Nós outros: conversão e alteridade em Roberto Nobili

Abstract

The most recent studies about catholic identity point towards 16th century as the origin of many traces which delineate such identity, specially through the jesuit‟s missionary action in the context of Great Navigations. This essay pretends understanding the motives for the tension between a Tridentine doctrinaire enclosure and a inclusive missionary approach, especially in Asia. For that, we assay a specific missionary, Roberto Nobili (1577-1656), who worked on India during the 17th century. Roberto has being taken as an example of cultural openness and otherness. We aim to demonstrate that Nobili can be comprehended as a typical Jesuit among the non-Portuguese in 17th century, which corresponds to the second generation of missionaries of the quoted religious Order. It became possible to delimitate such interpretative approach as clear, and the ambivalences of the Order are also quite clear when we deal with Nobili‟s literary productions.