Magistrates of the Sacred

"Extensive and in-depth study of the Episcopal church covers politics, economics, and the spiritual and social life of late-Bourbon Mexico. Begins with a description of regalist policies and the secularization of parishes, and concludes with a discussion of priests and the Mexican Insurgency. Among topics discussed are issues of cruelty and deference in relationships between parishoner and priest, changing elite visions of Indians, and alterations in rural communities. Compares parish priests to other ecclesiastical powers, and includes life histories of priests. Of particular interest is the often startling modifications in the use of symbols of Santiago and Guadalupe. Encyclopedic in the breadth and depth of the sources explored"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.