The history of a school institution in Brazil: the seminary ‘Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte’ (1821-1888)

Abstract:

This text aims to present, from the analysis of the regulations, the internal structure of the Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte Seminary, an Institution catholic school in the diocese of Mariana, in the period of the ‘Brazil Empire’ (1822-1888). Three regulations (1821, 1844, and 1878) were used as the primary source of the research, which throughout the 19th century were the main instruments guiding the institutions internal. Through them, it was possible to understand what the internal organization of these school institutions. Other sources used for the article were registration books, account books and fragments of correspondence from the bishops of Mariana.

Keywords:
history of education; school institutions; Mariana’s Seminary; education and religion

Resumo:

O presente texto tem por objetivo apresentar, a partir da análise dos Regulamentos, a estrutura interna do Seminário Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte, uma instituição escolar católica da diocese de Mariana, no período do império (1822-1888). Utilizou-se como fonte primária da pesquisa três regulamentos (1821, 1844 e 1878) compostos ao longo do século XIX que são os principais instrumentos norteadores da vida interna da Instituição. Por meio deles, foi possível compreender como era a organização interna dessas instituições escolares. Outras fontes utilizadas para o artigo foram os livros de matrículas, livros de contas e fragmentos da correspondência dos bispos de Mariana.

Palavras-chave:
história da educação; instituições escolares; Seminário de Mariana; educação e religião

Resumen:

Este texto objetiva presentar, a partir del análisis del Documento de Reglamento, la estructura interna del Seminario ‘Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte’, institución escolar católica de la diócesis de Mariana, en la época del Imperio em Brasileño (1822-1888). Tres Reglamentos (1821, 1844 y 1878) de la Institución, compuestos a lo largo del siglo XIX fueron utilizados como fuente primaria de la investigación, como los principales instrumentos regladores de la vida interna de la institución. A través de ellos se pudo comprender cómo era la organización interna de estas instituciones escolares. Otras fuentes utilizadas para el artículo fueron los libros de inscripción (matrícula), libros de contabilidad y fragmentos de correspondencia de los obispos de Mariana.

Palabras clave:
historia de la educación; instituciones escolares; Seminario de Mariana; educación y religión

Introduction

The objective of this text is to understand and analyze the historical period of the Diocesan Seminary of Mariana - known as ‘Seminário Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte’ - under the prelacy o three bishops with recognized activity in the city of Mariana and in the Brazil of the nineteenth century. The focus is on the three distinct temporalities of life in the institution. The first one comprises the period of Dom friar José da Santíssima Trindade, OFM (1819-1835); the second one deals with Dom Antônio Ferreira Viçoso, CM (1844-1875), and the third one is about Dom Antônio Maria Correia de Sá e Benevides (1877-1896). These were moments that required a lot of effort from the prelates to overcome the crises, as well as to reorganize and ensure the operations and the reopening of the establishment. When Dom friar José, in 1820, and Dom Viçoso, in 1844, arrived in Mariana, the seminary was in a failed state. This article will demonstrate, through regulations and the institutional life, the different political and economic practices to keep such an important Brazilian educational organization working. By the side of Caraça (Oliveira & Martins, 2011) and, afterwards, of the Seminário Provincial Sagrado Coração de Jesus de Diamantina (1867), both founded by the Lazarists, the three of them were constituted as educational centers of the Brazilian clergy and they, also, acted in the education of boys¹⁶ in Minas Gerais, either destined or not to the priesthood. Dom Viçoso, after all the adventures to overcome the successive crises, was able to transfer the seminary in full operation to his successor.

Under the protection of the ultramontanism¹⁷, strongly diffused in Brazil through Mariana, and specially under the leadership of Dom Viçoso, we have the confirmation of the studies that indicate the strength of this political and theological conception in Minas Gerais, especially with the arrival of Lazarist religious and nuns - a Vincentian religious order whose primary objective was to promote the expansion of popular missions, acting in the education and instruction of boys in schools and seminaries, as already mentioned above. It was under the guidance of these institutions, aimed to the improvement in the education of priests, that the most significant agents of the Ultramontane Catholic reform in Brazil were prepared.

In the period, according to Caldeira (2007), we had the formation of a considerable part of the Brazilian clergy in the Catholic school institutions situated in Minas Gerais, such as the Seminário de Mariana, that of Caraça and Diamantina, the organizations that formed priests and focused essentially on the moral of the priests, culminating in a reform of the Brazilian clergy.

Clearly, the rise of the Ultramontane Church occurs with Gregório XVI with some impulses arising mainly with Pius IX and Pius X. The perspective, as would say some of the “intransigents”, of such papacies concerning liberalism, socialism, and the assumptions of Enlightenment that in the end were used in the Bible studies in a radical manner, resulting in the modernist heresy, was markedly dominant in the first half of the twentieth century (Caldeira, 2007, p. 80, author’s emphasis).

The education in these instruction organizations was marked by the religious currents and ideology, which they had as parameter for the education process of the clergy and the society in general. In the schools, everybody would be educated under the same theology and under the same political conception (ultramontane), either the clergy or the secular man, because when young, while within these areas, it was not possible to know who would have a priestly or secular vocation. Even if secularism was far from these, the seminaries also formed the layman for the society. Therefore, everybody was formed as part of the clergy. The good and orthodox Catholic was formed.

The text is divided into four moments: the first one gives an introduction to the Seminary, with a chronological context with relation to the educational institutions in Brazil; second, presents the regulation of 1821 corresponding to the period of the episcopate of Dom friar José (1819-1835); third, presents, through analysis of the regulation of 1844 and other information, the seminary in the period of Dom Viçoso (1844-1875); and fourth, presents and discusses the regulation of 1878 related to the period of Dom Benevides (1877-1896).

The Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte Seminary - an educational institution in Minas Gerais between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte Seminary¹⁸ was founded in the eighteenth century in the city of Mariana¹⁹ in Minas Gerais. The area of the State of Minas Gerais had origin in the sixteenth century through the expeditions of the “bandeirantes”, who looked for precious stones in the interior of the country. With rapid settlements in the eighteenth century, the region became an important economic center, promoting the creation of the diocese of Mariana, the first one in the state and the sixth oldest one in Brazil. Before 1745, date of the foundation, there was in Brazil the diocese of São Salvador, in Bahia, created on February 25 of 1551, the diocese of Rio de Janeiro and the one of Olinda, both from 1676, the diocese of São Luís do Maranhão, created on August 30 of 1677, and the diocese of Belém do Pará, from March 4 of 1719.

