The brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament of Vila Nova de Anços in the Diocese of Coimbra during the Early Modern Period

Abstract

With a manifest capacity for mobilising faithful Catholics, brotherhoods and confraternities established themselves throughout the Portuguese territory during the Early Modern Period, shaping and influencing the political, social, cultural, and religious actions of local urban and rural communities. The present study seeks to reconstruct the confraternal fabric of Vila Nova de Anços (currently part of the municipality of Soure) during the modern period. The village possessed several brotherhoods with theocentric and marian invocations, including one Misericórdia. This study focuses on the Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament, situating its activities within the context of the parochial life. The group of brothers and their obligations, the composition and actions of the administrative board, the institution's assets and income, and the rituals to which the brotherhood was dedicated to, merge with the other religious practices that fulfilled the daily life of this rural area.