by Alan Krieger, Theology and Philosophy Librarian
Hesburgh Libraries has recently acquired Giacomo Castellani’s Tractatus Nouus de Canonizatione Sanctorum (M. Silber, 1521), an extremely rare and early work by an Italian canon lawyer on the process of canonization in the Catholic Church. Introduced in the early Middle Ages as the formal procedure to add new saints, the process continues to be used today with its essential elements largely unchanged.
The author divides the subject into various chapters, such as how to investigate the authenticity of miracles attributed to the candidate and the role of the Pope in declaring new saints. Although in recent times works on this subject have become more prolific, it is unusual to find any this early and this one is of special interest because it effectively coincides with the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The preface is addressed to the Pope at the time of publication, Leo X, whose pontificate spanned the years 1513-1521.
We have identified only one other North American library holding this title.