A first information to keep in mind while studying the diocesan seminaries is the instruction contained in the Council of Trent (1545-1563) for the priestly formation. Held in the sixteenth century, the Council of Trent is known for promoting the Catholic counter-reform. As per the priestly formation, it determined new guidelines, such as creation of specific houses for the formation of the clergy, the so-called seminaries (Freitas, 1979). Later and slowly, this was consolidated in Brazil. The first seminary under these parameters was founded on September 05 of 1739 in Rio de Janeiro, and it was called São José Seminary. The second one to be founded was the Belém do Grão Pará Seminary founded on April 17 of 1749, followed by the Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte Seminary, in Mariana, Minas Gerais, founded on December 20 of 1750 by the first bishop of the diocese, Dom friar Manoel da Cruz. Still in the colonial period, on February 16 of 1800, the Nossa Senhora das Graças Seminary was inaugurated, in the diocese of Olinda and in 1815, the São Dâmaso Seminary in the archdiocese of São Salvador in Bahia (Freitas, 1979).

Besides of being the third oldest seminary in Brazil as per the Tridentine parameters, the Mariana Seminary is considered as one of the first school institutions in Minas Gerais. Before it, there was only an educational house for girls, the Recolhimento Nossa Senhora de Macaúbas “[...] founded in 1716, by the Blessed Félix da Costa” (Rocha, 2008 p. 81). In the nineteenth century, little by little, other Catholic educational institutions appeared, including: the Colégio Nossa Senhora Mãe dos Homens in Caraça, founded in 1820; the school for boys of Campo Belo in the Triângulo Mineiro, and the Colégio do Bom Jesus de Congonhas, both in 1827; added to the Recolhimento de Nossa Senhora de Macaúbas, the Colégio de Macaúbas founded in 1847; the Colégio da Providência in Mariana, from 1849; the Colégio Nossa Senhora das Dores, from 1866, and the Episcopal Seminary, from 1867 in Diamantina; the Colégio Dom Bosco in Cachoeira do Campo, district of Ouro Preto, from 1897, and the Colégio Nossa Senhora das Dores in São João Del Rei, from 1898 (Assis, 2019).

Before the creation of the seminaries, the education in Brazil and the formation of the clergy were under the exclusive responsibility of the religious orders. The Jesuits, with their schools and seminaries, played an important role in the educational process during that period (Carrato, 1968). Table 1 below shows the main Jesuit educational institutions in the Colonial Brazil:

Table 1
Jesuit educational institutions in the Colonial Brazil.

The existing Jesuit seminaries in Brazil, before the foundation of the Seminary of Rio de Janeiro in 1739, did not have the objective of forming priests. They were educational institutions²⁰ restricted, sometimes, to specific audiences. The Seminary of Belém, 1686, for example, was a house of studies with the objective of forming only the sons of Portuguese people (Oliveira, 2014)²¹.

The seminary of Mariana was one of the latest educational institutions founded by the Jesuits in Brazil. According to Carrato (1968), the Jesuit priest José Nogueira, expert in theology, left Pernambuco to go to Minas, in 1748, to teach classes and contribute to the opening of the seminary.

It is known that the beginning of the educational activities was quite difficult, especially due to the lack of skilled workforce. In addition to the lack of teachers in the first seven years, in 1758, due to the Pombaline Reforms²² for the expulsion of the Jesuits from the empire and after the order issued by the government, the Jesuit priests had to leave Mariana and go to Rio de Janeiro (Trindade, 1951). With the departure of the Jesuits and with little options left, Dom Manuel invited the Diocesan priests to assume the classes in the seminary.

From 1750 to 1843, a period of approximately 90 years, six bishops were appointed for the diocese. From those, two were not in Mariana, period in which the diocese was administered by prosecutors - priests that, in a certain way and with limitations, assumed the administrative function. Besides, from 1764, after the death of Dom Manoel, until 1772, the prelacy was in Sede Vacante, something that profoundly affects the structure of the seminary. During this period, the diocese was administered by the Cabildo - a kind of Council²³. From 1772 to 1780, it was managed by prosecutors, because Dom Joaquim Borges de Figueiroa (bishopric: 1771 - 1772) and Dom Bartolomeu Manuel Mendes dos Reis (bishopric: 1772 to 1777) did not go to the diocese. This had a great impact on the seminary. Due to lack of leadership and ecclesiastical reference, there was then a moral decline in the religious formation in the seminary. The fact would only start to be solved with the arrival of Dom Viçoso in the nineteenth century. And even so, in 1852, eight years after entering the diocese, the bishop informed the government that from the 480 priests, the fourth part consisted of bad priests, “[...] some were drunk, others were tradespeople and almost all in the fourth part were immoderate with scandals” (Ecclesiastical archives of the Arquidiocese de Mariana [AEAM], 1852).

In the first years of the seminary, therefore, we have the problem of lack of teachers and the moral problem. Added to these, at the end of the eighteenth century, the seminary starts to face financial difficulties. After 1793, following the death of Dom friar Domingos da Encarnação Pontével (bishopric: 1778 - 1793), fourth bishop of Mariana, the diocese again goes under administration of the Cabildo until 1798, with the arrival of Dom friar Cipriano de São José (bishopric:1797 - 1817). During this period, the seminary went through a great financial crisis, with difficulties, for example, to pay off the salaries of the teachers because of the bad administration by the Cabildo (Trindade, 1951).

Dom friar Cipriano de São José arrived at the diocese in Mariana in 1798 and found the seminary in decline. According to Trindade (1951, p. 31), “[...] one of the first acts of the new bishop was a public notice calling the priesthood candidates for the seminary”. However, there was not enough support to the recovery. With Dom Cipriano, the seminary worked until 1811, when “[...] there were still seminarists, but afterwards they lacked and the premise was only open for the ordained people using the place for the spiritual exercises” (Trindade, 1940, p. 80-81). From 1811 to 1817, when Dom Cipriano died, “[...] the seminary remained closed serving as residence for the rector - together with three slaves, who used the area for the spiritual exercises with those ordained” (Trindade, 1951, p. 31). Only in 1821, with the arrival of Dom friar José da Santíssima Trindade (bishopric: 1819 - 1835), the seminary returned to the activities.

Despite all the administrative and pedagogical hierarchy existing in the Catholic educational establishments, the bishop, as can be observed in the brief summary of the history of the Mariana Seminary, was the highest authority. Therefore, it is fundamental to know about his formation, his political and religious positions, and his ideals, to be able to understand the historical process of permanence and change in the academic structure of these institutions. We will now deal more accurately with the internal dynamics of the Mariana Seminary in the period of the three main bishops of the diocese in the nineteenth century. Table 2 below summarizes some information to understand the next moments in the text.

