Clubs with popular libraries. Confluences between physical and intellectual culture in the capital of Buenos Aires’ province through the itinerary of the Ateneo Popular (1915-1944)

Authors

  • Carlos Manuel García Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)

Keywords:

Discernimiento de espíritus, posesión diabólica, Jeanne Féry, carisma e institución

Abstract

In this article, I aim to reconstruct the use and application of the discernment of spirits in the
case of demonic possession of Jeanne Féry, a conventual nun of the Black Sisters in the town of
Mons (Spanish Netherlands), occurring between 1584 and 1586. Her questionable anti-Christian
behaviours, the repeated demonic attacks she experienced, and the systematic visitations she
received from Saint Mary Magdalene made indispensable the implementation of the paradigmatic
discretio.
A close reading of the Histoire admirable et veritable -the documentary source that details the
specifics of the case- allows me to propose the hypothesis that a distinctive form of probatio
spirituum was practiced in the affaire Féry. Through visionary experiences, providence instructed
the religious woman on a particular criterion that enabled her to engage in personalized exercises
of self-discernment, granting her access to profound knowledge of Christian doctrine, and providing
her with a set of rules, guidelines, and directives that, when put into practice, justified, intensified,
and deepened the mechanisms of control that the priests exerted over her.
In a context of severe criticisms toward the sacred order and the ecclesiastical institution, the record
of all these events became a panegyric of the hierarchical Catholic prelature.

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Published

2023-12-28

How to Cite

Clubs with popular libraries. Confluences between physical and intellectual culture in the capital of Buenos Aires’ province through the itinerary of the Ateneo Popular (1915-1944). (2023). Anuario Del Centro De Estudios Históricos Profesor Carlos S. A. Segreti, 23(2). https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/anuarioceh/article/view/44003