his engagement with his parishioners, one gains not only an intimate

knowledge of the general condition of the eighteenth-century Catholic Church as well as

its parishioners and priests in particular, but also an appreciation for the strength of

Enlightened Despotism in states such as Spain and of ultramontanism in Europe in

general. All the while, compared to others in his day, Climent remained more lucid about

these constraints which all such reformers faced in Europe. But Climent further

differentiated himself from his eighteenth-century counterparts because he shied away

726 Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.65 (1 JAN 1778).

465

from the confessional state’s support for his program, remaining suspicious of

Enlightened Despotism as an ally for Catholic reform.

The fact remains that, desiring as they did a return to the pristine Christianity of

the early Church, all of these late eighteenth-century reform movements presupposed a

Church that was not an “establishment” in a confessional state. It was simply impossible

to achieve what was envisioned as the pristine moral rigor of the early Church (and its

strict observance of the sacraments, in particular that of Penitence) when and where one’s

Catholicism was tantamount to citizenship, with no legal status for those who were not

members of the ecclesiastical establishment. In eighteenth-century Catholic Europe,

there was no other option than being Catholic or else one was ostracized from society and

denied any legal rights. Thus, with no pagan society to disappear into if one found such

discipline and moral rigor unacceptable, the return to pristine Christianity was logically

unthinkable on a universal scale as long as church membership was obligatory for all

citizens in a state.728

727 Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A, (4 XII 1781) P.224-225. 728 Jean-Louis Quantin has quite effectively explained the double-jeux or double-play involved in confessional states and efforts at establishing religious purity society-wide. In the beginning ages of confessional states, or the “classical age”, “Les Églises de l’âge classique, pour dire les chose à très gros traits, établies comme elles l’étaient dans une étroite relation ave des États confessionels, étaient animées par une double pulsion. Tout un effort était tourné vers l’individu et visait à faire intérioriser les normes et à toucher la conscience (l’évolution, chez les catholiques, du sacrement de pénitence dans un sens psychologique plutôt que social en est exemplaire). Dans le même temps, les Églises collaboraient au grand projet étatique moderne de contrôle et de police des comportements, ce que les historiens allemands appellent la discipline sociale.” So by the seventeenth century, with rigorist movements such as that of the Puritans in England and that of the Jansenists in France, “Le souci exclusif de la pureté mena certains au schisme, tandis que la volonté d’imposer une conformité et une unité—une visibilité—extérieures faisait renoncer à exiger du grand nombre des dispositions comme la contrition. Le point commun de tous les mouvement sévères des temps modernes—puritanisme, jansénisme, piétisme, méthodisme—et l’essence de ce qu’on peut appeler le rigorisme comme phénomène européen est d’avoir refusé de choisir….” Jean-Louis Quantin, “Le rêve de la communauté pure: sur le rigorisme comme phénomène européen,” Jansenisme et Puritanisme: Actes du colloque du 15 Septembre 2001, tenu au musée betirnal des Granges de Port-Royal des Champs (Paris: Nodin, 2002): Pp. 186 &194.

466

Yet none of these eighteenth-century reformers, except for perhaps Bishop

Climent, realized that the means through which they sought to establish such reform

actually reinforced the confessional state. Especially in Tuscany, where Jansenist

reformers had the Grand Duke Peter Leopold more or less on their side, and in Mainz,

where the temporal and religious authority were located in the same person, any

successes in establishing enlightened Catholic reform in turn further strengthened the

bond between church and state. In fact, the desire to create a national church in the

Germanies or Italian states would have solidified a confessional state in which secular

authorities delegated jurisdiction to spiritual authorities. Unlike these and other cases of

eighteenth-century Catholic reform, Climent wanted to keep his distance from the state

and the tradition of regalism in ecclesiastical affairs.

Furthermore, the combination of a program of moral rigorism and a state-

sponsored and even imposed enlightenment led to explosions of one form or another

elsewhere in Catholic Europe. In Tuscany, the combination of Peter Leopold’s support

for and adoption of Scipione de’ Ricci’s ecclesiastical and devotional reforms as well as

his economic and judicial reforms provoked, along with other circumstances, the anti-

Riccian but also anti-physiocratic riots and uprisings of 1787 and 1790, which in turn

unraveled Leopold’s enlightened economic, ecclesiastical, and devotional reforms. With

the 1787-uprising in Mainz, Friedrich Karl and his ministers were forced to abandon any

hopes of a uniform Catholic liturgy in the archdiocese as well as any further attempts of

the government to reform traditional religious practices of the laity. Yet, the most

explosive case, which at first thought might not come to mind as a case of enlightened

Catholic reform, is that of the French Revolution. Even though the Revolution had

467

replaced a Christian prince with a revolutionary assembly and embraced a radical

program of constitutional, administrative, judicial, and economic reform, at the same time

it included in this reform program an attempt (at least in rhetoric) to reform the Gallican

Church and re-establish the presumed pristine Christianity of the early Church. But all

the while, the French Revolutionary government never really abolished the tie between

church and state. With the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and the French Revolutionary

church, a major schism erupted which led not only to a counter-revolution in France but

also to the creation of a whole new set of polarities in Europe.