Table 2
Bishoprics of Mariana - 1819-1896.

The seminary from 1821 to 1835 under the guidance of a Franciscan bishop

Since 1820, after a period of severe crisis, the seminary acquires new energy with the arrival of Dom friar José da Santíssima Trindade. The sixth bishop in the diocese of Mariana, Dom José, even if not considered a ultramontane - since he did not fight the regalism - had a conservative political position and defended, as the ultramontanes, the Tridentine reform, the Roman orthodoxy and battled the ecclesiastic liberalism that used to fight, among other things, for a reform in the national Church to make it autonomous from Rome and more dependent on the State (Santirocchi, 2014). The great effort to reopen and maintain the seminary with a certain moral accuracy indicates the conservative political position of this bishop, since these institutions, as demonstrated, were a requirement of the Council of Trent.

Trindade (1940) states that Dom José had the merits of a founder with the passion and commitment to restore the seminary. However, the diocese was in decline too, and not only the seminary. “Dom friar José finds a diocese that is practically destroyed if we consider the last years of the bishopric of Dom friar Cipriano and the three years of Sede Vacante as well as his death on August 14 of 1817” (Oliveira, 1998, p. 28). The prelate took the responsibility for restructuring the seminary and, according to Oliveira (1998), he used his own savings, and he begged the priests for money. In addition, Dom José also restructures the building for the classes and formulates the new by-laws to provide religious enthusiasm and student energy to the institution.

Differently from the first regulation of the Mariana seminary, from 1760, which was quite objective, the second one, dated 1821²⁴, was longer, more explanatory, and detailed. It had an introduction and three other parts. The introduction addressed “[...] the public utility of the seminaries and the recommendation made by the Council of Trent and by the popes” (Oliveira, 1998, p. 28). In the document, Dom friar José justifies the need of seminaries. He emphasizes that through them, it was possible to dissipate the darkness of ignorance by affording “greater levels of science” to the students. He highlights also that seminaries were places where rare talents could appear and where it was possible to learn the good moral that regulates good manners. With this comment, the friar partially dissolves the representation of the academic culture that Franciscans were not associated to erudition or had little interest in science and intellectual topics. As indicated by Sangenis and Mainka (2019), these stereotyped representations concerning the Franciscan Orders are practically clichés in culture and academy; they are, probably, result of poor research concerning their role in education during colonial times and even nowadays.

The introduction is the smaller portion of the by-laws, followed by the part that is divided into four chapters that deal with “[...] the administration and accountancy of the seminary, its farm, and the obligations of the foreman towards the slaves” (Oliveira, 1998, p. 28). The first chapter addresses the responsibility of the bishop. The second one deals specifically with the financial administration, from which depends the happiness and the conservation of the building (AEAM, 1821). The third chapter deals with the administration of the farm, specifying the administrative rules and indicating the profile of the foreman, who must be able to read and to write, as well as to know the Catholic doctrine to teach it to the slaves. The fourth chapter states that on the last day of each month, there must be a meeting held by the rector with the prosecutor and the treasurer to close the accounts of the month (AEAM, 1821).

The second part of the regulation, divided into 14 chapters, is about “[...] the staff of the seminary, the students, the superiors, and the officers” (Oliveira, 1998, p. 29). They address in detail the internal organization of the institution. The first chapter presents the mandatory observance of the rules in the regulation and deals with the financial conditions to receive students under the title of poverty (paupertatis). The second one determines in detail the clothes to wear outdoors and indoors the seminary. The third chapter presents the internal and external rules for the intersubjective relationships highlighting the charity, the politeness, and the equality in the relationship among all the seminarists. There are, also, some prohibitions, such as, for example, the use of short names or family titles when addressing someone. The fourth chapter shows the spiritual routine established by the attendance to the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist. The fifth chapter talks about leisure and introduces the wooden orange ball game (“laranjinha”) and other ball games for recreation. The sixth chapter recommends to the rector the patience in moral correction. It indicates the punishments of penance, spiritual exercises, abstinence, and confinement into the own room. The seventh chapter deals with the religious obligations of the students who do not intend to follow the priesthood. They were required to have religious responsibilities in the parishes, as well as to cultivate spiritual practices, such as sacraments. The eighth chapter describes how to behave in the dining area, under penalty of punishment and requires praying before the meals, remaining silent, maintaining the personal hygiene and the collective cleanliness in the environment. From the ninth to the 14th chapters, he presents the rules for the rector, the vice-rector, the nurse, the sacristan, and the gatekeeper. It is noteworthy the fact that the roles of sacristan, gatekeeper and dining area are reserved to the students under title of poverty (AEAM, 1821).

The third part of the regulation, divided into eight chapters, specifically refers to the teaching of the disciplines of the philosophy and theology courses. The first chapter emphasizes the weight of the academic dimension for the religious formation by stressing that through religion and science, the seminarists will be able to propagate the lights on the Church. The second chapter highlights the value of the Latin grammar by showing that it opens the doors of knowledge and promotes the intelligence of the scientific books. It presents also, the study time schedule; the profile of the students to be admitted into the classes; the requirement of this subject to be able to attend other ones that are entitled as higher ones; some of the obligations of the professor and the need to demonstrate to the rector and other professors, by means of an examination, the performance in the studies. As it is possible to verify:

All those who are not able to easily realize the classical authors will be admitted to this class. No student shall require entrance in advanced Classes without the approval issued by the Professor of Latin Grammar [...]. The same Professor will provide the Lessons of his disciples and the required explanations and frequent subjects. And, by the end of each year, the disciples shall take the public examinations in the face of the Rector and the other professors of the Seminary (AEAM, 1821).

The third chapter resumes the objective of Latin grammar and demonstrates that through it, students will know the science of the words, terms and phrases that are used by arts and sciences. Then, it presents rhetoric as the branch of learning in which students will learn the art of speaking well, since it is through speaking that students will be able to organize, ornament, distribute thoughts and teach the artifices for persuasion. This chapter also presents some of the responsibilities of the teacher: “The teacher of this art will teach through the easiest method [...]. In it, he will look for the use of those with terms that adapt to those that are not yet entered into the rules of Rhetoric” (AEAM, 1821).

