Confraternities & Catholic Reform in Italy, France, & Spain ed. by John Patrick Donnelly, S. J. and Michael W. Maher, S.J. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS119 The essays in this volume describe the relations, intrigues, and conflicts in selected cases of heretofore "neglected places of power and protagonists of political action." For example, Gianvittorio Signorotto shows in his essay that in the seventeenth century Regulars—usually Capuchins chosen for their poverty, religious devotion, and impartiality—served as legates representing the political interests of the patriciate of Milan at the court of Spain. Further, these religious effectively sought relief from the disastrous effects of war, pestilence, and famine on the populace; and the presence of these legates at court served to assuage the concerns of the monarchy, notably in the case of Philip TV, who viewed the crises in his realm as a sign of God's disapproval. Other topics covered in the essays include the Neapolitan court in the midsixteenth century (Carlos José Hernando Sánchez); transformation and crisis in the Company ofJesus during the last thirty years of the sixteenth century (José Martínez MiMn); the role of Diego de Chaves, confessor of Philip II (Carlos Javier de Carlos Morales); the adept influence of Luis de Aliaga III,the Inquisitor General and confessor of Philip III (Bernardo J. García Garcia); the missions and politics of Regular Orders in the Antilles during the seventeenth century (Giovanni Pizzorusso); and the Jesuits in French North America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Matteo Sanfilippo). Finally,this volume abounds with references and notes,and it concludes with a helpful index of names. The sound scholarship in these essays warrants translation from the Spanish and Italian into English. Reading this volume written from two cultural perspectives suggests a book that complements the theme of the élite at court—Riforma protestante ed eresie nell'Italia del Cinquecento, by Massimo Firpo, which traces a range of attitudes and reactions of Italians across social classes, pertaining to the crisis of authority that plagued both "Church and State" in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. L. Chris Curry Louisiana State University Confraternities & Catholic Reform in Italy, France, & Spain. Edited by John Patrick Donnelly, S. J., and Michael W. Maher, SJ. [Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies, Vol. XLIV] (Kirksville, Missouri: Thomas Jefferson University Press, Truman State University. 1999. Pp. x, 262. $40.00.) In the preface to this volume entitled Confraternities & Catholic Reform the editors recount that they had asked the contributors specific questions on the effects of the Council of Trent on the confraternities of Italy, France, and Spain in the period 1500 to 1650. Though the editors note that the contributors had not always answered these queries, the volume does possess a unity deriving from the focus on confraternities as they passed through the attempts of church and state authorities to implement the Tridentine reforms. The editors' contention that "Trent had little direct effect on confraternities" (p. vii) under- 120BOOK reviews estimates the persuasive and substantial authority of church officials in executing the decrees of Trent. The essays make evident that confraternities were vastly different in 1600 from what they had been in 1500. This transformation resulted from several factors, including Tridentine reforms, as the essays of Maureen Flynn on Spain, Konrad Eisenbichler on Florence, and Susan Dinan on France demonstrate. The editors' position doubdess privileged Christopher Black's excellent essay that shows Italian confraternities often resisting attempts of parish priests to implement Trent. My only other criticism of the volume is that it would have been highly useful had the editors added to their preface a summary of the decrees of the Council of Trent pertinent to confraternities . The volume contains six essays on Italian confraternities and four and two essays on French and Spanish confraternities respectively, but there are reoccurring themes in the three national contexts. Ecclesiastical officials encouraged the formation of three types of confraternities: those of the rosary, the holy sacrament, and Christian doctrine. To implement the decrees of Trent ecclesiastical authorities exhorted the confraternities to teach Christian doctrine and respect for the sacrament. Most of the twelve contributors document the growing authority of Catholic elites in the confraternal organizations and the attempts of bishops and parish priests to implement Tridentine decrees to supervise the lay groups more closely. The twelve also note or show the growing...