Cinque secoli di Litterae Indipetae

Description

This volume, edited by Girolamo Imbruglia, Pierre-Antoine Fabre, and Guido Mongini, presents the first comprehensive treatment of the Litterae indipetae – letters of petition that Jesuits sent from all over Europe to the Superior General seeking appointment to the “Indies”. Unique to the Society of Jesus, over 22,000 Litterae indipetae are preserved at the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu spanning five centuries, giving voice to thousands of individual Jesuits and their collective desire for the missions. Despite their remarkable longevity, the Litterae indipetae have been little known or understood until recent times. Yet like no other source, these petitions testify to the scope and depth of the Society’s missionary identity. The book offers a timely survey of the subject through thirty short chapters in Italian, English, and French, organised both chronologically and thematically, and written by leading and emerging specialists. The volume is intended as an introduction to the source as well as a showcase of the latest scholarship in the field.