Chapter fourth presents philosophy as a science that is required to enter into the perception of the other sciences, since it teaches to investigate things for their causes, it prepares the ideas and the principles of the spirit sciences, thus guiding the operations of understanding. Through philosophy, a clergy is capable of building the church and a citizen is capable of serving the country. He also establishes the study timetable and some of the responsibilities of the teacher concerning this content, as shown below:

It (philosophy) teaches how to investigate things for the causes and effects, drives the operations of understanding, it prepares the principles and ideas of all the sciences of the spirits [...] through (philosophy) a Clergy can be prepared to be able to build the Church as well as a Citizen with ability for the service of the Country and the Republic [...]. The schedule for this Class, which will happen twice a day, will be from eight in the morning to nine-thirty and, from three to four-thirty in the afternoon. The professor will be responsible, with care and diligence, for the examinations of the students (AEAM, 1821).

The fifth chapter states, with extensive argumentation, theology as the essential point in salvation of the souls. It also presents a division of this discipline: practical theology, dealing with Christian morality, and dogmatic theology, dealing with the dogmas and the defense of the religion. As it can be observed,

It is, therefore the Christian Theology that comes from God, Author of Revelation, derived from the Holy Scriptures and tradition, where are the sources from which the orthodox authors have been drinking the truths that teach us, as well as nature laws, and the correct and infallible principles of religion, as the purposes for which man was created; as it is divided into Practical and Dogmatic Theology, we have determined to establish a Chair to deal with it in the part belonging to dogma and religion defense; and another, Moral Theology, which is indispensable for the ministry of priesthood and the guidance of the souls (AEAM, 1821).

Latin grammar would open the doors of knowledge and would facilitate the intelligence for the reading of scientific books. Rhetoric would teach the art of good speaking, essential for any public function. Philosophy would help investigating for their causes, thus allowing students to have perception of the other sciences when preparing the ideas and principles of the sciences, directing the operations of understanding. Finally, theology would teach what concerns the salvation of the souls. Therefore, the regulation of 1821, compared to other regulations, is quite singular. No other is so detailed and explanatory in what concerns the rules, functions, tasks, and administrative and academic organizations of the seminary.

The seminary of Dom friar José worked well, without major problems, until 1827 (Oliveira, 1998). From that date, with the arrival of the teacher of philosophy, father Antônio José Ribeiro Bhering²⁵, many problems start to arise in the seminary. Dom friar José, due to his conservative political position that fought the ecclesiastic liberalism, accused the referred teacher of teaching philosophies that were prohibited by the Church (Enlightenment philosophies) and expelled him from the seminary in October of 1829. However, he had great “[...] social and political prestige in the region” (Almeida, 2013, p. 18), and his dismissal generated problems for the seminary as well as for the prelate.

After being expelled, father Bhering goes to Ouro Preto, his hometown and the official capital of the province of Minas Gerais in that period, and he developed, with the political support he had, “[...] a very strong campaign against the prelate, which from that year on, could not live a moment of tranquility in his episcopate” (Trindade, 1951, p. 33). Bhering and the liberals attacked, through the newspapers, both the bishop and the seminary. The strict moral bias of the regulation served as munition for the father to question the attitudes of the bishop in the provincial council of Minas. The regulation did not undergo any intervention of the State and it remained as the guiding document of the seminary until the death of Dom José. However, the political dispute affected the internal life of the organization: it damaged the public image of the educational institution and, also, it caused “[...] an intervention in the teaching staff [...] articulated by the public sector. In 1832, the Philosophy and Theology teachers [Franciscan friars] that had been indicated by friar José, were forbidden to teach classes in the seminary and were expelled from the province of Minas according to a decree signed by Diogo Feijó” (Almeida, 2015, p. 83).

This, together with other problems caused by the conservative position of the bishop²⁶, ended up by corroding the prelate and the social image of the seminary (Trindade, 1951). With the death of Dom friar José, we have the beginning of another period of Sede Vacante, which ended only with the arrival of Dom Viçoso in 1844.

The seminary from 1844 to 1875 under the guidance of a Lazarist bishop

The conditions of the seminary when Dom Viçoso arrived in Mariana were not admirable. The end of the episcopate of Dom friar José da Santíssima Trindade and the last period of Sede Vacante caused serious problems to the institution. One of them concerns the physical structure. After the revolution of 1842, when the building served as barracks for the government troops, the physical part became in need of repair. After his arrival in Mariana, within only seven months, Dom Viçoso restores the building and reopens the seminary.

The changes promoted by Dom Viçoso altered the internal structure of the seminary. Previously, the accommodations were divided into cubicles (small rooms). With the changes, the building then acquired six large collective dormitories, “[...] which provided better surveillance” (Pimenta, 1920, p. 103), allowing, also, a greater number of students. With this modification, at first, Dom Viçoso tackled two problems: the financial as well as the moral problems. It was not by chance that he was considered a reformer bishop, using education as the fundamental weapon to implement his ideals. In an official notice of January 09 of 1850 he said: “[...] I only nourish myself with the hope of a better future in the creation of the candidates for the clergy” (AEAM, 1850).

By changing the internal structure and increasing the number of students accepted in, Dom Viçoso enabled the seminary to have a better income, because the studies were paid. Pimenta (1920) informs that in 1845 all the 150 vacancies were already filled and, according to Camello (1986), the average number of ordinations of Dom Viçoso was of 10.6 priests per year. He ordained 318 priests between 1845 and 1875 - a quite expressive number. Table 3 below, was created based on the enrollment book of 1859 to 1867, providing a vision of the capacity in the Mariana seminary.

Table 3
Number of registrations - 1859-1867.

It is not possible to say that these numbers refer to all the students enrolled in the period from 1859 to 1867 because of two reasons: first, in the period corresponding to the table, the theology seminary was located at Colégio do Caraça, so, it is possible that there are other registrations still unknown. Second, the part of the seminary that was in Mariana, the smaller seminary, received students who were not candidates for priesthood (the schoolboys) and the enrollment book made no distinction concerning these students.

The internal changes in the seminary building performed by the prelate, were also meant to handle the moral issue, because, with large dormitories, it was easier to surveille the students. The moral decay found by Dom Viçoso can be confirmed in a text written by Dom Silvério and presented by Trindade (1953, p. 221), which reads: “The seminary [...] was in such a situation that the students could go out in the night to the houses of the concubines [...]. It reached the extent that in occasions when a seminarist tried to approach a girl, she used to make promises for when he would become a priest, because then he would be able to pay for her expenses”.

In addition to the physical change, there was also in the period a division concerning the academic structure. The candidates for the priesthood were separated from the other students: “[...] the Colégio Episcopal was called São Fidelis, and the seminary itself was reserved to the priesthood candidates: all in the same building” (Trindade, 1940, p. 91). Besides the subjects studied, it is probable that the separation occurred with the changes in the divisions in the dormitories, for each of the groups had a specific director. Here, it is noteworthy that the first ones responsible for the Colégio Episcopal São Fidelis were laymen: “Paschoal Pacine and Rocha Cabral, friends who D. Viçoso had met in Rio and who followed him to Mariana” (Trindade, 1940, p. 91).

