A History of Catholicism in Brazil could well be divided into the pre- and post-Jacksonian eras. Jackson de Figueiredo, fiery Catholic journalist of the 1920's who serves as the point of reference, performed the feat of almost single-handedly wrenching the Brazilian Church from the position of static equilibrium in which it long lay suspended. This statis had its roots in the restrictive regalism of the Portuguese and Brazilian Empires and in the Republican disestablishment which followed in 1890.

Caught up since 1890 with organizational and financial problems of survival, the Brazilian Church had drawn ever closer to Rome. Under the auspices of the papacy, the hierarchy recruited foreign clergy to staff its underorganized church and encouraged new orders to set up branches in Brazil. In 1905 Pope Leo XIII appointed Archbishop Joaquim Arcoverde of Rio the first Cardinal of Brazil and of Latin America. He created new dioceses in Brazil and appointed Rome-trained bishops to fill them. The utilization of Rome's financial and personnel resources in the postdisestablishment period considerably shored up the Church qua organization in Brazil.