Patronato real facts for kids
The patronato system was a special agreement between the kings of Spain (and Portugal) and the Holy See (the Pope). It gave the kings power over many Church matters. This included choosing important Church officials and managing Church money. This system helped shape the Spanish colonial empire and mixed trade, politics, and religion together. The Pope gave these powers to the kings because they helped pay for and support missionary activities in new lands they had conquered or discovered.
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The Royal Patronage in Spain and Its Colonies
The patronato was a special right given by the Church. It allowed a person to take on the job of supporting and managing a religious group or building. The patronato real (Royal Patronage) was based on canon law, which are the rules of the Church. These rules allowed non-clergy people to start and support churches and missions. This helped the Pope and religious groups spread Christianity.
For the kings of Spain, this right was given because they helped spread the Catholic Church in America. It came from special papers called papal bulls. These included Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter caetera (1493). These were first given to Portugal for its Atlantic routes. Then, after Christopher Columbus's voyage, the "Alexandrian Bulls" were issued in 1493 for the Spanish kings. Pope Julius II confirmed the Royal Patronage for the Spanish Crown in 1508. This system helped set up bishoprics (areas managed by bishops) to teach Christianity to the native peoples.
Before this, in 1486, Pope Innocent VIII had given the king and queen of Castile and Aragon the right to perpetual patronage over the Canary Islands and Granada. This was confirmed with the bull Ortodoxae fidei. However, the monarchs did not ask for full patronage rights in all discovered lands until 1505. Pope Adrian VI finally granted these full rights in 1523.
How the System Grew
The kings gained several important powers through this system:
- They could send and choose missionaries for America (from the bull Inter caetera, 1493).
- They could collect the tithe, which was a tax for the Church (from the bull Eximiae devotionis, 1501).
- They had the power to set and change the borders of Church areas (dioceses) in America (from the bull Ullius fulcite praesidio, 1504).
- They could also reject the election of archbishops or bishops, and had the right to propose candidates (from the bull Universalis ecclesiae, 1508).
In 1539, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V demanded that all requests from bishops to the Pope had to go through him first. He also made sure that all papal documents needed his royal approval (called the regal pass or regium exequatur) before they could be used.
The "royal certificate of patronage in the Indies" (real patronato indiano) made this system official. Under this royal approval, churches, cathedrals, convents, and hospitals could be built. Also, bishops, archbishops, and other Church officials could be appointed. These Church leaders had to report their actions to the king. For choosing parish priests, the bishop would hold a competition. Then, the bishop would present two chosen candidates to the king's officials, who would make the final decision.
The kings also gained other controls:
- Bishops did not have to visit the Pope in Rome as often.
- The letters from bishops were checked by the Council of the Indies.
- Church meetings had to be supervised by the king's representatives.
- New convents or religious houses needed the king's approval.
- No religious leader could start their job without the king's permission.
- The king ordered checks on convent life and punished clergy who did not do their duties.
- The Royal Court became the first place to settle Church disagreements.
- Some religious groups, like the Franciscans, had their leaders in America chosen by the Pope, which limited the power of their main superiors.
The royal patronage helped the Church get many missionaries and enough money. It also made it easier to move and place them where needed. However, it also meant the Church became very much under the king's control.
This control by the Spanish monarchy over the Church was not just in America but also in Spain itself. Other European monarchies became envious. This envy played a part in movements like the Protestant Reformation. In Catholic France, similar ideas led to Gallicanism, where the king had more power over the Church. The Pope responded to these challenges with movements like the Counter-Reformation and the creation of Propaganda Fide in 1622, which aimed to spread Catholicism more directly.
The 1700s
In the 1700s, the Bourbon dynasty ruled Spain and its colonies. They added new ideas to the Spanish tradition of royal control over the Church. In 1735, a royal board declared that the kings of Spain had the right to "universal patronage." This meant they should control all Church benefits in the kingdom.
This idea grew during talks for a new agreement with the Pope in 1753. It also came up during border conflicts and the suppression of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) from Spain and its colonies in 1767. Spanish lawyers argued that the king's control over the Church came from his natural right as a ruler, not from a special gift from the Pope. The agreement of 1753 supported this idea, even though 52 Church benefits were still reserved for the Pope.
The 1800s
After the Spanish American wars of independence (1808–1821), the new countries that formed from the Spanish and Portuguese empires still used the term patronato. It referred to the way the Church and ruling class worked together.
Modern Times
A new agreement signed in 1851 kept the "universal patronage" for the Spanish Crown. This lasted until the Second Spanish Republic began in 1931. The patronato real was brought back by an agreement in 1953, giving this power to Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. However, a new agreement finally ended it in 1976, during Spain's move towards democracy.
The new American republics also wanted to keep the right of patronage after their independence. They saw themselves as continuing the duties and rights of the Spanish crown over the Catholic Church in their lands. This royal patronage system stayed in place until the Church and State were separated in the early 1900s.
See also
In Spanish: Patronato regio para niños
- Advowson
- Jus patronatus