In 1845, with the seminary already working, a new regulation was issued, with 25 chapters, followed by the schedule for the internal activities. The emphasis was in order, discipline, and silence as fundamental elements to reach virtue and science. The regulation dictated the rules since the first hours of the day, including personal physical care that everybody had to follow. For example, the section “Room” imposed that, by the ring of the bells, after waking up, students had to wash their faces. Section Six determined the obligation concerning respect towards the community moments, such as classes, prayers, and meals. Section Eight and part of Four determined the requirement of cleanliness of the beds, clothes, and books. Section 15 was the prohibition of beverages and weapons (pistols and knives) within the seminary. Section Seven demanded silence during acts of the communities: “[...] for it is morally impossible to have piety and good order where there is no silence, this should be diligently observed; do not talk unless in recreation times, and do not make noises while in the halls [...]” (Pimenta, 1920, p. 107).

The explanations of the regulation appear in a manuscript by Dom Viçoso titled “Explicação motivada dos principais artigos do regulamento do seminário Eclesiástico de Mariana”, which unfortunately is incomplete in the file of the Curia of Mariana. It is about a text, according to Camello (1986, p. 336), “[...] that could be classified as theoretical and doctrinal [...]”, as we can read in the short excerpt that deals with the moral issue: “[...] the seminarists that more and more become established in the horrors of the sin [...]. Do try to deeply engrave in the hearts the phrase of St. Cyprian: The Lord who said, “I am the Truth”, never said “I am the habit” (AEAM, n.d., author’s emphasis).

Through this document, it is possible to know in detail the internal routine of the institution, which besides the academic activities, it had also, in interspersed manner, leisure and praying as ordinary activities, as we can read below:

5:30 - Waking up.

5:45 - Morning activities in halls, kneeling in the middle, one after the other.

6:00 - Study with strict silence.

7:00 - Mass, and then lunch.

8:00 - Study with strict silence.

9:30 - Classes for two hours.

11:45 - Dinner and recreation.

3:30 - Classes for two hours.

5:30 - Plainsong for the Ecclesiastics and recreation for the others.

6:30 - Study with strict silence.

7:00 - Supper and recreation up to 8:30 p.m.

8:30 - Examination and going to the accommodations.

Studies are allowed up to 10 p.m. and then, lights must be turned off individually (Regulation 1844 apud Pimenta, 1920, p. 108-109).

From this distribution, it is possible to understand that the daily routine of the students was heavily laden. The activities initiated at 5:45 a.m. and ended at approximately 9 p.m., which could be extended to 10 p.m. It is interesting to highlight here the organization of the hours referring to studies, as they were distributed throughout the day. It was also the activity with more time dedicated to it: seven to eight hours of instruction per day, with four hours for classes and three to four hours for personal studies. This structure was maintained until 1856, when another regulation was created²⁷, under the direction of the Lazarist priests, who imposed another routine through a new organization for the school days.

In addition to the time for study and the timetables for the classes, it is possible to analyze, also, the curriculum program of the courses, which could “[...] take around five years for humanities and around three to four years for the theology course” (Camello, 1986, p. 355). The regulation of 1856 states that the disciplines in the humanities course should be attended within five years, but there are no indications concerning the theological course (Regulation of 1856 apud Trindade, 1940). However, that was not an absolute rule, for, depending on the education degree of the student, he could advance through the stages faster, especially those intended to the priesthood as, for example, the case of the former slave Francisco de Paula Vitor (Fonseca, 2020), the first former slave to become priest in Brazil - who entered the seminary in 1849 and was ordained priest in 1851 - who studied only three years.

Before presenting the course syllabus, it is important to emphasize two pieces of information. First, according to Camello (1986), while the seminary was stabilized by Dom Viçoso, the curriculum frameworks became more robust. One of the reasons for this configuration was the transfer of the direction of the institution to the Lazarists, which happened in three phases. The first phase, 1849 to 1852, corresponds to the moment in which the first Lazarists priests arrived in Mariana. The second one, from 1854 to 1855, occurred when the theological course of the seminary went to Caraça²⁸ - because of the smallpox pandemic, and remained entirely under the responsibility of the Lazarists, who were already at the college since 1820 - while the Colégio São Fidelis went to the farm of the seminary in Paulo Moreira, which currently corresponds to the city of Alvinópolis²⁹. The third phase corresponds to the definitive transfer of the seminary which “[...] happened in 1859, through official agreement executed by Dom Viçoso and the Congregação da Missão” (Trindade, 1951, p. 52).

The second piece of information is that, because of the patronage system, the seminary, in a certain way, was subordinated to the State and so received funds from the government to offer scholarships and to pay some of the teachers. Some of the subjects were determined by government laws such as the courses of Latin, French, English, History, Geography, arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, and algebra, included in the seminary as per the Minas Gerais act No. 445, of October 20 of 1849 (APM, 1849).

Table 4 below shows the possible subjects taught in the seminary during the period of Dom Viçoso,

Table 4
Courses in the period of Dom Viçoso (1844-1875).

The regulation of 1856 had information on some of the subjects studied in the seminary, as well as on the distribution of the subjects. For Latin, three years, for mathematics, one year, and for philosophy, one year. Portuguese grammar was studied together with Latin and in the last year of Latin, French could be added. Geography was taught together with mathematics, and rhetoric, together with philosophy. Catechesis and Sacred History were taught on Sundays and on Thursdays (Trindade, 1940).

Under the ultramontane position of Dom Viçoso, the seminary had 318 priests graduated in that political ideal and, also, the consecration of five bishops, who contributed to the diffusion of the ultramontanism in Brazil, as follows: Dom José Afonso de Morais Torres, Dom Luís A. dos Santos, Dom João Antônio dos Santos, Dom Pedro Maria Lacerda, and Dom Silvério Gomes Pimenta. They acted in the Brazilian society and rescued the religiosity linked directly to the Supreme Pontiff. So, under the auspices of the ultramontanism, with the ideal of training the priest or the professional based on the Catholic moral, the Mariana Seminary was, in Brazil, a skilled instrument for the strengthening of that school of thought. The two subsequent bishops, Dom Benevides and Dom Silvério, also adopted the ultramontane flag in their episcopates, and allowed the seminary to proceed with the works initiated by Dom Viçoso.

