Materializing the "Miracles" : Marian Cult and Pilgrimage Places in Contemporary Malta

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Other Title
  • 「奇跡」の物象化 : マルタにおけるマリア崇敬と巡礼地の現在
  • キセキ ノ ブッショウカ マルタ ニ オケル マリア スウケイ ト ジュンレイチ ノ ゲンザイ

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Abstract

One's experience of "The Apparition of the Virgin Mary" is regarded as a "Miracle" shown by God. Those interpreted "Miracles", however, are sometimes read over again as "Miracles of healings", and new beliefs and practices concerning healings spread around the established Marian pilgrimage places. In this paper, I examine the process of making a new type of belief in "healings" among the pilgrims to Girgenti in southwestern Malta, and clarify the actual condition of the circulation of those beliefs and practices through the pilgrimage place where many people with various backgrounds come together. I argue several media such as water of the spring, holy statues, Santa (a picture of the cult image), Labtu (scapular of the cult image), the seer Guza Mifsud, "Lehen tal Girgenti", freely distributed pamphlets, containing the "Miraculous" stories of the pilgrims' experiences, and "Moviment Madonna tal-Girgenti", the new group dedicated to Mary of Girgenti, all of which contribute to circulate those new beliefs and practices concerning "healings". Section 1. and 2. point out some social backgrounds of Marian devotions prevailing in Catholic societies in Europe and present my study subjects and purpose in this paper. Section 3. gives an outline of the contemporary situation of the Marian Cult in Malta. Section 4. analyzes the "Miraculous" stories of the pilgrims' experiences as they appeared in "Lehen tal-Girgenti' and clarifies how they change before and after the discovery of the spring and before and after the death of the seer. Section 5. discusses the process of the formation new beliefs concerning "healings" and the mechanism of maintaining the established Marian pilgrimage place after the death of the seer. Section 6. is a conclusion and presents some themes for future study.

Journal

  • Religion and Society

    Religion and Society 9 (0), 67-90, 2003

    The Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society

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