The Book
Rinnovamento nello Spirito is an ecclesiastical movement of the great Catholic Charismatic Renewal galaxy, which counts more than 100 million followers throughout the world.
One of the first dedicated to the movement from outside, this book attempts to make way through the clichés that have enveloped it since 1967 when it was born with the very rare peculiarity of not having a true official founder. Considered positively by the popes but ignored by the media, Rinnovamento nello Spirito did not have an easy life locally, and was often depicted as a sect of visionary fanatics. Prompted by the words of Paul VI, who in these “phenomena from below” saw a great chance for the Catholic Church, Andea Monda set out in search of this movement’s true propulsive force, which he identified in social interaction. It is therefore not a question of heresy, but instead a brand-new way of intending man’s spiritual dimension, the precincts of which do not coincide with intimism or mysticism, and extend to the entire community. Using the words of Charles Péguy: «there is much of the material in the spiritual», and Rinnovamento nello Spirito is here to remind us.
The Author:
Andrea Monda was born in Rome in 1966. He holds a degree in Law and Religious Sciences from the Pontificia Università Gregoriana, and teaches religion at several high schools in Rome. Since 1988, he has tended to the cultural pages of several newspapers, currently collaborating with «il Foglio», «Avvenire», «Osservatore romano», «La Civiltà Cattolica». His publications include: Cardinale (2001), Scrittori di Dio (2001), Tolkien, il signore della fantasia (2002), Il mondo di Narnia (2005), L’Anello e la Croce (2008).