The Seminary from 1876 to 1888 under the guidance of a Diocesan bishop

After the death of Dom Viçoso, occurred on July 7 of 1875, the diocese of Mariana remains in Sede Vacante until June of 1877, when Dom Antônio Maria Correia de Sá e Benevides³⁰ is confirmed to take on the diocese. The period of Dom Benevides (1877-1896) is considered as one of the most prolific in the institution. According to Trindade (1951), between 1882 and 1900, the average of annual enrollments was of 200 students. In 1886 alone, for example, the Seminary of Mariana had 172 students attending the course of humanities, and 52 attending the course of theology. Altogether, they were 214 students. One of the measures taken by that bishop which influenced the success in the teaching activities, was the transfer of the Colégio Teológico, from Serra do Caraça (since 1854) to Mariana due to the variola pandemic. “For almost thirty years the higher course of ecclesiastical sciences, or Maior Seminary, was located in Caraça, a private property of the Lazarists, more than sixty kilometers far from the episcopal city” (Trindade, 1953, p. 256). In 1882, almost five years after the arrival of Dom Benevides to Mariana, counting with 38 students, the theological course returned to the main venue.

In addition to this fact, we also have in the period a regulation that, despite of the absence of great news in comparison to what was presented previously, it allows us to understand the dynamics in the seminary during the period of Dom Benevides. The regulation of 1878 is quite concise: only eight chapters. It seems to be like an invitation to the newcomers, because it presents succinctly the academic and disciplinary structures of the institution, which is one of the main requirements of the seminary, already mentioned in the first chapter, where we read: “The object of this regulation is to educate the youth in science and devotion, and to prepare them specifically for the Ecclesiastic State. Therefore, only those willing to conform with the rules of this Establishment are allowed in” (AEAM, 1878). What calls attention in the chapter is the fact that the rules are the same for all the students, even the ones that were not seminarists. In what concerns discipline, chapter VI presents some prohibitions such as smoking, having perfumes, and keeping unnecessary relationship with people outside the seminaries. It also mentions the authority granted to superiors to open the letters of the students when deemed required. Also, in what regards discipline, chapter VII presents the consequences for those disrespecting the rules. First, parents would be warned to take the appropriate measure; second, in case of serious misconduct, the students would be dismissed (AEAM, 1878).

The regulation also presents some elements of the academic sector. The second chapter shows the subjects to be studied in the establishment, namely: Latin, Portuguese, French, English, Geography, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Rhetoric, rationality philosophy, moral philosophy, sacred history, universal history, catechism, and principles of vocal and instrumental music (AEAM, 1878). It is important to highlight here that these subjects pertain to the course of humanities, which is the first phase in the education of the priests in the seminary. However, they are not different from what existed in the period of Dom Viçoso. The only difference is the distinction between class of vocal music and class of instrumental music, which did not appear in the other regulations presented. There is the possibility that the theological course maintained the disciplines of the period of Dom Viçoso, at least in the beginning of the episcopate of Dom Benevides, because in that period, the course was still offered at Serra do Caraça. The third chapter deals with the amounts to be paid by the students: “The Monthly Installments are currently in the amount of 25 reis per month, paid every three months, in advance, without discounts, plus six annual installments for the ordinary doctor of the house and a registration fee of 20 reis that each student shall pay upon the admission” (AEAM, 1878). In addition to the expenses concerning installments, the medical doctor and the registration, students would also have to pay for clothes, books, and other small items, as per what is announced in chapter five. Chapter eight shows the vacation period, which gives us an idea of the organization of the school year, since the students would have three months of vacation in July, August, and September. “Therefore, no one will be allowed to go to it [vacation] before June the 30^th, nor will be admitted the student already enrolled if returning from it [the vacations] after October the 1^st without reasonable justifications” (AEAM, 1878). Finally, the regulation also informed what each student should bring once enrolled in the seminary: “1) everything required for the bed and a red blanket, for matters of uniformity; 2) ordinary clothing, in addition to cassocks, biretta, ferraiolo and surplice; 3) The essential stuff for cleaning and personal care, such as bath and face wash basin, brushes, combs, little scissors etc.” (AEAM, 1878).

In spite of being quite concise, the regulation of 1878 can be more comprehensive when dealing with the dimensions postulated by the seminary and, unlike the regulation of 1845, which barely addressed the academic issue, it presented some information that enabled the student to know the academic structure of the courses in the seminary.

Further considerations

The seminary after the period of Dom Viçoso, was structurally well organized and therefore, Dom Benevides (last period analyzed) did not face great problems while in his management. However, the first period (from Dom friar José) and the second period (from Dom Viçoso) required a lot of dedication by the prelates to reopen and reorganize the institution, as well as to ensure the good operation. Comparing the three regulations, it is possible to apprehend some uniformity. They all included praying, discipline and studies interlinked. Besides, discipline was the foundation against which all the rules and requirements from the three regulations were based. The organization, aimed to instruct the priest, was based on an extremely strict discipline that, in a certain way, enabled the superiors to judge and evaluate the students and candidates for the priesthood. Discipline was the ideal and practical instrument to realize who would be those that would be suitable for the required profile.

There is a great determination in the regulation of 1821 to justify the imposed rules, especially the academic and the spiritual ones, a characteristic that do not appear in the other regulations. The regulation of 1845 is the most incisive in the directives. A justification might be the moral context involving the seminary when Dom Viçoso assumed the diocese, which required greater disciplinary accuracy. As per the regulation of 1878, there are no significant differences regarding Dom Viçoso. This could be because, in the period, the seminary was governed by the Lazarists. In this way, even with the change of the bishop, the authorities in the seminary remained the same and, consequently, the rules. The great contribution of this last bishop to the history of the seminary was to bring to Mariana the seminary of theology, which was in the seminary of Caraça since 1854.

Referências

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• Caldeira, R. C. (2007). Bases temporais para o estudo histórico da Igreja Católica do século XX. Horizonte, 5(10), 56- 74. Recuperado de: http://periodicos.pucminas.br/index.php/horizonte/article/view/458/489
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• Camello, M. J. O. (1986). Dom Antônio Ferreira Viçoso e a Reforma do Clero em Minas Gerais no século XIX (Tese de Doutorado). Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo.
• Carrato, J. F. (1968). Igreja, iluminismo e escolas mineiras coloniais São Paulo, SP: Companhia Editora Nacional.
• Carvalho, R. A., & De Paula, L. S. (2020). A Câmara Municipal de Mariana e sua faceta pedagógica (1889-1930).Revista Brasileira De História Da Educação,20(1), e109. doi: https://doi.org/10.4025/rbhe.v20.2020.e109
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• Fonseca, M. V. (2020). Padre Vitor: um educador negro entre a escravidão e a santidade.Revista Brasileira de História da Educação,20(1), e131. doi: https://doi.org/10.4025/rbhe.v20.2020.e131
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• Freitas, J. H. (1979). Aplicação no Brasil do decreto tridentino sobre os seminários até 1889 Belo Horizonte, MG: São Vicente.
• Galvão, A. M., Moraes, D. Z., Gondra, J. G., & Biccas, M. S. (2008). Difusão, apropriação e produção do saber histórico: a “Revista Brasileira de História da Educação” (2001-2007). Revista Brasileira de História da Educação, 8(1[16]), 171-234. Recuperado de: https://periodicos.uem.br/ojs/index.php/rbhe/article/view/38592
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• Lage, A. C. P. (2013). Conexões Vicentinas: particularidades políticas e religiosas da educação confessional em Mariana e Lisboa oitocentistas (Tese de Doutorado). Paco Editorial, Jundiaí.
• Lage, A. C. P. (2008). Pedagogia vicentina: as primeiras escolas confessionais femininas em Minas Gerais na segunda metade do século XIX (Mariana e Diamantina). In Anais do 5º Congresso Brasileiro de História da Educação (p. 1-21). Aracajú, SE.
• Lopes, E. M. T. (1987). Casa da Providência: uma escola mineira do século XIX. Educação em Revista, 6, 28-34.
• Lopes, E. M. T. (2017). Da sagrada missão pedagógica Belo Horizonte, MG: Autêntica.
• Lopes, E. M. T., & Bicalho, M. G. (1993). Colégios religiosos femininos e masculinos em Minas Gerais: um mapeamento ainda provisório. Educação em Revista, 17, 47-55.
• Lustosa, O. F. (1990).A Igreja Católica no Brasil e o regime republicano São Paulo, SP: Loyola.
• Oliveira, F. F. (2014). Educação jesuítica; século XVII: Alexandre de Gusmão e o Seminário de Belém da Cachoeira (Tese de Doutorado). Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Paulo.
• Oliveira, L. C., & Martins, K. D. (2011). O ultramontanismo em Minas Gerais e em outras regiões do Brasil. Revista de Ciências Humanas, 11(2), 259-269. Recuperado de: https://www.locus.ufv.br/bitstream/123456789/13070/1/artigo4vol11-2.pdf
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• Oliveira, M. M. (2004). As origens da educação no Brasil: da hegemonia católica às primeiras tentativas de organização do ensino. Ensaio: Avaliação e Políticas Públicas em Educação, 12(45), 945-958. Recuperado de: https://www.scielo.br/pdf/ensaio/v12n45/v12n45a03.pdf
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• Oliveira, R. P. (1998). Visitas pastorais de D. Frei José da Santíssima Trindade Belo Horizonte, MG: Fundação João Pinheiro. Centro de Estudos Históricos e Culturais. Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico de Minas Gerais.
• Pimenta, S. G. (1920). Vida de Dom Antônio Ferreira Viçoso, Bispo de Mariana, Conde da Conceição (3a ed.). Mariana, MG: Tipografia Arquiepiscopal.
• Prefeitura Municipal de Divinópolis. (2020). História Recuperado de: https://www.alvinopolis.mg.gov.br/prefeitura/historia
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• Rocha, A. J. S. (2008). A educação feminina nos séculos XVIII e XIX: intenções dos bispos para o recolhimento Nossa Senhora de Macaúbas (Dissertação de Mestrado). Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte.
• Sangenis, L F. C., &. Mainka, P. J. (2019). Presença franciscana e supremacia jesuítica no campo da história e da história da educação na época colonial - um diagnóstico na pesquisa historiográfica a partir da análise dos CBHE da SBHE. Revista Brasileira de História da Educação, 19(2019), e061. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4025/rbhe.v19.2019.e061
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• Santirocchi, Í. D. (2014). Dai a César o que é de César e ao Papa o que é do Papa - a Reforma Ultramontana no Segundo Reinado. In 1º Seminário Internacional Brasil no Século XIX (p. 1-22.). Niterói, RJ.
• Santos, A. V., & Vechia, A. (2019). As escolas que construímos: a história de instituições escolares na Revista Brasileira de História Da Educação. Revista Brasileira de História da Educação, 19(2019), e062. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4025/rbhe.v19.2019.e062
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• Trindade, R. (1953). Arquidiocese de Mariana: Subsídios para sua história v.1. Belo Horizonte: Imprensa Oficial.
• Trindade, R. (1940). Biografia de Dom Silveiro Gomes Pimenta: 1º Arcebispo de Mariana Ponte Nova, MG: Est. Graphico Gutenberg.
• Trindade, R. (1951). Breve notícia dos Seminários de Mariana Belo Horizonte, MG: Imprensa Oficial.

