CULTOS Y ICONOGRAFÍAS JESUITAS EN EL BRASIL (SIGLOS XVI Y XVIII)

The Jesuits were important agents in the diffusion of the most important contemporary cults and iconographies in Colonial Brazil. These including cults and iconographies that were particularly fostered by the Jesuits, such as Christological and Marian cults, the Apostles Peter and Paul whom the Jesuits used to compare to respectively Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. The missionaries related to Brazil – Anchieta, Nóbrega, Azevedo – were given a special cult as illustrated by the magnificent ceiling of the sacristy of the present Cathedral of S. Salvador da Bahia. Special reference must be made to Jesuit contribution to the creation and promotion of cults and iconographies of strong local character – Thomas (Tomé in Portuguese) or Zomé, Francisco Pinto or Aimanara.