Abstract
This article analyses the apostolic journey of Giovanni Genocchi to Argentina, Chile, Peru and Brazil, carried out between the years 1911 and 1912. The goal of this journey was to investigate the denunciations of enslavement, extermination and torture of indigenous people that were taking place in the region of Putumayo, in Peru, and in several Latin American countries. Other objectives of the trip were to study the feasibility of creating a religious mission in Putumayo and to propose a plan for reorganizing the missions among the indigenous people as well as the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Holy See intended to promote reforms that would favour institutional expansion and the evangelization of the indigenous people and the whole of society. To this end, I focus on Genocchi’s apostolic narratives in order to problematize the logic of coloniality. Sources were obtained from the Vatican Apostolic Archive and the Archive of Propaganda Fide, among others.
Palavras-chave
Amazonia; Holy See; Catholic Church; Putumayo; Slavery; Indigenous people