A Catechism for the Tercios: Study and Edition

This article presents the text of the Spanish version of the short catechism of Saint Peter Canisius that the fellow Jesuit Tomas Sailly made for the use of the Tercios de Flandes in the last third of the 16th century and the first of the 17th century. The first part analyzes the manual to which this catechism belongs, which was also published in 1595 in Walloon and Flemish for the troops of Philip II. In the second part the composition of this doctrine is put into context within the environment of the Missio Castrensis, military chaplaincy entrusted to the Society of Jesus by Alejandro Farnesio and the successive governors of the Spanish Netherlands. Finally, the text of the catechism is edited according to the usual philological criteria for works from this period.