THE FOUNDATION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGIN IN COLONIA

This article is intended to deal with the (re) affirmation of devotion to Catholic saints in the sixteenth century Portuguese America, in particular the spread of devotion to St Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins, driven mainly by the presence of the Society of Jesus in this location. These missionaries were responsible for spreading various religious practices - such as parties dedicated to Catholic saints and the transfer of relics - as well as by encouraging the establishment and maintenance of "places of worship”, as the fraternities or sororities, in the fourth part of the orbe. We will deal specially with this last aspect, from the study of the founding of the Confraternity of the Eleven Thousand Virgins in the colony