Auto da fé in Lima (23 December 1736)

An auto da fé (“act of faith”) was a public tribunal ceremony in which the Inquisition announced sentences meant to defend religious purity. In colonial Lima, Peru, such spectacles gathered civil and church authorities and drew crowds, turning judgment into theater. Under inquisitor Cristóval Sánchez Calderón, the 1736 auto da fé displayed how zeal, when fused to institutional power and public shame, can harden into cruelty rather than correction.

Doña Ana de Castro

Doña Ana de Castro was executed by burning, accused of “Judaizing”—practices interpreted as a return to Jewish custom. Among the allegations was a mourning rite she insisted did not deny her confession of Christ. Her case highlights the peril of confusing outward rituals with the heart’s allegiance. Whether her practice was misguided, misunderstood, or wrongly imputed, the outcome remains a sobering warning: when fear governs, even a professing believer’s words about Christ can be weighed less than a disputed ceremony.

The Condemned Jesuits (Burned in Effigy)

The same tribunal condemned two Jesuits after death, burning them in effigy. One was suspected of Quietism, a movement associated with passivity and spiritual error; the other was reportedly mentally unwell. Posthumous condemnation underscores how suspicion can outlive evidence and how institutions may pursue symbolic victories when correction is no longer possible. Scripture calls believers to discernment, yet also to justice that does not crush the weak or exploit the powerless.

Faith, Conscience, and Mercy

This event warns that religious language can be used to sanctify vengeance. God’s people must test traditions by Scripture, examine accusations carefully, and remember that purity without love becomes a weapon. “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13) And when human commands oppose God’s truth, conscience must stand before Him: “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) The enduring call is to pursue holiness with humility, truth with gentleness, and correction with mercy—so that zeal for God never eclipses the character of God.