El estudio y la formación entre los Franciscanos de Murcia (siglos XVI-XIX)

This article provides an overview of the organization of studies among the Observant and Discalced Franciscans of the former Kingdom of Murcia (Spain), both those belonging to the Observant Province of Cartagena, and those who were part of the Discalced Custody of San Pascual from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. After overcoming the early suspicions of the Observance regarding study, the Observant Province of Cartagena afforded great importance to study; Philosophy and Theology were taught in more than thirty friaries in the Province. Among those that stood out are the Immaculate Conception College, located in the city of Murcia, where the most suitable religious graduated to obtain the degree of lectors or professors of the houses of studies, and the Missionary College located at Cehegín, which was designated for training preachers and missionaries. The friars of the Province of Cartagena opened schools for the education of lay people in several of their convents. Finally, this article presents the organization of studies in the Discalced Custody of Saint Paschal of Murcia, where Saint Joachim’s College at Cieza stood out by being dedicated to train missionaries.