Los Hermanos de la Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (Spanish: 'The Brothers of the Pious Fraternity of Our Father Jesus the Nazarene'), also known as Los Penitentes, Los Hermanos, the Brotherhood of our Father Jesus of Nazareth and the Penitente Brotherhood is a layconfraternity of Spanish-American Catholic men active in Northern and CentralNew Mexico and southern Colorado. They maintain religious meeting buildings, which are not formal churches, called moradas.
Penitentes
Pentitetes "crucifying" one of their own in a ritual in an undisclosed New Mexico location, 1888
Regions with significant populations
Northern and Central New Mexico and southern Colorado
Although there is great variability regarding candidacy for Brotherhood membership, usually novices come from Penitente families and ideally, only those of known background and conviction are chosen to undergo the initiation. New candidates express their desire for novitiate status by application to the Hermano Mayor, the secretary, or some other official of the morada of intention. After a thorough investigation of the petitioner's life and motives, he receives elaborate instruction in the Brotherhood's regulations and rituals. If he passes an examination on this material, he is allowed to present himself, together with a sponsor, at the morada door for the actual rite of initiation. Aspirants might apply for admission to the Brotherhood after mature thought, as a matter of course, or as the result of a vow or promesa (religious promise). It is also thought that the eldest son of a Penitente father "automatically" joined the Brotherhood at the age of eighteen to honor and obey his parents.
History
The Brotherhood began in the early 19th century. Following Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, Church authorities in Mexico withdrew the Franciscan, Dominican and Jesuitmissionaries from its provinces, replacing them with secularpriests. They failed, however, to replace the missionaries with an equal number of priests, depriving many secluded communities of a resident clergyman. Accordingly, many of those small communities could expect only a once-yearly visit from a parish priest.
The men in those communities eventually came together in the absence of a priest and dedicated themselves to the purpose of providing mutual aid, community charity and to memorialize the spirit of the penance and the Passion of Christ. They gathered in meeting houses known as moradas. Los Penitentes were perhaps best known for their songs of worship, called alabados, and for their ascetic practices, which included self-flagellation in private ceremonies during Lent, and processions during Holy Week which ended with the reenactment of Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday.
ArchbishopJean Baptiste Lamy and his successor, Jean Baptiste Salpointe, unsuccessfully attempted to suppress the brotherhood in the latter part of the 19th century as a part of the "Americanization" of the Church in New Mexico, driving its membership underground, with some seeking refuge in Penitente Canyon. For this reason, Los Penitentes are sometimes described as a “secret society.”
The modern embodiment of the Brotherhood began in the middle of the 20th century with the reconciliation between the Brotherhood and the Church. In June 1946, Miguel Archibeque began his first term as the Brotherhood's first Hermano Supremo Arzobispal (Archiepiscopal Supreme Brother). His first term lasted 7 years and it was during this term in January 1947 that the Brotherhood was officially recognized and sanctioned as an organization by Archbishop Edwin V. Byrne. By this time, membership had declined markedly since the turn of the century, but the Brotherhood continued to perform a modified form of religious rituals and to pursue its commitment to acts of community charity. In June 1953, Miguel Archibeque was replaced by Roman Aranda of Las Vegas, New Mexico. Aranda served for one year and was replaced by Archibeque in June 1954. Archibeque served the Brotherhood until 1960 when he was replaced by the third Hermano Supremo Arzobispal, M. Santos Melendez, of Mora, New Mexico, who continues to serve in this capacity.
In the novel Brave New World, the Penitentes are shown in a video at a school, which causes the class to laugh at their rituals.[2] They are also compared to savages in the 1946 foreword by Aldous Huxley.[3]
The 1936 roadshow exploitation film Lash of the Penitentes combines old footage of the Penitente's ritual flagellation with new footage about a murder.[4][5]
The novel Dayspring (1945) by Harry Sylvester depicts an anthropologist who studies the Penitentes and eventually joins them.[6]
Fray Angelico Chavez titled his book on New Mexico My Penitente Land.
Percival Everett’s novel The Body of Martin Aguilera (1997) features Penitente characters and rituals as part of a murder mystery set in northern New Mexico. Everett also utilizes Penitente characters for his short story "Warm and Nicely Buried" from his collection Damned If I Do (2004).
^"Notes on Death Comes for the Archbishop". Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^Huxley, Aldous (1932). Brave New World. Chatto&Windus. pp. 132–133.
^Huxley, Aldous (1946). Brave New World. pp. 7–14.
^"THE LASH OF THE PENITENTES | BAMPFA". bampfa.org. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
^"The Lash of the Penitentes/Fun Facts - The Grindhouse Cinema Database". www.grindhousedatabase.com. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
^. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
Further reading
De Aragon, Ray John. The Penitentes of New Mexico (Sunstone Press, 2006).
Aranda, Charles (1974) The Penitente Papers.
Carroll, Michael P. The Penitente Brotherhood: Patriarchy and Hispano-Catholicism in New Mexico (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002).
Chavez, Fray Angelico. "The Penitentes of New Mexico." New Mexico Historical Review 29.2 (1954): 97.
