Merchants and Catholic missionaries in the Romanian Principalities (17th-18th centuries
Merchants and Catholic missionaries in the Romanian Principalities (17th-18th centuries

Summary/Abstract: On the basis of published and unpublished sources (identified in the archives of the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples), the present article synthesizes the main features of the sinuous relations between the Catholic missionaries active in Moldavia and Wallachia during 17th and 18th centuries, addressing the following points of analysis: a) the percentage of merchants among the Catholic communities; b) merchants as protectors of the Catholic missions; c) merchants as donors and creditors of the missionaries, and d) the commerce as a source for the sustenance of the missions. The conclusion of the article is that the merchants represented a specific group within the Catholic communities, providing an essential support for the missionary activity developed in both principalities.

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