While the same programs of moral rigorism and state-sponsored enlightenment

existed in Spain during the time of Climent, his refusal to combine these programs in the

diocese of Barcelona did not result in any sort of explosion of popular resistance but

rather the lack thereof. However, his decision to shy away from a strong state-church

alliance resulted, instead, in limited success for reform and ultimately the fall of Climent

as a religious authority. In the end, Climent shows how far one could go in such a

situation of Enlightened Despotism, exerting power that challenged the state authority

while maintaining popular support. Illustrating the parameters of reform, the history of

the episcopacy of Climent reveals what one could or could not do as a supposed ally of

Enlightened Despotism working for a Catholic enlightenment. In the end, scholarship

which reveals other stories like that of Climent will serve to “enlighten” us as to why for

over hundreds of years the idea of a Christian enlightenment has remained in obscurity.

Perhaps the most distinguishing element of Climent’s legacy in comparison to

that of his counterparts in eighteenth-century Catholic Europe is that, instead of

provoking popular riots with his reforms, he was able to win a fair amount of support

468

from the laity. When a riot did occur in Barcelona because of a forced military draft,

those involved in the uprising actually looked to Climent for help, and he interceded on

their behalf and restored peace. In the aftermath when the city’s guild leaders trespassed

the limits of their position in the eyes of Madrid, it was Climent who petitioned for their

pardon, ultimately costing him his position as bishop. Thus, it is not so surprising that in

1778 an exhibition in Barcelona, which even charged admission, featured a wax figure of

Climent—one of five figures in total, including high-profile men such as Charles III and

the Count of Aranda—made by a “Catalan.”729 And in December 1781, his death

resulted in memorial services throughout Barcelona, in and outside of parish churches.730

More than anything else, the case of Josep Climent i Avinent demonstrates the

possibilities for reform in eighteenth-century Spain. In studying his ideas, his goals, his

obstacles, and his engagement with his parishioners, one gains not only an intimate

knowledge of the general condition of the eighteenth-century Catholic Church as well as

its parishioners and priests in particular, but also an appreciation for the strength of

Enlightened Despotism in states such as Spain and of ultramontanism in Europe in

general. All the while, compared to others in his day, Climent remained more lucid about

these constraints which all such reformers faced in Europe. In the end, Climent shows

how far one could go in such a situation, exerting power that challenged the state

authority. Illustrating the parameters of reform, the history of the episcopacy of Climent

reveals what one could or could not do as a supposed ally of Enlightened Despotism

working for a Catholic enlightenment. In the end, scholarship which reveals other stories

729 Calaix de Sastre I: 1769-1791, p.65 (1 JAN 1778). 730 Calaix de Sastre, MS. 201A, (4 XII 1781) P.224-225.

469

like that of Climent will serve to “enlighten” us as to why for over hundreds of years the

idea of a Christian enlightenment has remained in obscurity.

470

APPENDIX: ACTS OF COUNCILS AND SYNODS Concilio Tarraconense del any 1717—Constitution 29: “Sponsi, et Sponsae in eadem domo simul non morentur sub gravi poena pecuniaria arbitrio Ordinarii” Expedit quidem animarum saluti poenis pecuniariis prohibere, ne sponsus, et sponsa ante contractum matrimonii in eadem domo vivant, nec aliquo modo etiam per minimum tempus commorentur: nullatenus tamen videtur expedire ipsos sponsos compellere ad jurandum, nisi in casibus diffamationis, semiplenae probationis Provincial Council of Tarragona of 1593—Lib. IV, Titl.1, Const.2,Cap.II:

Joannes Terés, Archiepiscopus in secundo concilio provinciali.

