What Was the Catholic Reformation?: Marian Piety and the Universalization of Divine Love

This article has three aims. First, it reacts to the doubts expressed recently about the possibility of making generalizations about Catholicism after the Council of Trent. Second, it discusses the different uses of the term “Catholic Reformation” and proposes a definition that involves a movement toward the universalization of divine love. And third, it also discusses the success of confessionalization in some parts of Europe and the reasons why it was not a top-down process. The emphasis on disciplining endeavors in the analysis of the history of confessionalization misses the integrative character of various devotional practices in Baroque Europe and fails to pay sufficient attention to the religious constraints affecting political actors.