The Concordat of 1854 was an international treaty between the president of the Republic of Guatemala - General Captain

Rafael Carrera José Rafael Carrera y Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the president of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865, after being appointed President for life in 1854. During his military career and preside ...

- and the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, which was signed in 1852 and ratified by both parties in 1854. Through this, Guatemala gave the education of Guatemalan people to regular orders Catholic Church, committed to respect ecclesiastical property and monasteries, imposed mandatory tithing and allowed the bishops to censor what was published in the country; in return, Guatemala received dispensations for the members of the army, allowed those who had acquired the properties that the Liberals had expropriated the Church in 1829 to keep those properties, perceived taxes generated by the properties of the Church, and had the right to judge certain crimes committed by clergy under Guatemalan law. The concordat was designed by

Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol (Guatemala City, 29 August 1792 – Guatemala City, 17 February 1865) was an ecclesiastical and intellectual conservative in Central America. He was President of the Pontifical University of San Carlos Borrome ...

and reestablished the relationship between Church and State in Guatemala. It was in force until the fall of the conservative government of Marshal

Vicente Cerna y Cerna Vicente Cerna y Cerna (22 January 1815 – 27 June 1885) was president of Guatemala from 24 May 1865 to 29 June 1871. Loyal friend and comrade of Rafael Carrera, was appointed army's Field Marshal after Carraera's victory against Salvadorian lead ...

The concordat was originally signed in Rome on October 7, 1852 by Cardinal Antonelli, Secretary of State of

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

and Fernando Lorenzana, minister plenipotentiary of Guatemala before the

. It consists of twenty nine items, written in Latin and Spanish, which are summarized as follows: * Article 1: The Catholic religion was declared the official religion of the Republic of Guatemala * Article 2: education of the Guatemalan people was in charge of the Catholic Church * Article 3: the bishops could censor those publications that might contravene the provisions of the Catholic religion. * Article 4: the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

could communicate with the Guatemalan people directly, as head of the Catholic Church. * Article 5: imposed mandatory tithing, which was used for the archbishopric, the cathedral chapter and the Seminary. * Article 6: Parsons emoluments were decreed by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. * Article 7: the President of Guatemala had the privilege of presenting a slate of candidates for vacant parishes. * Article 8: the President could also present ecclesiastical candidates for the offices of the archbishop, but the archbishop himself was going to be chosen by the Pope, among respected clerics from Guatemala. * Articles 10-12: the Holy See reserved the right to establish new dioceses and parishes in the Republic whenever it saw fit The Seminary was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Guatemala; and any new diocese would have its own Seminary * Articles 14-17:

ecclesiastical courts An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...

and possible exceptions thereto were established. * Articles 18 and 19: the church could purchase properties and promised to pay income taxes except on tithing and alms * Article 20: the Holy See renounced the property that had been expropriated by

Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a Central American politician who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president of Central America h ...

in 1829, and had been acquired by individuals before 1852 * Article 21:. monasteries were protected by the State * Article 22: Guatemala's government pledged to help evangelization in the country, which would be led by the

Congregation of Propaganda Fide A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

. * Article 23: as the government pledged to respect the Catholic Church, the Holy See issued the following oath for their bishops and other clergy in the country: '' I swear and promise to God and the Holy Gospels obedience to the governments established by the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala; and also promise not interfere personally or through advice on any project that may be contrary to national independence or the public peace''.

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{{reflist, group = Note Rafael Carrera Religion in Guatemala History of Guatemala Catholic Church in Guatemala Treaties of the Holy See (754–1870) 1854 treaties

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