What was the public ceremony of penance and punishment called?

The public ceremony of penance and punishment was called an auto-da-fé, from the Spanish auto de fe, meaning “act of faith.” It was a formal religious ceremony in which the Inquisition publicly presented defendants, proclaimed sentences, held prayers or Mass, and announced acts of reconciliation or punishment.

An auto-da-fé was not itself usually the execution. Those condemned as unrepentant heretics were handed over afterward to secular authorities, who carried out the death sentence. Other participants might receive penance, public flogging, imprisonment, exile, confiscation of property, or forced labor.

The ceremony developed into a large public spectacle, often held in a city plaza with elaborate processions and distinctive garments called sanbenitos. The first recorded Spanish auto-da-fé took place in Seville in 1481. It is commonly confused with “Inquisition,” which names the institution, or excommunication, which is a separate ecclesiastical penalty.