The Bishop's Burden: Reforming the Catholic Church in Early Modern ItalyIn 1563, the Council of Trent published its Decrees, calling for significant reforms of the Catholic Church in response to criticism from both Protestants and Catholics alike. Bishops, according to the Decrees, would take the lead in implementing these reforms. They were tasked with creating a Church in which priests and laity were well educated, morally upright, and focused on worshipping God. Unfortunately for these bishops, the Decrees provided few practical suggestions for achieving the wide-ranging changes demanded. Reform was therefore an arduous and complex process, which many bishops struggled to accomplish or even refused to undertake fully. The Bishop’s Burden argues that reforming bishops were forced to be creative and resourceful to accomplish meaningful change, including creating strong diocesan governments, reforming clerical and lay behavior, educating priests and parishioners, and converting non-believers. The book explores this issue through a detailed case study of the episcopacy of Cardinal-Bishop Gregorio Barbarigo of Padua (bp. 1664-1697), asking how a dedicated bishop formulated a reform program that sought to achieve the Church’s goals. Barbarigo, like other reforming bishops, borrowed strategies from a variety of sources in the absence of clear guidance from Rome. He looked to both pre- and post-Tridentine bishops, the Society of Jesus, the Venetian government, and the Propaganda Fide, which he selectively emulated to address the problems he discovered in Padua. The book is based primarily on the detailed records of Barbarigo’s visitations of rural parishes and captures the rarely-heard voices of seventeenth-century Italian peasants. The Bishop's Burden helps us understand not only the changes experienced by early modern Catholics, but also how even the most sophisticated plans of central authorities could be frustrated by practical realities, which in turn complicates our understanding of state-building and social control. |
Other editions - View all
The Bishop's Burden: Reforming the Catholic Church in Early Modern Italy Celeste McNamara Limited preview - 2020 |
Common terms and phrases
ACVP Archivio ASPF Barbari Barbarigo found Barbarigo—Fonti e ricerche barigo Bergamo Bergin Billanovich and Pierantonio bish bishops canons cardinale cardinale nella tarda Carlo Borromeo Cassese catechism catechism classes Catholic Reform Chiesa Christian Church clergy clerical Clero Collegio Comerford confessionals confraternities Congregation Congregazione convert Council of Trent Counter-Reformation Curia decrees decreti diocesan diocese Early Modern ecclesiastical episcopal Europe example faith Forster Greek Gregorio Barbarigo Inquisitiones Istituto Italy Jesuits laity laypeople letters Liliana Billanovich Marostica Mass missionary offenses Ottoman Ottoman Empire parish priest parishioners particularly pastoral pastorali patrizio veneto Pierantonio Gios podestà priests problems Propaganda Fide Ratio Studiorum reforming bishops ricerche Padua Rome rural sacraments San Gregorio Barbarigo—Fonti scandal secular seminario di Padova seminary seventeenth century SOCG Spiritual Exercises storia ecclesiastica padovana strategies territories tion tipografia del seminario Tresto Tridentine University Press Venetian Veneto Venice vescovo vicars village visitation Visitationes