A Visit to Remember: Stigmata and Celebrity at the Turn of the Twentieth Century |
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| Authors: | Andrea Graus |
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| Institution: | Ruusbroec Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium |
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| Abstract: | Focusing on a type of religious celebrity that attracted European crowds at the turn of the twentieth century, the stigmatized female mystic, in this article I examine the role of the audience in the generation of a celebrity culture from below, i.e., as opposed to the current type of pre-manufactured mass-media celebrity. To examine the audience’s role, I consider the thousands who visited two stigmatized laywomen: the Frenchwoman Marie-Julie Jahenny and the Spaniard Margalida Amengual. The article shows the importance of the personal experiences of the members of the audience, highlighting the role of word-of-mouth communication in the rise to fame of these two stigmatics. I argue that popular enthusiasm is key to achieving both celebrity and ‘living saint’ status. Drawing on the parallels between fans and religious devotees, I also provide evidence of the interplay between the cult of saints and celebrity worship. |
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| Keywords: | Mysticism celebrity studies popular religion catholicism living saint |
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