"Brotherhoods Throw More Weight around Than the Pope": Catholic Traditionalism and the Lay Brotherhoods of Brazil

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Since the beginning of the eighteenth century, lay brotherhoods have played a vital role in the local community of São João del-Rei (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Today twelve irmandades, confrarias, and ordens terceiras continue to organize their own feasts, Masses, processions, and novenas. Most of them have private churches and cemeteries. Every catholic — man, woman or child — may become a member of one or more brotherhoods. If fact, almost everyone is. Not all the brotherhoods' members are equally devoted to their sodality, but the funerals and big religious feasts attract nearly everyone. In this descriptive article it will be shown that, owing to the meaning people attach to these events, the local brotherhoods have become strong opponents of the reformist tendencies of the clergy. Albeit with a changed meaning, the religious traditions represented by the lay associations still play an important role in the community of today.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: