From Rome to the Central American jungles (Caribbean and Pacific): a first look from the Holy See at the apostolic vicariates of the Isthmus (1908-1940)

Abstract

In this article, the author provides a first look at the missionary work carried out in the apostolic vicariates created in the Central American Isthmus between 1908 and 1940. This is done through the analysis of sources found in the Vatican archives of Propaganda Fide and the Vatican Apostolic Archives. These sources reveal the political, religious, and social relations between the countries' civil authorities, the Roman Curia, and the clergy in the mission areas, all in relation to the people who lived in those areas. This analysis provided an understanding of the realities faced by missionaries in lands of excessive heat and rainfall, extreme poverty, and a wealth of cultural mixing. All of this, and the knowledge that more sources exist, allows for the possibility of conducting further studies on what developed in the region covered by the vicariates, using existing Vatican sources as well as those available in each country of the Isthmus.