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In the Old World, from the beginning of Christianity, the Virgin Mary and the martyrs were assumed to be intermediaries between God and mankind, and from the Middle Ages onwards, certain pious practices related to the saints and the divinity were incorporated: the veneration of their objects or anatomical parts was common. After the conquest of America, these practices were transplanted to the New World and the European cult figures were added to those that emerged in the American viceroyalties: Novohispanic people and Peruvians worshipped saints and invocations by means of invocations, pious works, feasts, construction of churches, execution of paintings and other activities.

These faith practices responded to the spiritual needs of different localities, social groups, communities, guilds and corporations. In addition, certain collectivities worshipped certain saints, who became their symbols of identity. Thus, this book covers the study of devotional practices in America, particularly in the kingdoms of New Spain and Peru. Structured in four parts, the first two deal with two of the most important cults in the American continent: the Virgin of Guadalupe and Saint Rose of Lima, the third part focuses on the devotional practices of the religious orders, and the final part presents the figure of the martyr as a model of sanctity.