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A Fake Saint and the True Church offers the remarkable story of a fake saint to contemplate the meaning of truth. It follows the efforts made by the supposed saint's (real) seventeenth-century descendant to promote his cult in Naples and Rome. This story reminds us that distinguishing the true from the false is a matter of commitment and belief, not simply research ability. Compared with our early modern predecessors, we are more skilled at verifying facts and less willing to let supernatural truths regulate our behaviors. Yet, the relationship between truth and authenticity is still a challenge for us, as it was for them.
List of contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: The Making of a Success Story
- Chapter 2: A Wonderful Find
- Chapter 3: An Unexpected Ally
- Chapter 4: A Controversial Partner
- Chapter 5: The Fraud is Uncovered
- Chapter 6: The Roman Curia Takes Over
- Chapter 7: The Curia at an Impasse
- Chapter 8: The End of the Story
- Conclusion
- List of Abbreviations
- Bibliographical Notes
About the author
Stefania Tutino is a Professor of History at UCLA. She is the author of numerous award-winning books and essays on early modern Catholicism.
Summary
A Fake Saint and the True Church uncovers the remarkable story of a fake saint to tell a tale about truth. It begins at the end of the 1650s, when a large quantity of forged documents suddenly appeared throughout the Kingdom of Naples. Narrating the life and deeds of a previously unknown medieval saint named Giovanni Calà, the trove generated much excitement around the kingdom. No one was more delighted by the news than Carlo Calà, Giovanni's wealthy and politically influential seventeenth-century descendant. Attracted by the prospect of adding a saint to the family tree, Carlo presented Giovanni's case to the Roman Curia. The Catholic authorities, however, immediately realized that the sources were forged, and that Giovanni was not real (let alone holy). Yet, it took more than two decades before the forgery was exposed: why?
Vividly reconstructing the intricate case of the supposed saint, Stefania Tutino explores the tensions between historical and theological truth. How much could the truth of doctrine depend on the truth of the facts before religion lost its connection with the supernatural? To what extent could the truth of doctrine ignore the truth of the facts without ending up engulfed in falsity and deceit? How could the absolute truth of theology relate to the far less absolute certainty of human affairs?
This story of a fake saint illuminates early modern tensions. But the struggles to distinguish between facts, opinions, and beliefs remain with us. Examining, as this book does, how our predecessors dealt with the relationship between truth and authenticity guides us too in thinking through what is true and what is not.
Additional text
Fake Saint and the True Church is not the first microhistory about an early modern forgery, but Stefania Tutino's narrative skill and historical expertise make it a brilliantly accessible addition to this genre... This is microhistory at its best.
