Catholic associations as instances of socialization and time control

Abstract This article examines the interests involved in the installation of the Sanctuary and of the Lyceum of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in São Paulo, it also presents and discusses the positions of the local elite, of the bishopric and of the Salesian congregation, and aims at understanding how these institutions and practices allowed for the spread of a Catholic culture and for the socialization of individuals. The article focuses on the associations as practices that united priests, teachers, students and parishioners, who socialized and intended to establish a way of comprehending and controlling the time. The research was based on documents found in the Salesians and the Metropolitan Curia archives, both in São Paulo. The results indicate that the Sanctuary and the Lyceum marked the city landscape during the urbanization process, and that the priests disputed the interest of the population with other activities.