Resumen de The Evolution of the Figure of St Michael the Archangel: From Medieval "Flos sanctorum" to New Spain's Hagiography (ca. 1480-1692)
Taking as a starting point Archangel Michael’s depiction as a warrior, which symbolises the struggle between good and evil, and, specifically, the triumph over the devil, Cortés’s article shows that in America the primary purpose behind the defence of Catholicism was to do away with and replace the pre-Hispanic religions. A significant example is the official nature given to the local cult of Saint Miguel del Milagro, the most complete account of whom can be found in the Narración de la maravillosa aparición que hizo el arcángel san Miguel a Diego Lázaro de San Francisco (Seville, 1692), by the Creole Jesuit Francisco de Florencia. According to this account, Archangel Michael appeared before a virtuous indigenous person, a fact that connects this narrative with the apparitions of the Virgen de Guadalupe and the Virgen de los Remedios, the most important Marian invocations in Mexico. In conclusion, if in Europe the times of the Counter-Reformation led to Archangel Michael to be seen as a defender against the Protestants, in New Spain, a place largely free from such a threat, his role is increasingly diluted and he is instead appropriated through local miracles, just like the Virgin Mary.
