Provincial Councils in Polycentric Catholicism, 1517-1817. The Normative activity of worldwide episcopates in relation to the Papal Monarchy and Curial Congregations

This research project aims to provide global and systematical survey on the provincial Councils celebrated in the Catholic Church worldwide from 1517 to 1817. To date, scholarship has focussed narrowly on individual Councils deemed “of interest” by researchers investigating them. The project seeks to transcend this fragmented approach through the analysis of different formats, wider context and specific development of provincial Councils in a global setting. It aims to analyze systematically the relationships between the legacy the Council of Trent (1545-1563), its local enforcement, and the interpretation the Roman Congregation of the Council gave to its decrees. Moving away from a traditional Rome-centered approach, the project wishes to highlight the importance of provincial Councils as pivotal platforms of Catholic globalisation and to investigate the mutual relationships between different provincial Councils.