Quomodo puniendi sint, qui ante matrimonium contractum per verba de praesenti ad sponsas accesserint: et monendos esse contrahentes, ac parentes eorum ne cohabitent, aut

cohabitare eos sinant. Matrimonium vere, et proprie unum ex septem legis Evangelicae sacramentum, a Christo Domino ad sanctificandos conjuges institutum, cum non antea contrahatur, quam praecedentibus monitionibus, et praesente parocho mutuus contrahentium consensus per verba de praesenti fuerit expresus, summopere curandum est, ut pie, sancte, et qua decet reverentia contrahentes ipsi ad suscipiendum hoc sanctum sacramentum accedant, ut gratiam, quam confert, ad naturalem amorem perficiendum, et indissolubilem unitatem confirmandam, consequantur. Synods of Barcelona

Although Barcelona had a tradition of holding synods from time to time, the Council of Trent in the latter half of the sixteenth century reinvigorated this Barcelonese practice, and from 1566-1638 bishops of Barcelona convened 31 synods, averaging almost one every two years! After the Revolt of the Catalans interrupted the practice in 1640, the bishop Ildefonso Sotomayor tried to return to the same frequency of synods, celebrating four of them from 1669 to 1680. Furthermore, the synod of Sotomayor in 1669 resolved to publish all the synodal constitutions of the Barcelona diocese from time immemorial through to the present year of 1669. Published in 1673, this tome contained the constitutions written in Catalan in over 300 pages and organized by which sacrament to which they relate (rather than by year), serving as an important guidebook for priests

471

and bishops and a reference for years to come. For this study, the compilation serves as an efficient means of examining the nature of synodal constitutions over years, even centuries. After Sotomayor’s episcopacy, however, only 12 synods were held (1683-1755, averaging one every 6 or 7 years), and these usually once at the beginning of a new episcopacy, serving to familiarize the new bishop with the diocese rather than with fulfilling of the Tridentine mandate.

Las Constitucions Synodals de Sotomayor [1673]: Book II, Tit.8, Const.3 &4: Constitution III En execució del disposat per lo sagrat Concili de Trento, exortam, que no cohabiten los que hauran contractat matrimoni per paraulas de present, ni consuman aquell antes de haver rebut la solemne benedicció nupcial, o be hajan de pendrerla dins de dos mesos, la qual haja de donar en la Iglesia lo propri Parroco, o altre de sa llicencia, sino fos en temps que fossen prohibides las solemnes nupcies. Constitution IV Com la experiencia ensenya que alguns homens y donas forasters, olvidats de sas proprias conciencias y del nom de Christians que professan, per no poder viurer mes licenciosament en las Vilas y Llochs ahont son coneguts, sen venen a habitar en los Llochs de nostre Diocesis, tractantse en ells com a marit y muller, essent veritat que nou son; ans be son amancebats, cometent una ofensa tant gran a la Magestat de Deu nostre Senyor: Per lo tant, pera remediar tant graves excessos, y culpas enormes, estatuhim y manam, Synodo approbante, als Rectors, Domers, Vicaris, y altres qualsevols excercint cura de animas, que quant en sas Parroquias arribaran alguns forasters pera habitar en aquellas, y no seran coneguts, los fassan amostrar la fe autentica de los desposoris, peraque legitimament conste que son casats. Latin Excerpt from “The Responses” Letter signed by rector Francesc Gonima of Beata Maria de Vallvidrera, “A la discreta y sabia Junta dels molt Rnts (reverents) Senyors Rectors que el 22 Juliol son convocats a la Rect. Del Papiol” “Curenim nihil Deo acceptius, nihil Pastorali ministerio nro dignius, nihil gregibus cura nra commipis quam ut Animarum Pastoris vita, morum qum honestate, caeteris ante cellant, ac in omnibus juxta monitum apost. praebeant semetipsos exemplum bonorum operum: Cuenim Christiani populi Ducis et Magistri simus, lucernae super candelabrum positae, ut omnibus qui in Domo St. Luceamus: nihil é, qd alios ad pietate, divinum que cultu accendat, qua si ovibus exemplum simus, omnes siguide in nos tanquam in speculum, oculos conjicient, ut inde sumere possint, qd imitent.

Diuturna enim experientia compertu é ad retinenda, conservandamque sacerdotalis ordinis dignitatu et sanctimonia, maximé conducere, ut ecclesiastici viri spiritualibus exercitas aliqdo. vacent, quibus quid quid sordidum de mundano pulvere contractum é,

472

commodé detergit; ecclesiasticus spiritus reparri, mentis acies ad divinarum rerum contemplatione extollit, rectè, sancteque vivendi norma, vel instituit, vel comfirmat.

Ex illo enim spirituali fonte nobis biberi dabit, quemad modu oporteat instruere monis coru, qui secudu lege Domini proposuerunt vita agere; ibi enim studiu nru [nostre] exit, quo: modo omissa repetere, depravata corrigere, et sacramenta Ecclesia puro et fideli aperire sermone, ne ignorantes justia Dei, et nostra quaerentes statuere, justitiae Dei si simus subject, ut dicit apost. necie in illud Prophitieum incidamus: vae qui prophetant de corde suo, qui ambulant post spiritum suum. …”

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