20. The Politics Of Representation: Prussian Monarchy And Roman Catholic Church In The Making Of Saints During The 19th Century

Abstract

This chapter investigates the development of the myth of Luise and its religious connotations, arguing that Luise offers an example of the making of a secular, protestant saint. However, political aims can also be served by the making of ecclesiastical saints, as is seen in the case of the Ruthenian Archbishop Josaphat Kuncewycz and the Spanish Inquisitor Pedro de Arbues, both canonized by Pius IX in 1867. All three figures were or were seen as victims, either of explicit persecution or of circumstance, and this victim role was interpreted in religious terms. The chapter considers whether these three cases are indeed comparable, or whether a clear distinction should be made between secular and ecclesiastical sainthood. In dealing with this question, each case will be considered in terms of the aims which were served by these 'canonizations'. What did the Prussian monarchy and the (Roman) Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy hope to gain? Keywords: canonizations; Pedro de Arbues; protestant saint; Prussian monarchy; Queen Luise of Prussia; Roman Catholic Church; Ruthenian Archbishop Josaphat Kuncewycz; saints