La Iglesia católica y el Ejército español: los capellanes castrenses y la recatolización de la juventud española (1938-1951)

• Main Author: Alberto González González
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Diacronie 2016-06-01
• Series: Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea
• Subjects: Army chaplains; Easter duty; post-war Spain; re-Catholicization; Spanish youth; capellanes castrenses; cumplimiento pascual; juventud española; posguerra; recatolización; dopoguerra; gioventù spagnola; Ordinariato militare; ricattolicizzazione; rispetto dei precetti pasquali
• Online Access: http://www.studistorici.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/03_GONZALEZ-GONZALEZ.pdf

The outcome of the Spanish Civil War brought an end to the secularization project, undertaken in the wake of the proclamation of the Second Republic. In 1939, a new regime was established, built upon two main pillars: the army and religion. The compulsory nature of military service in the country provided the Spanish Catholic Church with easy access to young males, who were incorporated into the ranks of the army on a yearly basis. By virtue of these circumstances, a re-Catholicization process was begun amongst young Spaniards, who had become alienated from the Catholic faith during the Republican years. In this process, one figure would acquire particular importance in post-war Spain, that of the army chaplain.