Ferdinand VII, a providential king

Abstract

The invocation of Providence was one of the most usual means employed in its sermons by Ferdinand VII’s ecclesiastic environment in 1814 and 1815 to justify the legitimacy of the King to destroy the constitutional order and exert power without limitation. From this point of departure, the clergy built a reactionary discourse emphasizing the catholic sign of Spanish monarchy and the close bond between the Crowd and the Church (“alianza Trono y Altar”). In reality, though, the purpose of this discourse was to strengthen the Catholic Church.