MONARCHY AND FAITH IN THE FRANCISCAN WORD: ROYAL EXALTATION IN THE PANEGYRIC SERMONS OF THE SAINT ANTHONY OF BRAZIL PROVINCE IN THE 18^TH CENTURY

The paper examines a set of panegyric and funeral sermons produced by friars of the Saint Anthony of Brazil Province in the second half of the 18^th century, with a focus on homilies dedicated to the monarchs João V and José I. The main issue addressed is how these texts constructed a political theology of Catholic monarchy within the Luso-Brazilian colonial framework, by articulating sacred rhetoric and royal legitimation. The methodology involved textual and rhetorical-discursive analysis of eighteenth-century homiletic compositions, considering their structure, enunciative devices, use of exempla, and the symbolic integration between throne and altar. The findings show that the sermons exalt the deceased king or acclaim the new sovereign, while also reaffirming the central role of the Franciscan Order as mediator of the symbolic pact between the Crown and its subjects. In summary, the texts reveal a sophisticated grammar of royal exaltation, combining the Iberian homiletic tradition with the colonial politic-religious context. This suggests that Franciscan rhetoric functioned as a key instrument in shaping the political cultures that prevailed in colonial Brazil and their articulation with the Portuguese monarchy.

Keywords:
Baroque rhetoric - Franciscan sermons - Colonial Brazil