Three hundred years after the birth of Saint Gerard Majella, a Lucanian scholar reconstructs his figure for the first time by intertwining history and popular tradition, archival sources, and court depositions. The review is by Father Vincenzo La Mendola, C.Ss.R.
Chiara Ponte, Saint Gerard Majella between history and popular tradition, Yucanprint, Vignate (MI), 2026, pp. 325.
This is not the first time Chiara Ponte (Master’s Degree in European History and Civilizations, University of Basilicata) has delved into the history of her homeland. The volume we present builds on more than a decade of research that has already produced original contributions, including Muro Lucano – history, art, culture – from its origins to the 11th century (La lettera scarlatta Edizioni, 2014), Chronicle of a village and its women (Yucanprint, 2020), and Joanna I of Anjou. Glory of women and kings (Yucanprint, 2025). However, this novelty seems to be linked to a primacy that Chiara Ponte could claim in the panorama of the more than two-hundred-year-old bibliography on Saint Gerard. At least in Italy, to our knowledge, she is the first woman to publish a scholarly text on Saint Gerard, offering a comprehensive overview of his life, spirituality, and the history of his sainthood. The presence of women from various backgrounds and social classes is a constant in the Saint’s life, as is the case among the witnesses questioned in his trials. But until now, a scholar has been missing to offer her perspective on such a popular figure, previously studied only by men. The occasion of the Third Centenary of the birth of Saint Gerard Majella offers her the opportunity to explore a significant chapter in local religious history through one of its most representative figures, “one of the most beloved saints of Southern Italy and Basilicata” (p. 7), whose devotion extends far beyond national borders.
The work, as Redemptorist Father Piotr Chyla emphasizes in the Afterword, “is distinguished by its historical depth, documentary wealth, and ability to critically interweave history and popular tradition” (p. 319). The stated objective is ambitious: to analyze the figure of the Saint starting from his concrete experience and popular tradition and making a distinction between the “historical” and the “hagiographic” Gerard. A complex and, in some ways, courageous operation, if one considers that the “Gerardine legend” chronologically represents one of the last great hagiographic constructions of the West. The Redemptorist historian Francesco Chiovaro had already highlighted this in his study Formation and Meaning of the Legend of Saint Gerard , in San Gerardo tra spiritualità e storia (Materdomini, 1993, p. 111), in which he analyzed the genesis and meaning of this hagiographic tradition, marking a turning point in historical studies relating to the Redemptorist saint. Chiara Ponte places herself precisely along this line, with research conducted with passion and methodological rigor, also strengthened by a privileged perspective: that of being a “fellow citizen” of the Saint and, at the same time, an established scholar of the history of Murese.
The work is divided into four chapters, varying in structure but coherent in development. The first two serve as a methodological and documentary premise, while the subsequent ones constitute the most original core of the work.
In the first chapter, the Author analyses direct and autobiographical sources: the letters and the Rule of Life, through which it is possible to outline a concise spiritual profile of the Saint.
A distinctly Southern religiosity emerges, rooted in the domestic environment and popular culture: “The figure of Gerardo Majella fits perfectly into the socioeconomic context of the eighteenth century,” the writer begins, “and is characterized by spontaneity, gestures, emotion, and a taste for the marvelous. It is also a religion of the body, an expression of a penitential tradition and sought-after suffering, which has continued from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age, attested by the widespread devotional practice of the Stations of the Cross” (p. 33). A summary table of Gerardo’s correspondence completes the picture, offering a useful tool for synthesis and consultation.
The second chapter represents the heart of the historiographical work. Through rigorous critical analysis, the main biographical sources (Caione-Landi and Tannoia) are examined and compared with the depositions of witnesses heard in the beatification and canonization processes. Of particular interest is the table of witnesses interviewed by Father Caione (p. 45), followed by a detailed study of the Acts of the Muro informative trials, the Conza trials, and the apostolic trials, also in Muro. While aware of the intermingling of historical and symbolic elements in the construction of the legend (p. 41), the author avoids dismissive judgments, preferring to investigate the cultural and anthropological significance of these narratives, placing them in their context and highlighting their contribution to the formation of the fama sancitatis of the Majella, which can be traced back to an uninterrupted oral tradition. What emerges is a convincing attempt to restore Gerard to his Lucanian origins, through the analysis of the depositions of local witnesses – fifty in the case of the informative trial (pp. 64-79) and thirty-eight for the apostolic one (pp. 82-86) – whose origins, social status and sources of knowledge are reconstructed.
