The reorganization and renewal of the Franciscan Province Santísima Trinidad of Chile (1872-1935)

Abstract

The Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Trinity, an institution closes to 450 years of presence in Chile, began a process of reform in 1872 that allowed it to consolidate its institutionalism, formation, and pastoral project to confront the socio-political hostilities and the challenges of the following decades. In this article we intend to verify how the pontifical interventions, the General Curia of the Order of Friars Minor and the closeness to the options of Chilean social Catholics allowed the reform, renewal and adaptation of the Province, which enabled its religious to dispute public opinion with liberals and socialists; the pastoral space within the Church, renewing its lay associations and evangelizing options; and the social space, establishing social works in favor of the working world. For this purpose, research was carried out in the archives of the Province, the material was organized looking for the institutional reorganization and the pastoral renewal, which was confronted with historiographical studies of the time. This was a multidirectional process, which looked abroad, to the social action of the laity and to the initiative, reflection and concerns of the members of the Province.