Opening the doors to the Convent of Rilhafoles: the Lazarists and the Jacobean Movement in eighteenth-century Portugal

Abstract

The following article examines the political-cultural trajectory of the Congregation of the Mission in eighteenth-century Portugal. Having established themselves in the country in 1717, the Lazarists founded the Convent of Rilhafoles three years later, where they resided until the extinction of Portugal’s religious orders in 1834. Under the protection of the Kings of Portugal and Brazil, the Lazarists participated in missions and took over houses and dioceses, while the eighteenth century also saw them assume many of the Jesuits’ roles throughout the Portuguese Empire. Such a trajectory is relevant to the study due to the recurrent criticism of the regalism displayed by the congregants over the course of the nineteenth century. The article discusses how this process took place, analyzing the circulation of political and religious ideas in the Order’s trajectory by means of an examination of the Lazarist library.