Dom José Joaquim Justiniano Mascarenhas Castelo Branco: um resgate histórico à memória histórica do bispo carioca (1773-1805)

Abstract

This thesis addresses the episcopate of Dom José Joaquim Justiniano Mascarenhas Castelo Branco, 7th bishop of the diocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, between 1773 and 1805. The afore mentioned prelate was the only Brazilian to assume a diocese in the Portuguese-American colony and the only carioca to assume command of the episcopal government of the city. Coming from an aristocratic family, he belonged to the influential Mascarenhas Castelo Branco lineage, which guaranteed him prestige and recognition, also within the structure of the Church. His appointment to the episcopate was influenced by his noble origins and the political power of his mother, D. Ana Teodora de Mascarenhas, who enjoyed great prestige among the local elite and the metropolitan government, essential factors within the system of the Royal Patronage, which allowed the king of Portugal to influence the selection of religious leaders in the colony. The bishop played a fundamental role in the administration of the Church during a period of strong tensions between the ecclesiastical power and the Portuguese State. Dom José Joaquim Justiniano Mascarenhas Castelo Branco faced challenges such as the poor training of the clergy, the presence of syncretic practices resulting from cultural miscegenation, and the difficulty of imposing the guidelines of the Council of Trent in the colonial context. His long episcopate was marked by disputes between the Church and the Crown, reflecting the conflicts inherent in the relationship between civil and religious power in Brazil’s 18th-century.