An _auto da fe_ (Portuguese: [ˈawtu dɐ ˈfɛ]; Spanish: [ˈauto de fe]; Portuguese and Galician: "act of faith") was a public ceremony organized by the Roman Catholic Church to display penitents before execution for heresy. The accused heretics would be paraded through the streets, wearing sanbenitos (penitential robes) and sometimes carrying candles or crosses. They would then be burned alive.
_Auto da fe_s were first held in the 13th century, and they continued to be practiced until the 18th century. They were particularly common in Spain and Portugal, which were strongholds of the Catholic Church during the period of the Inquisition. It is estimated that tens of thousands of people were executed in _auto da fe_s.
