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Becoming Holy in Early Canada |
eBook Available
Uncovering the history of sanctity in everyday colonial life.
Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in holy figures in Canada. From the reputations of popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI as prolific saint-makers to the canonization of two figures associated with Canada - Brother André Bessette in 2010 and Kateri Tekakwitha in 2012 - saints are suddenly in the news and a topic of conversation.
In Becoming Holy in Early Canada, Timothy Pearson explores the roots of sanctity in Canada to discover why reputations for holiness developed in the early colonial period and how saints were made in the local and immediate contexts of everyday life. Pearson weaves together the histories of well-known figures such as Marie de l'Incarnation with those of largely forgotten local saints such as lay brother and carpenter Didace Pelletier and the Algonquin martyr Joseph Onaharé. Adopting an approach that draws on performance theory, ritual studies, and lived religion, he unravels the expectations, interactions, and negotiations that constituted holy performances. Because holy reputations developed over the course of individuals' lifetimes and in after-death relationships with local faith communities through belief in miracles, holy lives are best read as local, embedded, and contextualized histories.
Placing colonial holy figures between the poles of local expectation and the universal Catholic theology of sanctity, Becoming Holy in Early Canada shows how reputations developed and individuals became local saints long before they came to the attention of the church in Rome.
In Becoming Holy in Early Canada, Timothy Pearson explores the roots of sanctity in Canada to discover why reputations for holiness developed in the early colonial period and how saints were made in the local and immediate contexts of everyday life. Pearson weaves together the histories of well-known figures such as Marie de l'Incarnation with those of largely forgotten local saints such as lay brother and carpenter Didace Pelletier and the Algonquin martyr Joseph Onaharé. Adopting an approach that draws on performance theory, ritual studies, and lived religion, he unravels the expectations, interactions, and negotiations that constituted holy performances. Because holy reputations developed over the course of individuals' lifetimes and in after-death relationships with local faith communities through belief in miracles, holy lives are best read as local, embedded, and contextualized histories.
Placing colonial holy figures between the poles of local expectation and the universal Catholic theology of sanctity, Becoming Holy in Early Canada shows how reputations developed and individuals became local saints long before they came to the attention of the church in Rome.
Details
Part of the McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion Series (number 2.7 in series)
320 Pages, 6 x 9
4 b&w photos, 2 charts
ISBN 9780773544192
August 2014
Formats: Cloth, Paperback, eBook
“Becoming Holy in Early Canada offers new insights into the link between holy performances in New France and discourses of holiness in the pre- and post-Reformation church. Compellingly written and accessible, it is a major contribution to the research on holiness and hagiography in the North American colonies.”Tracy Neal Leavelle, Department of History, Creighton University
“Becoming Holy in Early Canada is a fascinating, polished, and sophisticated addition to the field. Pearson balances fine-grained and evocative analysis with the bigger picture and wider historical trends.” Emma Anderson, Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa
“Becoming Holy in Early Canada is deeply informed and builds on recent studies of religion in early Canada. Pearson’s anthropologically inspired approach to 'lived holiness,' is especially refreshing and relevant for scholars of religion, regardless of the time period they study. Becoming Holy in Early Canada is also an intensely historicized account. In Pearson’s skilled hands, holiness becomes a productive lens through which to examine the construction of colonial New France itself.” University of Toronto Quarterly
“Timothy Pearson’s Becoming Holy in Early Canada is an excellent book, one that makes an important contribution to early Canadian colonial history and to our understanding of the lived experience of holiness in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century New France. [It] bridges the gap between religion as a matter of individual subjectivity and religion as a matter of collective action and broad social forces. Pearson’s study makes an elegant contribution to the field of religious studies. Becoming Holy offers a fine example of just what such a study of religion would - and should - look like.” The Canadian Historical Review
“Pearson shows that the normative model of holiness changed: [in] the seventeenth century, the heroic model of suffering and sacrifice resonated, while in the relatively stable colony of the eighteenth century, holiness arose in contexts of service and charitable initiative. This insight, alongside the detailed observation of the careers of holy women particularly, show how exemplary piety and mysticism were fields of opportunity for religious women positioning Becoming Holy as a useful addition to the historiography of sainthood and sanctity in the early modern world.” Journal of Jesuit Studies
“Becoming Holy in Early Canada is a fascinating, polished, and sophisticated addition to the field. Pearson balances fine-grained and evocative analysis with the bigger picture and wider historical trends.” Emma Anderson, Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa
“Becoming Holy in Early Canada is deeply informed and builds on recent studies of religion in early Canada. Pearson’s anthropologically inspired approach to 'lived holiness,' is especially refreshing and relevant for scholars of religion, regardless of the time period they study. Becoming Holy in Early Canada is also an intensely historicized account. In Pearson’s skilled hands, holiness becomes a productive lens through which to examine the construction of colonial New France itself.” University of Toronto Quarterly
“Timothy Pearson’s Becoming Holy in Early Canada is an excellent book, one that makes an important contribution to early Canadian colonial history and to our understanding of the lived experience of holiness in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century New France. [It] bridges the gap between religion as a matter of individual subjectivity and religion as a matter of collective action and broad social forces. Pearson’s study makes an elegant contribution to the field of religious studies. Becoming Holy offers a fine example of just what such a study of religion would - and should - look like.” The Canadian Historical Review
“Pearson shows that the normative model of holiness changed: [in] the seventeenth century, the heroic model of suffering and sacrifice resonated, while in the relatively stable colony of the eighteenth century, holiness arose in contexts of service and charitable initiative. This insight, alongside the detailed observation of the careers of holy women particularly, show how exemplary piety and mysticism were fields of opportunity for religious women positioning Becoming Holy as a useful addition to the historiography of sainthood and sanctity in the early modern world.” Journal of Jesuit Studies
Timothy G. Pearson is adjunct professor at Western University.
Figures and Tables xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 3
1 The Cult of the Saints and Early Canada 16
2 Evangelism: Martyrdom 35
3 Evangelism: Indigenous Holiness 62
4 Charity: Domesticating Holiness 84
5 Asceticism: Making a New Culture 111
6 Miracles: Social Dramas and Community Bonds 140
7 Hagiography: Writing Memory 170
Conclusion 191
Appendix: Holy Persons of New France 199
Abbreviations 203
Notes 205
Bibliography 253
Index 279
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 3
1 The Cult of the Saints and Early Canada 16
2 Evangelism: Martyrdom 35
3 Evangelism: Indigenous Holiness 62
4 Charity: Domesticating Holiness 84
5 Asceticism: Making a New Culture 111
6 Miracles: Social Dramas and Community Bonds 140
7 Hagiography: Writing Memory 170
Conclusion 191
Appendix: Holy Persons of New France 199
Abbreviations 203
Notes 205
Bibliography 253
Index 279
9780228008903
$75.00 CAD
Cloth
9780773532847
$37.95 CAD
Paperback
9780773530577
$125.00 CAD
Cloth
9780773516007
$125.00 CAD
Cloth
