Between 28 September and 1 October 2022, Rev. Dr Charl貌 Camilleri from the Department of Moral Theology at the Faculty of Theology participated in the first ever , author of abundant spiritual and mystical works.
Dr Camilleri was member of the Scientific Committee responsible for the organisation of the Conference which brought together the Archives of Ille-et-Vilaine, the Universit茅 Rennes 2/Tempora, Cellam, the Maltese Carmelite Institute, the University of Malta, TBI/Radboud University and the CEHS Grands Carmes.
Held at the Auditorium Paul Ricoeur of the Archives of Ille-et-Vilaine in Rennes, France, the conference brought together specialists of the spiritual literature of the 17th century and historians of Catholicism in the modern period, both French and from other countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and Malta.
The first session was led by Dr Camilleri and French archivist and historian Bruno Isbled. Since Camilleri is the Project Editor for the critical edition of the Complete Works of Jean de Saint-Samson, with four of eleven planned volumes completed, the session 'Les Oeuvres compl猫tes de Jean de Saint-Samson, une entreprise au long cours' was devoted to a presentation of the collection and the challenges with the edition. The volumes published in the 17th century, twenty years after John's death, underwent editorial changes and textual manipulations from the editors in an attempt to elucidate and explain obscure expressions. In fact, John of St Samson was visually impaired and dictated his teachings to his disciples. The manuscripts in Rennes are the most complete and all speakers at the Conference had access to digital copies and working transcriptions.
Other sessions in the Conference gave an appreciation of the historical role of John of St Samson in the history of mysticism and spirituality; the reception of his writings and his influence; his poetry and canticles; as well as his reliance on the Rheno-Flemish mystics.
