Saints and levitation
Encyclopedia
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
or levitate has been attributed. Most of these "flying saints" are mentioned as such in literature and sources associated with them.
The ability was also attributed to other figures in Early Christianity
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
. The apocryphal Acts of Peter
Acts of Peter
The Acts of Peter is one of the earliest of the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. The majority of the text has survived only in the Latin translation of the Vercelli manuscript. It is mainly notable for a description of a miracle contest between Saint Peter and Simon Magus, and as the first record...
gives a legendary tale of Simon Magus
Simon Magus
Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, in Latin Simon Magus, was a Samaritan magus or religious figure and a convert to Christianity, baptised by Philip the Apostle, whose later confrontation with Peter is recorded in . The sin of simony, or paying for position and influence in the church, is...
' death. Simon is performing magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
in the Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
, and in order to prove himself to be a god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, he flies up into the air. The apostle Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
prays to God to stop his flying, and he stops mid-air and falls, breaking his legs, whereupon the crowd, previously non-hostile, stones him to death.
The church of Santa Francesca Romana
Santa Francesca Romana
Santa Francesca Romana, previously known as Santa Maria Nova, is a church in Rome, Italy, situated next to the Roman Forum.- History :...
claims to have been built on the spot in question (thus accepting the claim that Simon Magus could indeed fly), claims that Saint Paul was also present, and that a dented slab of marble that it contains bears the imprints of the knees of Peter and Paul during their prayer.
Saint Francis of Assisi is recorded as having been "suspended above the earth, often to a height of three, and often to a height of four cubits" (around 1.3 to 1.8 m). St. Alphonsus Liguori, when preaching at Foggia
Foggia
Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...
, was lifted before the eyes of the whole congregation several feet from the ground. Liguori is also said to have had the power of bilocation
Bilocation
Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be, or appears to be, located in two distinct places at the same instant in time...
.
Flying or levitation was also associated with witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. When it came to female saints, there was a certain ambivalence expressed by theologians, canon lawyers, inquisitors, and male hagiographers
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
towards the powers that they were purported to have. By 1500, the image of the female saint in popular imagination had become similar to that of the witch. Both witches and female saints were suspected of flying through the air, whether in saintly levitation or bilocation, or in a witches’ Sabbath
Sabbath (witchcraft)
The Witches' Sabbath or Sabbat is a supposed meeting of those who practice witchcraft, and other rites.European records indicate cases of persons being accused or tried for taking part in Sabbat gatherings, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century or later.- Etymology :The English word “sabbat”...
.
Outside of Christianity, levitation has also been cited. In his book Autobiography of a Yogi
Autobiography of a Yogi
In 1946, Paramahansa Yogananda , published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi, which introduced many westerners to meditation and yoga...
, Paramahamsa Yogananda discusses Nagendranath Bhaduri, a saint said to levitate in India. The saint had mastered Astanga Yoga and several Yogic techniques including various pranayama
Pranayama
Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...
s or breathing techniques as mentioned in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. Yogananda wrote that Nagendranath Bhaduri had performed bhastrika pranayama so strongly that he felt like he was in the middle of a storm and after performing the pranayama, Bhaduri Mahasaya entered into a state of ecstatic calm. The chapter which describes Bhaduri Mahasaya is titled "The Levitating Saint".
In India there is also a description of another saint, Gyaneshwara, who was said to have the power to levitate .
List of Catholic, Roman and Eastern, and Byzantine Orthodox Saints who claimed to have levitated
- Saint Archangela Girlani
- Saint Christina the AstonishingChristina the AstonishingChristina the Astonishing , also known as Christina Mirabilis, was a Christian holy-woman born in Brustem in 1150. She is sometimes considered a saint. Christina is as much remembered for her faith as for her numerous and violent fits of ecstasy. Her memorial day is 24 July.- Life :Born a peasant,...
- Saint Francis of PaolaFrancis of PaolaSaint Francis of Paola was an Italian mendicant friar and the founder of the Roman Catholic Order of the Minims.-Biography:...
- Saint Francis FasaniFrancis FasaniSaint Francis Fasani was an Italian saint.He was a friend of Blessed Antonio Lucci.-Early life:...
- Saint Francis XavierFrancis XavierFrancis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
- Saint Gemma GalganiGemma GalganiMaria Gemma Umberta Pia Galgani was an Italian mystic, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church since 1940...
- Saint Gerard MajellaGerard MajellaSaint Gerard Majella is a Roman Catholic saint. He is the saint whose intercession is requested for children , childbirth, mothers , motherhood, falsely accused people, good confessions, lay brothers and Muro Lucano,...
- Saint Ignatius Loyola
- Saint John BoscoJohn BoscoJohn Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th century, who put into practice the convictions of his religion, dedicating his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth and employing teaching methods...
- Saint John Joseph of the CrossJohn Joseph of the CrossSaint John-Joseph of the Cross , known most commonly in the Italian language as San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce, was an Italian saint. He is the patron of Ischia, the place where he was born.-Biography:...
- Saint Joseph of Cupertino
- Saint Ludgardis of Tongeren
- Saint Luke ThaumaturgusLuke ThaumaturgusLuke Thaumaturgus is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic, and Roman Catholic Churches. He lived as a hermit and stylite from the age of 18 until his death on Mount Joannitsa near Corinth...
(Luke the Younger) - Saint Martin de PorresMartin de PorresMartin de Porres was a lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony.He was noted for work on behalf of the poor, establishing an...
- Saint Michael GaricoitsMichael GaricoitsSaint Michael Garicoits was a Basque saint. He was ordained priest at Bayonne in December 1823 and combated Jansenism in his parish of Cambo. He founded the Society of Priests of the Sacred Heart of Betharram, which received official approval from the Pope after his death.-External links:**...
- Blessed Miguel ProMiguel ProMiguel Agustín Pro Juárez , also known as Blessed Miguel Pro, was a Mexican Jesuit priest, executed without trial during the persecution of the Catholic Church under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles after trumped up charges of involvement in an assassination attempt against former President...
- Saint Paul of the CrossPaul of the CrossPaul of the Cross was an Italian mystic, and founder of the Passionists.-Biography:Saint Paul of the Cross, originally named Paolo Francesco Danei, was born on 3 January 1694, in the town of Ovada, Piedmont, between Turin and Genoa in the Duchy of Savoy in northern Italy.Paul, a son of a...
- Saint Peter ClaverPeter ClaverPeter Claver was a Jesuit who, due to his life and work, became the patron saint of slaves, Colombia and African Americans...
- Saint Peter of AlcantaraPeter of AlcantaraSaint Peter of Alcántara, O.F.M. was a Spanish Franciscan friar.- Biography :He was born at Alcántara, Province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. His father, Peter Garavito, was the governor of Alcántara, and his mother was of the noble family of Sanabia...
- Saint Philip NeriPhilip NeriSaint Philip Romolo Neri , also known as Apostle of Rome, was an Italian priest, noted for founding a society of secular priests called the "Congregation of the Oratory".-Early life:...
- Saint Teresa of AvilaTeresa of ÁvilaSaint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
- Saint Thomas AquinasThomas AquinasThomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
- Saint Seraphim of SarovSeraphim of SarovSaint Seraphim of Sarov , born Prokhor Moshnin , is one of the most renowned Russian monks and mystics in the Orthodox Church. He is generally considered the greatest of the 19th century startsy and, arguably, the first...
See also
- Mystical Levitation in Christianity