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 Cala, the trove generated much excitement around the kingdom. No one was more delighted by the news than Carlo Cala, 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.

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.

Reviews
Impressive * Jennifer D Selwyn, Journal of Jesuit Studies *
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. * Katherine Elliot Van Liere, American Historical Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197578803
Author Stefania Tutino
Format Hardback
Page Count 208
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 363g
Dimensions(mm) 150mm * 216mm * 25mm