The book L'attività di padre Serafino Maria Potenza (1697-1763) attraverso i documenti d'Archivio, by Simona Durante, published by Edizioni Carmelitane, was presented on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at Centro Internazionale Sant'Alberto (CISA) in Rome.
The presentation was attended by Fr. Vincenzo Criscuolo, ofmcap, former general relator of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Professor Luca Carboni, of the Vatican Apostolic Archives, and the author. Among the many participants were secretary Monsignor Fabio Fabene, undersecretary Bogusław Stanisław Turek and other members of the Dicastery.
Fr. Vincenzo Criscuolo gave opening remarks and thanked the author for her magnificent work in dissecting the figure and work of Potenza within the 395 pages of the volume.
Prof. Luca Carboni also praised the author's work and mentioned how this book is the best example of the archivist's role, which is to trace "a fruitful dialogue between different eras."
The book traces the life of Father Serafino Maria Potenza and his activity as Postulator General of the Carmelite Order, following the causes of beatification and canonization that he worked on and which he presented to the Sacred Congregation of Rites, the dicastery then competent in the matter.
In this regard, Giovanna Brizi, Postulator General of the Order, pointed out that although Potenza did not conclude any of the causes of beatification he dealt with during his mandate as Postulator General of the Order, "he sowed the seed that would later germinate in the activity of the postulators who came after him, because this is also the mission of us as postulators."
To frame the figure of Potenza, the author analyses the historical context of his time as well as "the broad panorama of Carmelite holiness."
In preparing the book, Durante made use of direct access to the various funds of the Carmelite Archives to locate material pertaining to Fr. Serafino. She also turned to the Archives of the Order's General Postulation, where she was able to ascertain that "most of the documentation, relating to the 18th century, refers, in some way, to Fr. Serafino Maria Potenza."
For Fr. Mario Alfarano, Archivist and General Librarian, Durante's book is an example of the importance of the archivist's role for the younger generation, and he emphasized how collaboration between the different funds was a key factor in the research and preparation of the book.
L'Osservatore Romano, the official newspaper of the Holy See, published a review of Simona Durante's book (accessible to subscribers here: https://www.osservatoreromano.va/it/news/2024-01/quo-016/alla-scoperta-di-uno-scopritore.html).
The book can be purchased at the online bookstore of the publisher Edizioni Carmelitane.
