ABSTRACT:
The large party of image enthronement of Blessed Gonçalo Garcia, in the Church of Irmandade da Senhora do Livramento dos Homens Pardos, in the eighteenth-century Recife, is a remarkable event for our purpose: the comprehension of the meanings and effects of Franciscans popular political-pedagogical actions in Colonial Brazil. Among the many events that happened during the celebration days, we will highlight the sermon pronounced by Friar Antônio de Santa Maria Jaboatão in the above quoted temple of brown people, in 1745. Beyond the controversy about the possibility if a saint has a brown color skin, Jaboatão does not exalt the Saint, but the brown color instead. He engages in defense of brown people, much ever more numerous in the colonial slave society. From the Franciscan utopia, he defends advanced position on the benefits of crossbreeding for a promising future of Brazil and the humanity. A real master class!
Keywords:
Saint Gonçalo Garcia; Friar Jaboatão; Brown people; Crossbreeding