Thriving in modernity: Crisis and mimesis in the life-experiences of Padre Pio and Ernesto De Martino

This article examines the life experience of and the enduring devotion for Padre Pio (1887-1968) - a Capuchin friar and the most popular saint of twenty-first century Catholicism - through the work and conceptual toolkit of anthropologist Ernesto De Martino (1908-1965), one of the most talented intellectuals of twentieth century Italy. Southern Italian neighbours, De Martino conducted ethnographic research on magic and popular religiosity there just as the popularity of Padre Pio exploded out of southern Italy across the globe. The main argument of this article is that De Martino's insights on mimesis and repetition shed light on the life-experience of Pio and the enduring success of his cult, owing to a combination of social, cultural, and psychological factors that thrive from within modernity. In addition, the article shows how the work of De Martino is relevant to scholars across disciplines - historians, anthropologists, sociologists - who are investigating the relationship of society, religion and the sacred.