• 16
  For the education of girls in Minas Gerais, see the works of Lopes (1987, 2017), Lopes and Bicalho (1993) and Lage (2008, 2013). According to Lage, the first house with these characteristics was the Mosteiro das Macaúbas, although it is not possible to recognize it as a female school. The first 12 young ladies that were admitted for retreat certainly went through the educational process. The Institution was a Religious Retreat and not a school.
• 17
  From the Latin ultramontanus. Tye term designates in Catholicism the important role assigned to the pope with full power towards faith and behavior of man. The origin of “ultramontane” is French. Frenchmen intended to keep the church separated from the power of the pope and used the term with the followers of the Roman doctrines who had to renounce to the privileges of Gaul in favor of the “head” of the church (the pope), who lived “beyond the mountains”. In the 19th century they arrive at Latin America, in the middle of conflicts between the church and the state. Ultramontanes was the name given to the supporters of the freedom of the church and its independence from the State. This political doctrine of the church seems to be a reaction to the modern world and a political orientation developed intramuros eclesiae, marked by the centralism of the Roman Catholicism, which was closed in itself, refusing the contact with the modern world. The main documents that express the centralizing thought of the pope are the encyclicals of pope Gregory XVI (1831-1845), Pius IX (1846-1878), Leon XIII (1878-1903) and Pius XI (1922-1939) (Caes, 2002; Lustosa, 1990).
• 18
  Over the text it will be called also as Seminário de Mariana.
• 19
  For education in Mariana, read the article “A Câmara Municipal de Mariana e sua faceta pedagógica (1889-1930)” (Carvalho & De Paula, 2020), which discusses the educational actions in the municipality of the Republic.
• 20
  This article is the result of affiliated research, both theoretically and methodologically, of the História das Instituição Escolares (HIE). However, due to the space destined to this kind of text (article), we decided not to present in the introduction, the dialogue with the consolidated production in the scope of the HIE. For this, we refer the reader to three distinct texts of this kind. The first text is about the balance of production prepared by the editors of the Revista Brasileira de História da Educação (RBHE) (Galvão, Moraes, Gondra, & Biccas, 2008) in which they demonstrate that during the first decade of the magazine, the topic represented only 4.1% of the publications. The second text refers to the article by Santos and Vechia (2019) who carried out a detailed survey on the HIE in the referred magazine during 2001-2018, when the subject, HIE, has exponential increase, representing, in 2018, 24.5% of the subjects published in the RBHE. The last two constitute a “state of knowledge” in the area of the HE performed in two moments: Ester Buffa (2016), in celebration of the 30 years of the GT 02 HE of Anped, investigates the academic production through the subjects studied and the theoretical and methodological references adopted in the years from 1984 to 2013 in the RAs of the Association; second, under the same model, in the scope of the celebrations for the 20 years of the SBHE, Marisa Bittar (2019), who besides of bringing the backgrounds of the HE, the origins of the scientific ground, she analyzes the production and the challenges faced by the area nowadays.
• 21
  In the colonial period, the concept of seminary is ambiguous. Some of the Jesuit Colleges called seminaries did not have the same format of the diocesan seminaries as required by the Council of Trent. In addition to House of Studies, the word “seminary” could designate also the schools used to teach the indigenous people and, as well, the orphanages (Freitas, 1979).
• 22
  According to Oliveira (2004, p. 46, author’s emphasis) “In 1759, the reforms made by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello, the Marquis of Pombal, prime minister of Portugal from 1750 to 1777, will extinguish the single “system” of education in the period of the viceroyalty in Brazil with the expulsion of Companhia de Jesus. The Pombaline reform, which is part of the historical context of the enlightened despotism and the French encyclopedism, aiming to recover the backwardness of the Portuguese metropolis with relation to the other countries, advocates the opening of the teaching to the experimental sciences to become more practical and achievable and to impel an increasing number of people with interest in higher education”. About the subject, see also: Boto (2010).
• 23
  Cabildo was a group with the purpose of divine worship and, sometimes, serving as consultation council for the bishop (Camello, 1986).
• 24
  We will make use of this note to provide the reader with a summary of the situation of the sources consulted. In this aspect, it is important to mention that the three main regulations used here vary widely in size. Unlikely the regulations of dom Viçoso and dom Benevides, that revolve around three pages, the regulation of 1821, of dom José da Santíssima Trindade, in the original file, has 69 pages. The registration books also are quite extensive. The part that we used in this text, referring to the period from 1859 to 1867, considering that in general this documentation is in a good condition of conservation, has more than 300 pages, where we can find information on the number of students, the birth place of the students, their financial situation, paternity, period within the seminary, expenses and some information on the academic structure of the seminary, such as books used and courses attended. The letters, mainly those of dom Viçoso, have information about moral issues, financial condition, the required profile of the students and the seminary/State relationship.
• 25
  Father Antônio José Ribeiro Bhering “[...] was born in Outro Preto, in 1803, and in 1856 he passed away in the city of Mariana. [...] He acted as politician, professor, and priest. His resignation [from the seminary] took place in October of 1829” (Almeida, 2013, p. 17).
• 26
  From Oliveira (1998, p. 32-34) it is possible to identify some problems faced by Dom Friar José in addition to the conflict with father Bhering. On September 21 of 1821, he confronts four articles of the constitution in favor of the free expression of the thought and press freedom. By doing this, he attracts the anger of the “patriots” of Minas Gerais until his death. In 1822, he “[...] clashed with the Cabildo, who responded to the pressures of the Chamber of Mariana, and then he interrupts the pro Rege collection to initiate the pro Imperatore collection”. Because he was a defender of the absolutism, dom friar suspends that decision until the arrival of the express orders from Rio de Janeiro to execute such change. On October 28 of 1828, dom friar José writes a pastoral letter in which “[...] he disallowed the branch chapels to celebrate matrimonies without the permission from the ecclesiastical authority. He suffered many public [...]” attacks for doing so.
• 27
  The regulation of 1856 is formed in three parts. The first, called “Study”, with eight articles, states the subjects attended, the timetable of the classes and studies as well as some of the academic obligations. The second one, called “Rules of disciplines”, with new articles, presenting the discipline rules, something similar to the regulation of 1845. The third and last part, called “General dispositions”, with eight articles, introduces the disciplinary rules, some of the obligations of the principal, punishment, and expulsion modes, and it also determines the amount of the monthly fees and the stuff that seminarists should bring with them when admitted in the seminary.
• 28
  Located in the city of Santa Bárbara, in Minas Gerais, the college of Caraça was founded in 1821 by the priests Antônio Ferreira Viçoso and Leandro Rebelo Peixoto e Castro. There are four phases: “[...]Caraça of brother Lourenço (1770- 1819), the Portuguese Caraça (1820-1954), the French Caraça (1854-1903) and the Brazilian Caraça (1903 - until today)” (Teixeira, Fernandes, & Martins, 2015, p. 248).
• 29
  Alvinópolis is a city pertaining to the state of Estado de Minas Gerais and “[...] was originated in the settlement of Paulo Moreira, created [...] in 1830, in lands belonging to the municipality of Mariana. [...] Through the state decree No. 365 of 02-05-1891, it was promoted to the category of village with the name of Alvinópolis and divided the municipality of Mariana. [...] Promoted to the condition of city with the name of Alvinópolis, according to the state law No. 23 of 05-24-1892” (City Hall of Divinópolis, 2020).
• 30
  Dom Benevides, as well as dom Viçoso, was ultramontane, however, we know little about his actions. But Trindade (1953) shows us that one of his first attitudes in the prelate was to indicate father Silvério Gomes Pimenta as vicar general. Educated by Viçoso, father Silvério will become auxiliary bishop and then first archbishop of Mariana, one of the important names of ultramontanism in the Republic of Brazil.
• 38
  How to cite this article: Pereira, J. P. R., & Jardilino, J. R. L. The history of a school institution in Brazil: the seminary ‘Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte’ (1821-1888). (2021). Revista Brasileira de História da Educação, 21. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4025/rbhe.v21.2021.e185

Edited by

Responsible associate editor: José Gonçalves Gondra (UERJ) E-mail: [e-mail] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0669-1661

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  29 Sept 2021
• Date of issue
  2021

History

• Received
  30 Oct 2020
• Accepted
  10 May 2021
• Published
  23 June 2021