Pobreza franciscana y economía monástica: Prácticas cotidianas de frailes y monjas en Santiago de Chile (1790-1820)

Abstract

This article deals with the daily practices of friars and nuns in Santiago, Chile, during the transition from the 18th to the 19th century. Specifically, it compares the observance of the vow of poverty according to the spirituality of the saints of Assisi: Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Through the compilation, analysis and interpretation of conventual sources, we can establish that it was precisely the rule itself and its mitigation that allowed the «excesses» that separated the sisters from the founder's ideal, whereas the legislative texts for the Friars Minor meant that they did not undergo significant changes in this aspect. Other factors were the impossibility of going into the world to obtain alms, and the consequent requirement of a dowry.