Privilege, Persecution and Prophecy: The Catholic Church in Spain, 1875-1975

The century between the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1875 and the death of Franco in 1975 saw profound social, religious and political changes for the Spanish Catholic church. A turbulent period in Spanish history, the Church endured—and matured—first through the civil war, and then through the Franco dictatorship. Looking at both social and political history as it was recorded in Catholic and ecclesiastical archives, this work examines popular cults, religious communities, the clergy, Catholic social organizations and ecclesiastical politics to present a fully rounded picture of the Catholic life and politics of the time.