The Council of Trent and the Residence of Bishops in the Diocese of Cape Verde (1553–1705)

What is it about?

The Council of Trent (1545–1563) regarded the reform of the episcopate as the cornerstone of the Catholic Reformation. Hence the Conciliar Fathers put emphasis on the much neglected duty of residence of bishops. To ensure compliance, the Roman Catholic Church relied heavily on Christian monarchs, patrons of the Churches in the territories under their jurisdiction. The present study analyses to what extent the Tridentine decree on the residence of bishops was enforced in the diocese of Cape Verde (under Portuguese control) between 1553 and 1705. The hypothesis of this study can be stated simply: despite the efforts to enforce the residence of bishops in Cape Verde, the socio-economic limitations of the diocese as well as political and administrative constraints in Portugal significantly hampered the authorities in their effort to enforce long-termresidence in that overseas diocese. Keywords: Council of Trent, residence of Bishops, Diocese of Cape Verde

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