Espinosa, J. Manuel. "The origin of the penitentes of New Mexico: separating fact from fiction." Catholic historical review 79#3 (1993): 454-477. in JSTOR
Weigle, Marta. Brothers of Light, Brothers of Blood (2007).
penitentes, mexico, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citati. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Penitentes New Mexico news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Los Hermanos de la Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno Spanish The Brothers of the Pious Fraternity of Our Father Jesus the Nazarene also known as Los Penitentes Los Hermanos the Brotherhood of our Father Jesus of Nazareth and the Penitente Brotherhood is a lay confraternity of Spanish American Catholic men active in Northern and Central New Mexico and southern Colorado They maintain religious meeting buildings which are not formal churches called moradas PenitentesPentitetes crucifying one of their own in a ritual in an undisclosed New Mexico location 1888Regions with significant populationsNorthern and Central New Mexico and southern ColoradoReligionsCatholic Contents 1 Membership 2 History 3 Culture 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksMembership EditAlthough there is great variability regarding candidacy for Brotherhood membership usually novices come from Penitente families and ideally only those of known background and conviction are chosen to undergo the initiation New candidates express their desire for novitiate status by application to the Hermano Mayor the secretary or some other official of the morada of intention After a thorough investigation of the petitioner s life and motives he receives elaborate instruction in the Brotherhood s regulations and rituals If he passes an examination on this material he is allowed to present himself together with a sponsor at the morada door for the actual rite of initiation Aspirants might apply for admission to the Brotherhood after mature thought as a matter of course or as the result of a vow or promesa religious promise It is also thought that the eldest son of a Penitente father automatically joined the Brotherhood at the age of eighteen to honor and obey his parents History EditThe Brotherhood began in the early 19th century Following Mexican independence from Spain in 1821 Church authorities in Mexico withdrew the Franciscan Dominican and Jesuit missionaries from its provinces replacing them with secular priests They failed however to replace the missionaries with an equal number of priests depriving many secluded communities of a resident clergyman Accordingly many of those small communities could expect only a once yearly visit from a parish priest The men in those communities eventually came together in the absence of a priest and dedicated themselves to the purpose of providing mutual aid community charity and to memorialize the spirit of the penance and the Passion of Christ They gathered in meeting houses known as moradas Los Penitentes were perhaps best known for their songs of worship called alabados and for their ascetic practices which included self flagellation in private ceremonies during Lent and processions during Holy Week which ended with the reenactment of Christ s crucifixion on Good Friday Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy and his successor Jean Baptiste Salpointe unsuccessfully attempted to suppress the brotherhood in the latter part of the 19th century as a part of the Americanization of the Church in New Mexico driving its membership underground with some seeking refuge in Penitente Canyon For this reason Los Penitentes are sometimes described as a secret society The modern embodiment of the Brotherhood began in the middle of the 20th century with the reconciliation between the Brotherhood and the Church In June 1946 Miguel Archibeque began his first term as the Brotherhood s first Hermano Supremo Arzobispal Archiepiscopal Supreme Brother His first term lasted 7 years and it was during this term in January 1947 that the Brotherhood was officially recognized and sanctioned as an organization by Archbishop Edwin V Byrne By this time membership had declined markedly since the turn of the century but the Brotherhood continued to perform a modified form of religious rituals and to pursue its commitment to acts of community charity In June 1953 Miguel Archibeque was replaced by Roman Aranda of Las Vegas New Mexico Aranda served for one year and was replaced by Archibeque in June 1954 Archibeque served the Brotherhood until 1960 when he was replaced by the third Hermano Supremo Arzobispal M Santos Melendez of Mora New Mexico who continues to serve in this capacity Culture EditWilla Cather s 1927 novel Death Comes for the Archbishop included references and scenes of the Penitentes and their ritual 1 In the novel Brave New World the Penitentes are shown in a video at a school which causes the class to laugh at their rituals 2 They are also compared to savages in the 1946 foreword by Aldous Huxley 3 The 1936 roadshow exploitation film Lash of the Penitentes combines old footage of the Penitente s ritual flagellation with new footage about a murder 4 5 The novel Dayspring 1945 by Harry Sylvester depicts an anthropologist who studies the Penitentes and eventually joins them 6 Fray Angelico Chavez titled his book on New Mexico My Penitente Land Percival Everett s novel The Body of Martin Aguilera 1997 features Penitente characters and rituals as part of a murder mystery set in northern New Mexico Everett also utilizes Penitente characters for his short story Warm and Nicely Buried from his collection Damned If I Do 2004 See also EditFlagellant confraternities Order of Penitents La Morada de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Taos New MexicoReferences Edit Notes on Death Comes for the Archbishop Retrieved 5 October 2020 Huxley Aldous 1932 Brave New World Chatto amp Windus pp 132 133 Huxley Aldous 1946 Brave New World pp 7 14 THE LASH OF THE PENITENTES BAMPFA bampfa org Retrieved 19 March 2021 The Lash of the Penitentes Fun Facts The Grindhouse Cinema Database www grindhousedatabase com Retrieved 19 March 2021 Article First Things Archived from the original on December 31 2012 Retrieved September 26 2012 Further reading EditDe Aragon Ray John The Penitentes of New Mexico Sunstone Press 2006 Aranda Charles 1974 The Penitente Papers Carroll Michael P The Penitente Brotherhood Patriarchy and Hispano Catholicism in New Mexico Johns Hopkins University Press 2002 Chavez Fray Angelico The Penitentes of New Mexico New Mexico Historical Review 29 2 1954 97 Espinosa J Manuel The origin of the penitentes of New Mexico separating fact from fiction Catholic historical review 79 3 1993 454 477 in JSTOR Weigle Marta Brothers of Light Brothers of Blood 2007 External links EditLos Hermanos Penitentes at the Catholic Encyclopedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Penitentes New Mexico amp oldid 1134979583, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
