Mexico’s President is Asking for an Apology from King Felipe VI and the Pope 500 Years After Historical Conquest

21. The Church Functioned as Part of the Government

Because of the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the Reconquista of Spain in Europe, it came to function as an arm of the Spanish government. With the colonization of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, missionaries often accompanied the conquistadors in the hopes of converting these indigenous people to Catholicism.