Felipe Arias Escobar’s research while affiliated with Pontifical Xavierian University and other places

The objective of this article is to delve into the spiritual and cultural context in which the Novena para el Aguinaldo (1974), the first edition of the modern Christmas Novena currently practiced in Colombia, was written and published. The production of this text is closely tied to the presence in the Nueva Granada of a secular Franciscan division known as the Third Franciscan Order. By matching this Novena with documents which tell of the ascetic and ritual lives of members of this order, we reveal evidence of the way in which this text shows elements of the religious culture of the late Colonial period.

The objective of this article is to delve into the spiritual and cultural context in which the Novena para el Aguinaldo (1974), the first edition of the modern Christmas Novena currently practiced in Colombia, was written and published. The production of this text is closely tied to the presence in the Nueva Granada of a secular Franciscan division known as the Third Franciscan Order. By matching this Novena with documents which tell of the ascetic and ritual lives of members of this order, we reveal evidence of the way in which this text shows elements of the religious culture of the late Colonial period.