Joseph of Copertino

by Paolo Antonio Agelli, Christopher David Costanzo

A biography of Joseph of Copertino ( Cupertino), famous as "the monk who could fly." It was written by Brother Paolo Antonio Agelli and published in 1753, the year of Joseph's beatification but several years before his canonization in 1767. It was translated into English in 2014 by Christopher David Costanzo. This biography describes Joseph of Copertino with vivid frankness, including his childhood, his relationship with his mother, his physical and mental shortcomings, his humiliation at the hands of family and acquaintances, and his later asceticism and self-mortification. It is clear that Joseph of Copertino came across to many people as a simpleton, slow of wit and clumsy in manner, given to fits and seizures for which he endured contempt and ridicule through many of his formative years. The narrative catalogs his ascetic practices, as well as the miracles and prodigies attributed to him, including his alleged flights through the air that astonished many credible witnesses of his day. The story of Joseph should be of interest not only to the religiously devout, but also to psychologists, physiologists, neurologists, and medical diagnosticians. Despite the cold, scientific possibilities regarding the bodily and mental state of Joseph of Copertino, his character shines forth unmistakably through the hagiographic language of this book. The reader, whether or not religious, will get the definite impression of being in touch with an exceptional personality.