Symptoms, signs and miracles: Narratives of illness and healing at the St. John N. Neumann Shrine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Phenomena associated with the cults of the saints--petitions for healings, the exchange of gifts or offerings, veneration and uses of relics, and narrating experiences of illness in the hope for cures--have persisted as part of human behavior for most of the history of Christianity, but contemporary accounts of these experiences have received less attention than historical accounts. Using participant observation, interviews, a survey of letters sent to the Shrine of St. John Neumann, and an analysis of printed materials produced by the Shrine, I present the narratives of illness, healing, and miracles told by the predominantly middle-class American clients of St. John Neumann (1811- 1860), canonized in 1977. These narratives are examined in light of the experience-centered theory of spiritual and supernatural events developed by David J. Hufford. Beliefs about spiritual healing are grounded in experience and are an important resource, in addition to conventional medical treatment, in cases of chronic or terminal illness. Symptoms of illness are read or interpreted by the sufferer as signs, and based on this knowledge people may choose to turn to alternative therapies or spiritual healing systems. Experiential descriptions of charismatic healing are compared to other narratives from clients who participate in the more traditional healing services offered daily at the St. John Neumann shrine. An analysis of genre conventions in the discipline of folklore and the relationship of established genres to these types of miracle narratives, usually classified as saints\u27 legends, is offered. These narrative accounts, with their attention to details of the illnesses suffered, and with similar attention to details of encounters with or apparitions of St. John Neumann, should not be classified as legends, but are examined as testimonies of fundamental human experiences, that are important to expanding basic knowledge in the medical sciences