Resumen

ARIAS HERRERA, Nicolás. Friar Francisco de la Cruz’s Heretical Utopia for Renovating Catholicism through the New World’s Networks of Knowledge, 1571-1578. Estud. hist. novohisp [online]. 2026, n.74, pp.69-97.  Epub 13-Abr-2026. ISSN 2448-6922.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iih.24486922e.2026.74.77914.

This article reconstructs the prophecy of Friar Francisco de la Cruz, as recorded in the inquisitorial trial held against him in Lima between 1571 and 1578. The Dominican friar proclaimed that the Indigenous peoples were God’s chosen ones, that Europe would be destroyed, and that Lima would become the new Rome and capital of the Spanish Empire. Through an exegetical reading of the trial records -sent to the Suprema in Spain-the article identifies the epistemic references, allusions to other authors, and theological debates that informed his doctrine, in order to trace the intellectual network behind his proposal of a new dogma. Writing an intellectual history based on inquisitorial records propitiates the uncovering of forms of knowledge that were delegitimized as heretical. Nevertheless, his prophecy must also be understood as a response to contemporary debates on how to evangelize the Indigenous population and on the role of Catholicism in the New World. The article concludes that Friar Francisco de la Cruz’s doctrine represents a tolerant and open interpretation of the parish priest’s role in reforming the Church, and that within the religious interpretive framework, there was room for contestation, alternative readings, and creativity - beyond dogma and the immutability of the creed.

Palabras llave : intellectual history; heresy; evangelization; Peru; knowledge; early modern scholars.

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