The third chapter is distinguished by a meticulous archival investigation. Through notarial, fiscal, and ecclesiastical documents, the author reconstructs key aspects of the Saint’s family life: his surname, birth, baptism, parents, and residence. Her work on several estate registers and land registers allows her to more precisely locate the sites of St Gerard within the urban fabric of Muro Lucano, despite the profound transformations the city underwent following the earthquake and reconstruction. Several period photographs, included in the chapter, further complete the historical documentation.
The fourth chapter, the most substantial (pp. 135-318), offers a detailed reconstruction of Gerardo Majella’s biographical story.
The author focuses on his childhood, miracles, penitential life, work, and personal devotion, born and nurtured in the ecclesiastical environment of Murese. Spiritual role models emerge, including the Archangel Michael (p. 139) and the Madonna, along with the saint’s early inclination for meditating on the Passion of Christ and for visiting the Blessed Sacrament. A profile is also provided of Gerardo, a catechist (pp. 140-141) and an avid reader of classic ascetic texts such as The Year of Sorrows by the Calabrian Capuchin friar Antonio da Olivadi (p. 34), and the biography of the venerable Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione, a figure also remembered in Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel The Leopard , where she appears as Blessed Corbera (p. 277). Both texts were instrumental in shaping his spirituality and the mystical dimension of his journey to sainthood.
No less relevant are the influences of the ascetic works of Alfonso de Liguori, among which the Eternal Maxims (1728), the Visits to the Blessed Sacrament (1745), the Glories of Mary (1750), the Notices pertaining to the religious vocation (1750) which Father Caione read to him when he was ill in Pagani, and the pamphlet on Uniformity to the Will of God (1755), the Author observes, referring to a study by Angelomichele De Spirito (cf. p. 34).
Ample space is devoted to several famous episodes, such as the miracle of the bread (pp. 144-156) and the Communion at the hand of Saint Michael (pp. 157-159), critically analyzed in an attempt to debunk clichés and provide more reliable historical details, useful for identifying Gerardino’s journey through Murese. Particularly significant is the reflection on the mistreatment and penitential practices that marked the Saint’s youth, classified as acts of bullying and interpreted as an expression of a desire to participate in the Passion of Christ (p. 164), in line with the religious sensibilities of the time.
The investigation also extends to lesser-known miracles that occurred in Muro and/or to its inhabitants, but are precisely documented (p. 197), and to missionary activity in Basilicata, with references to Saint Gerard’s passage and stay in several towns: Ruvo del Monte, Castelgrande, Melfi, Atella, Ripacandida, and Vietri di Potenza (pp. 230-257). Significant insights are also included into his encounters with fellow citizens of Muro, and Gerard’s returns to his hometown (pp. 214-229 and 275-281), his physical and spiritual portrait (p. 284), and, finally, the theme of death and the spread of the cult, documented through pilgrimages (pp. 300-301), sacred images (pp. 302-306), and relics (pp. 306-308).
An episode on the post-mortem miracles for the benefit of the Lucanians (309-318) could not be missed , as evidence of a deep-rooted local cult, expressed in some devotional practices: children dressed like him , pilgrimages, statues, processions and liturgical celebrations, with an appropriate reference to the statue, still an object of veneration, performed on the occasion of the bicentenary of his birth and placed in the rebuilt Murese cathedral which, as reported in a 1926 newspaper, “La voce di san Gerardo”, according to the intentions of the time was to become a Sanctuary of San Gerardo Majella, thus opening an important place of worship also in the city that had seen him born and show the first signs of sanctity (p. 318).
Overall, Chiara Ponte’s book is “an extraordinary work of research, synthesis, and narration” (p. 322), supported by a select bibliography (pp. 323-324) and a careful exploration and comparative study of specific sources (p. 325), as evidenced by the 983 footnotes, which may be a measure of its scholarly depth. The result is a reconstruction that makes a valuable contribution to the hagiographical question of Saint Gerard and—fulfilling the author’s intent—returns Saint Gerard to his homeland, highlighting the decisive role of Lucanian culture and religiosity in shaping his personality and his journey toward sainthood.
The writing is linear and the style dry but flowing, in keeping with the expectations of today’s reader, who is offered an objective treatment, in which direct citations from witnesses and continuous references to sources prevail.
The Author maintains an impartial and unbiased attitude throughout the narrative, seeking to give precedence to the sources and reserving, where truly necessary, some considered and never risky considerations.
In conclusion, we can share the hope expressed by Don Tomas Sojan John, parish priest of the Pastoral Unit of Muro Lucano: «In the tricentenary of the birth of Saint Gerard, may this book receive the welcome and recognition it deserves, becoming a point of reference not only for the faithful but for anyone who wishes to approach the figure of the Saint with historical rigor and human sensitivity» ( Preface , p. 8).
Fr. Vincenzo La Mendola, C.Ss.R.
