Patronato Real: royal patronage in Spanish colonial governance

Patronato Real

Religion played a very important and vital role in the Spanish empire that it became so powerful as to influence political conditions in Spain. Kings were elected and overthrown, and laws were made or abolished depending on what the Church had to say. It became a very powerful voice that those in the government either sided with it or went against it. The history of Spain and its colonies almost always include mentions of the influence of the Church as a prime mover in that era.

However, that has not been always the case of Catholicism in the Spain. There was a time when Spanish rulers persecuted Catholic leaders and promulgated laws abolishing Catholic beliefs that Christians had to flee Spain o hide in order to practice their faith. But when Catholic became a stronghold in Spain, with the help of the flourishing of various orders such as the Dominicans, Jesuits, Benedictine and many others, the Church was able to establish power.

The Patronato Real de Indias or the Royal Patronage of the Indies is a special arrangement between the Pope and the Kings of Spain and Portugal. The rulers of both countries were given special powers and privileges that included the appointment of bishops and other church leaders or the clerics, collection of tithes and contributions in exchange for heir help in evangelization and establishment of Catholic belief in their colonies, particularly in America. Almost everything that the Catholic Church had to be implemented must first be approved by the Spanish government. Catholic decrees such as the papal bull and allowing missionaries in the colonies. This allowed a more extensive yet controlled implementation of Catholic beliefs in Spanish colonies.

In exchange for this, the Spanish empire must finance the needs of the Church that included erection and building of churches, financing the salaries of the clergies and different church dignitaries, and implemented laws that affected church activities.

The roles of the clerics in the lives of the people in the Spanish colonies were very significant. Catholic priests gave social services such as hospital care that included elderly care, education, and business influenced almost all aspects of their lives and some even gave counseling to government leaders. These social services given by the Catholic clergies to the people of the colonies endeared them and gave power to the Church. This allowed the Catholic Church to be very influential in the lives of the people.