Maria Montessori and Father Antoni Casulleras: Pedagogical Innovation and Modern Catholicism

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between Mary Montessori and the Catholic Church. More specifically, it provides the results of the investigation and the conclusions related to convictions and support that arise from various sectors of the Catholic sphere. Maria Montessori’s pedagogical methodology, without leaving doubts aside, suspicions and complicities, had a recurring link with female and male religious congregations especially in Italy, but also in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands (Mallorca and Menorca). This study presents different epicentres, always with the figure of Montessori as the protagonist: it starts from some of the internal movements of the Holy See in 1917, the figure of Father Antoni Casulleras is introduced as a mediator in those polls, and focuses mainly on Mallorca, precisely because this missionary of St. Vincent de Paul had congregational responsibilities in Mallorca while maintaining a close relationship which Montessori and the Roman Curia leaders. Consequently, the research it takes place in the period of the Great War, especially between 1914 and 1919, in a situation of reception and very explicit support of the Montessori method by the Catalan and Balearic Catholic sectors.