The Silent Body of Audrey Santo
Mathew Schmaltz, College of the Holy Cross
Date: October 11, 2005
Event Recap
Mathew Schmaltz, professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, presented 鈥淭he Silent Body of Audrey Santo鈥� on October 11. Santo is a twenty-one year old woman who, since the age of three and a half, has lived in a comatose state as a result of a swimming pool accident in 1987. Since that time, Santo has purportedly manifested the wounds of the stigmata, and statues have appeared to weep blood and oil in her presence. Five Eucharistic hosts have also reportedly bled when consecrated in her proximity. For nearly two decades, Catholic pilgrims have journeyed to the Santo home in Worcester, Massachusetts seeking healing and communion with her.
Schmaltz鈥檚 work, the first scholarly study of Audrey Santo, evaluates the competing interpretations of this phenomenon. He made it clear that he is unconcerned with proving or disproving the validity of the miracles associated with Santo. Rather, he has sought to explain the different notions of human embodiment and gender that have swirled around this young woman for the majority of her life. Although Audrey has not uttered a word in eighteen years, her 鈥渟ilent body鈥� speaks within the context of the social construction of bodies, the abortion debates, and the notion of the Catholic Church as the body of Christ. For example, supporters have actively sacralized her body, creating a chapel replete with relics, photographs and videos. Many believers understand Santo as a 鈥渧ictim soul鈥� atoning for the sins of others through her own personal suffering. The plight of Audrey, according to Schmaltz, has also been a locus of empowerment for women. Women, including Audrey鈥檚 mother Linda, lead the Apostolate of a Silent Soul鈥攖he lay organization formed to publicize and orchestrate the ministry of Audrey. The virtues of motherhood are celebrated and emphasized through the person of Linda and her utter devotion to her child. And Schmaltz further argues that Audrey鈥檚 suffering connects to women who live lives of 鈥渟ilent suffering鈥� as under-appreciated care-giving professionals or as daughters and mothers in patriarchal families.
Schmaltz鈥檚 vivid picture of Audrey Santo generated a lively discussion. Among their many questions, audience members asked about the ethics of the public 鈥渃onsumption鈥� of the incapacitated Santo, the attitudes of the official church toward her, and the phenomenon鈥檚 relationship to the supposedly increasing privatization of religion in America.