ABSTRACT
The first Spanish missionaries who arrived in America had to make great efforts to adapt their European medieval religious and mental structures to the New World. This paper approaches these efforts by focusing on the preaching activity of the Franciscan missionaries who worked in New Spain in the period when the influence of the medieval view of missionary work was most evident (ca. 1523–1575). To begin with, the paper provides some background information on the missionary work of the Franciscans previous to the discovery of America, and the system of beliefs that grounded it. Second, it focuses on the spiritual, social, and cultural “baggage” that Franciscan Observant preachers carried with them to America and how it impacted their work in Mexico. Finally, it analyzes the evolution of Observant Franciscan preaching in New Spain from European standards to a new sermon model adapted to local circumstances, and how this contributed to the creation of a new Mexican culture.
