Gugliemite Research Paper

III. Gugliemites and their Beliefs: “He heard from sister Maifreda di Pirovano and Andrea Saramita,” recalls Francesco da Garbagnate, “that while Guglielma – who was buried in the monastery of Chiaravalle – was alive she said to them that from the year 1262 the body of Christ had not been sacrificed nor consecrated alone, but with the body of the Holy Spirit, which was Guglielma herself.” Whether she meant that she was in fact the incarnation of the Holy Spirit is not easy to ascertain. However, it is clear, that to her followers this would have inspired a very literal meaning. Guglielma’s followers believed that she was the incarnation of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, they believed that upon her death she would soon resurrect and usher in a new age for the Church. In this new age, there would be a female pope, Maifreda, and a female clergy (although it’s unclear if it were to be exclusively female). Moreover, Guglielma would bring the Jews and Saracens to the true faith. In order to gain a richer understanding of the Guglielmites and their beliefs, this section will focus on two of her most devoted …show more content…
Mirano da Garbagnate, a Guglielmite, testified that he heard from Adelina, “that Maifreda, or Saint Guglielma, had more grace, virtue and authority on earth than blessed Peter the apostle ever possessed.” In this way, she was no only the female equivalent to Peter, but also superior to Peter. Moreover, this blended the two figures, Maifreda and Guglielma, together. Janine Peterson shows how the Guglielmites blurred the two, Maifreda and Guglielma, together. Both, argues Peterson, contained the same qualities and the Guglielmites did not necessarily distinguish between the two. Thus, for the Guglielmtes, both Maifreda and Guglielma embodied the new age of the Holy Spirit. This put Maifreda at the top of the hierarchy, surpassing even