“This Crown will achieve the conversion of many sinners”: The creation of a visionary culture in Campinas through sisters Amália de Jesus Flagelado and Benedetta Mello (1928–1937)

Abstract

The first decades of the 20th century were marked by various Marian events, with visions that transformed Catholic devotions in the Western world. Based on the perspectives of Cultural History, we analyze the events surrounding the visions in the city of Campinas, in the countryside of São Paulo state (Brazil), beginning in 1928, with accounts led by Sisters Amália de Jesus Flagelado and Benedetta Mello. For our discussions, we draw on pontifical documents, press materials, the Congregation of the Missionaries of Jesus Crucified, the Archivio Apostolico Vaticano, and the UNICAMP Memory Center.  The investigation revealed how the events were organized by members of the Catholic Church, constituting an important framework for discussions about visions of Jesus Christ and Our Lady, fundamental to religious disputes with Protestants in the first half of the 20th century. Likewise, the forms of silencing established by the Roman Curia as a way of organizing devotions during the period under investigation were observed.