Theatrical elements in Baroque festivals (the Jesuit celebrations in the Golden Age)

In the set of elements integrated into festive and spectacular Baroque hagiographical celebrations, there are some theatrical and paratheatrical. These elements vary from the more or less didactic and religious to the fun, close to the more grotesque comicalness. The are especially important the series of Jesuit celebrations2 of the first and last decades of the seventeenth century with the beatification and canonization of Saint Ignatius, Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Francis de Borja (comprehensible due to the strong tendency of the Society of Jesus towards didactic uses of theatre). Other manifestations can be added also in the canonization of Saint Theresa, Saint Philip Neri and Saint Isidro (at the same time as Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis, 1622). These celebrations muss be added to those dedicated to Immaculate Conception that proliferate throughout the Golden Age.