Abstract

In 1588 and 1589 the Sacred Congregation of the Council reviewed and approved (that is, it granted the so-called recognitio) the Third Councils of Lima (1582/1583) and Mexico (1585). In turn, the Spanish Monarchy approved and ordered the publication of its decrees in 1591. They were the only two Hispano-American councils that achieved a double approval, both civil and pontifical. The article focuses on the international political situation that prompted King Felipe II to ask the Holy See for the approval of both councils. Also it studies the political-diplomatic itinerary that the approval procedures followed in Madrid and Rome, bearing in mind the general context of the reception of the Council of Trent