| Summary: | Studies of eighteenth century Puerto Rican clergy depict poorly trained priests serving understaffed parishes throughout the island. Their inadequate training and irregular lives supposedly resulted in moral laxity among the island's inhabitants. Until now, we have lacked the primary resources necessary to evaluate such assertions. By drawing upon the parish baptismal, marriage, and death registers of San Felipe the Apostle parish in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, it is possible to identify the priests who served in various capacities throughout the years 1708 to 1791. Moreover, the social origins as well as their educational background can be examined as a means to (re)assess the negative image of Puerto Rican clergy. Within the broader context of the eighteenth century, the lives, training and career paths of Puerto Rican priests were typical of those clergy elsewhere in the Americas. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
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