Saints and Their Cults in the Atlantic World

"Saints and Their Cults in the Atlantic World is a fascinating collection that explores the cult of saints across the Atlantic world from the earliest days of Spanish exploration to the present day. In addition to offering a variety of different vantage points, the book presents an interplay of themes and arguments that brings the essays together in a cohesive way. The book advances our understanding of Christianity in the Atlantic world by showing how give-and-take between church and parishioners contributed to the empowerment of both elite and popular groups."—Amanda Porterfield, Robert A. Spivey Professor of Religion, Florida State University

"The twelve contributors assemble a wide-ranging set of mostly unknown holy persons, some in obscure locations, to reveal the many marvelous ways that humans have devised for revering saints on both sides of the Atlantic. Collectively the essays offer an enjoyable mix of times, places, and people who were and are engaged in creating, preserving, and revising the images of the saints. This volume reminds us that vernacular practices reflect a society's notions of sanctity but always with an eye to the everyday needs of the faithful who perform them."—Paula Kane, University of Pittsburgh