La famille spirituelle des prêtres en italie septentrionale avant et après le concile de trente: Caractéristiques et transformations d'un instrument d'intégration sociale

Before the Council of Trent, in many places of Italy it was customary that children be presented at baptism by many godfathers and godmothers. Where it was possible to choose many godparents, usually a clergyman was included among them. The Council of Trent, however, decided that only one godfather and one godmother could be present at each baptism. As a result, following the Council the choice of a priest as godfather became increasingly rare. Priests had an interest of their own in establishing links of spiritual kinship, especially because they were excluded from other means of social alliance, such as marriage. This article tries to define their position in the spiritual kinship network of the community before and after the Council of Trent. Furthermore, it reflects upon what the exclusion from godparenthood meant for priests, in a moment when they were charged with new tasks and started assuming a different role in face of their flocks.