The Tractatus in expositionem vitae et regulae beati Benedicti was considered, even in recent times, as a sort of guide, a map, useful to try to recognize and follow the steps of the biographical thread of Joachim of Fiore, in a key period of his existence, characterized before by the adherence and then by the criticism of the Cistercian experience. In this context it is necessary to rethink the dating of this work and, closely linked, the modalities of its drafting. This paper reinterprets some sources about the Calabrian abbot’s relationship with Citeaux and the affi liation of Santa Maria di Corazzo to the order, which is backdated to the Seventies of the twelfth century. In this way, some ambiguities of the historical reconstruction of Herbert Grundmann are resolved as well.
The article addresses the oldest preserved pastoral visits to the diocese of Bologna, dating back to the long episcopate of the Carthusian Niccolò Albergati (1417-1443). The six documented visits (1417, 1420, 1425, 1433, 1434, 1437) were carried out mainly by Episcopal vicars, but nevertheless Albergati’s role, even if indirect, was decisive. Starting from the experience gained as a visitor of the Italian Carthusian houses, the cardinal used pastoral visits as the most appropriate instrument for the development of a reformatory plan, whose guidelines were indeed suggested by the outcome of diocesan inspections. Evidences offered by archival sources make it possible to reconsider the hagiographic framework outlined thus far by biographers.
Pier Paolo Vergerio, who had originally planned to head towards Germany, in early 1550 decided to settle down in Vicosoprano, where he became the local Reformed minister. This article focuses on the opposition of the local Reformed population to Vergerio, obbliged to leave the Grisons in 1553, and it casts light on one specifi c episode: the publication of a catechism that provoked the harsh reaction of Agostino Mainardo, who at the time was the Reformed minister of Chiavenna. The main problem concerned the illustration of the doctrine of the Eucharist. In fact, in 1553 Vergerio actually published two different catechisms: the second – until today the only one known to scholars – was probably an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile himself with his opponents. Finally, this article allows to demonstrate that Vergerio’s inclination towards Lutheranism did not have place only after he had left the Grisons, as is often sustained. On the contrary he was close to Luther’s views already during his years as a Reformed minister in Vicosoprano.
During the 18th century in London, the embassies’ chapels of the Catholic countries often were the only available places of worship for the London Catholics. The church of the Savoy diplomatic representation, the Sardinian chapel, also showed such a vocation, assuming over time a hegemonic position in the context of the sacred spaces of the British capital, so to appear to many observers as a kind of parish for all the Catholics (either English or not) residing in London. The developments of the Sardinian chapel (which have been analyzed here on the basis of archive sources nearly unexplored until now) combine with the mutable juridical conditions which the faithful of the Roman Church were subjected to during the 1700s, as well as with the evolution of the diplomatic relationship between the British and the Savoy governments.
During the eighteenth century within the Catholic Church there were harsh internal theological debates; different peoples and parties within the Church accused each other of heresy, constantly referring to theological views already condemned in the past. Everyone was claiming to support the truth, and there was a widespread “obsession” for theological mistakes. In this context, the use of history was fundamental: a veritable “genealogy of errors” was created, and each group compared the theological positions of the adversaries with similar views from the past. Those polemics were generally condemned by Benedict XIV and not supported by the Holy Offi ce. The discussions on the Bull Unigenitus (1713) were crucial, and showed the growing relevance of debates regarding the authority of the pope.
The passage of the Garibaldi’s “red shirts”, with the fi nal disappearance of the Kingdom of Sicily, brought about radical innovations for the Sicilian Church. After recalling the radical transformation of its institutional structure few years earlier, with the establishment of seven new dioceses, this paper examines, in particular, the effects on the ecclesiastical and religious institutions, resulting from the end of the Apostolic Legateship and of the application of Italian laws of 1866 and 1867. The opening toward a peninsular and European circuit which contributed to the introduction of new models of spirituality and examples of Christian experience for the clergy and the laity; the contribution of new forms of consecrated life determined also the beginning of a leadership of women in the Church and in Sicilian society.
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