Study of the conversion of Jews to Catholicism (Barcelona, 1846-1947): analysis and interpretation of factual information from the publication Regest dels documents de l’Arxiu Diocesà de Barcelona relatius als jueus

Abstract

Between 1846 and 1947, approximately 250 people of Jewish origin and foreign descent who had immigrated to or been born in Barcelona decided to convert to Catholicism. All we know about them is that they included Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Austrians, Turks, Greeks and Moroccans, among others; that they were male and female alike, and were mostly relatively young (some were children); and that the majority of them converted between 1939 and 1945. That is what the records of the Diocese of Barcelona tell us, and nothing more is known about them, as converts are not in the habit of leaving evidence or trails behind them. Based on the aforementioned records, this article attempts to find out the conditions in which the people in question were baptised and their motives for taking that step.
The rich, dense content of the corpus of documents is analysed from two perspectives, that of the Jews (on their conversion to Catholicism) and that of the Catholic Church (on the Jews seeking conversion). Additionally, each of those perspectives is
approached in two ways. The first consists of reviewing data of a factual and, therefore, objective nature, including aspects of the identity of the converts and the physical conditions of their baptism. The second is based on ‘discourse’, i.e. details provided directly by priests and information gleaned indirectly from observations. In this latter approach, subjectivity is key to identifying certain frames of mind. The article concludes by offering an interpretation of the phenomenon on the basis of
the origin of the converts, the situation in Europe and Spain, the converts’ motives and the position of the clergy.

Keywords: Jews, immigrants, dejudification, baptism, clergy, motives, political context, mainstream society