Schutte (emeritus, history, U. of Virginia) examined 978 petitions to the pope asking for release from monastic vows during a 125-year period, from 1668 to 1793. This investigation brings forth a rich
Between 1618 and 1750, sixteen people—nine women and seven men—were brought to the attention of the ecclesiastical authorities in Venice because they were reporting visions, revelations, and special p
Charged by the Venetian Inquisition with the conscious and cynical feigning of holiness, Cecelia Ferrazzi (1609-1684) requested and obtained the unprecedented opportunity to defend herself through a p
