The Jesuits and the misdirections of a mission

Abstract

Abstract The paper investigates a crisis linked to the action of the Jesuits from the Province of Brazil, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This crisis took place among the members of the Society and is exposed, in this manuscript, through criticisms directed to the superiors and in the complaints of deviant behaviors, made by the priests themselves who acted in the mission in Brazil. The Mission misdirections deepen as some members of the Society dishonored their religious vows and practiced violence, especially when dealing with the Indians in the villages. In order to verify these misdirections, we analyzed documentation, little explored and largely unknown for the Brazilian public, researched at the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI), in Rome.