Catholic Families: Priests, Their Wives, and Children in 18th-Century Colombia

Over the eighteenth century, the archdiocese of Popayán in present-day Colombia regularly dealt with priests who broke their vows of celibacy. The guilt was rarely in question. More uncertain was the attitude of society and the Catholic Church toward clerics having sex with female parishioners and creating a family of their own. Officially, the Church did not tolerate violations of celibacy or cohabitation. Administrators of the bishopric conducted periodic parish inspections and invested accusations of wayward priests in order to root out such misbehavior. Yet at the same time, these same investigations point to some relationships lasting as long as forty-seven years and many others with multiple children. Using these cases, this paper explores the dynamics of couples’ relationships as they forged a life together. Such forbidden relationships did not escape the sharp eyes and sharper tongues of colonial society. Despite being intensely interested in the affairs of others, some villagers and even other resident ecclesiastics were notably tolerant toward clerical marriages. In a wider perspective, these cases shed light on the moral state of the clergy and power relations on a personal scale within a racially diverse population. This study also seeks to establish the veracity of the oft-repeated claims of a priesthood gone wild, accusations that justified strong-handed reforms by enlightened absolutists and later nineteenth-century liberals.