Clerical Education in Nineteenth-Century Mexico: The Conciliar Seminaries of Mexico City and Guadalajara, 1821-1910
The nineteenth century represented an era of declining influence for the Catholic church in Mexico, and no aspect of that trend created broader repercussions than the eclipse of the clergy's traditional role in higher education. Before the midcentury civil wars the conciliar seminaries graduated nearly as many laymen as did the public colegios , the majority of which in any case employed priests on their faculties. The seminaries, consequently, forged a vital link between the church and civil society, a link which potentially enhanced the political and social influence of the episcopate.