Shrines, Relics, and Saints

In Shrines, Relics, and Saints,the eminent medievalist André Vauchez explores the evolution of spaces in Christianity—chapels, monasteries, holy wells, grottos, and other holy places—that are considered sacred because they house the relics of a saint or because they preserve the memory of an appearance by a saint, angel, or the Virgin Mary.

From famous sanctuaries that still attract multitudes of pilgrims—in Jerusalem, Rome, Tours, Assisi, and Compostela—to local shrines in villages, towns and wild places across the continent, these sanctuaries were frequented by pilgrims in search of miraculous healings of body and soul. Together, they formed a network comprising new forms of sacredness and spiritual practice. A masterwork in the history of Christianity, Shrines, Relics, and Saints traces pilgrimage routes to major sanctuaries, follows saints’ relics as they were transferred from East to West, and examines the Church’s ambiguous and sometimes antagonistic relationship to sites of popular worship.

Author Biography

André Vauchez is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University Paris-Nanterre. A member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, he was awarded the Balzan Prize in 2013 for his lifetime’s work in history. His books in English include Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages; Francis of Assisi; and Catherine of Siena. Michael F. Cusato is a Franciscan friar and scholar-in-residence at St. Bonaventure University who has published widely on the history of the Franciscan order during the Middle Ages.