A Saint of Our Own

How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, History, Christianity, Denominations, Catholic, Catholicism, Americas, United States
Cover of the book A Saint of Our Own by Kathleen Sprows Cummings, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kathleen Sprows Cummings ISBN: 9781469649481
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: February 27, 2019
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Kathleen Sprows Cummings
ISBN: 9781469649481
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: February 27, 2019
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

What drove U.S. Catholics in their arduous quest, full of twists and turns over more than a century, to win an American saint? The absence of American names in the canon of the saints had left many of the faithful feeling spiritually unmoored. But while canonization may be fundamentally about holiness, it is never only about holiness, reveals Kathleen Sprows Cummings in this panoramic, passionate chronicle of American sanctity. Catholics had another reason for petitioning the Vatican to acknowledge an American holy hero.

A home-grown saint would serve as a mediator between heaven and earth, yes, but also between Catholicism and American culture. Throughout much of U.S. history, the making of a saint was also about the ways in which the members of a minority religious group defined, defended, and celebrated their identities as Americans. Their fascinatingly diverse causes for canonization—from Kateri Tekakwitha and Elizabeth Ann Seton to many others that are failed, forgotten, or still under way—represented evolving national values as Catholics made themselves at home. Cummings's vision of American sanctity shows just how much Catholics had at stake in cultivating devotion to men and women perched at the nexus of holiness and American history—until they finally felt little need to prove that they belonged.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

What drove U.S. Catholics in their arduous quest, full of twists and turns over more than a century, to win an American saint? The absence of American names in the canon of the saints had left many of the faithful feeling spiritually unmoored. But while canonization may be fundamentally about holiness, it is never only about holiness, reveals Kathleen Sprows Cummings in this panoramic, passionate chronicle of American sanctity. Catholics had another reason for petitioning the Vatican to acknowledge an American holy hero.

A home-grown saint would serve as a mediator between heaven and earth, yes, but also between Catholicism and American culture. Throughout much of U.S. history, the making of a saint was also about the ways in which the members of a minority religious group defined, defended, and celebrated their identities as Americans. Their fascinatingly diverse causes for canonization—from Kateri Tekakwitha and Elizabeth Ann Seton to many others that are failed, forgotten, or still under way—represented evolving national values as Catholics made themselves at home. Cummings's vision of American sanctity shows just how much Catholics had at stake in cultivating devotion to men and women perched at the nexus of holiness and American history—until they finally felt little need to prove that they belonged.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Stores by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book The Origins of Women's Activism by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book American Opinion and the Russian Alliance, 1939-1945 by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book Cherokee Stories of the Turtle Island Liars’ Club by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book American Honor by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book When Sun Meets Moon by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book Carolina Basketball by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book Liberation Historiography by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book Southeastern Geographer by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book The Secret Eye by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book Prophets of Rebellion by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book Unity and Design in Horace's Odes by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book Behind the Backlash by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book The Last Battleground by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
Cover of the book The Military Memoirs of General John Pope by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy