Passages from the book Itinerary for Parish Priests of Indians, by Peña Montenegro (1668), contained in a 17th Century Jesuit manual of penitence from the Amazon

Abstract

The proposal of the article is to transcribe and analyse the final passage of an anonymous manuscript manual of penitence in circulation in missions of Pará in 1751. The manual was written in Tupi, but the conclusion is in Portuguese. The missionary addresses himself to other confessors recounting the difficulties encountered in confessing Indians and suggesting solutions for the clergy to save their consciences. The author of the manual of penitence was influenced intellectually by the book Itinerary for Parish Priests of Indians, by Alonso de la Peña Montenegro, archbishop of Quito, published in 1668. The manuscript is to be found in the National Library of Rio de Janeiro. The transcription is annotated with references to the book by the archbishop of Quito.

Keywords

• Jesuit
• Missionary
• Confession
• Tupi
• Manual of Penitence
• Pará