The case of San José de Cupertino is, without a doubt, the first of all due to the conspicuous nature of this manifestation.

Catholicism considers levitation to be a non-ordinary phenomenon that consists of a body rising over the earth, maintaining itself in the air without natural support.

In Catholic mystique, it is called ascending ecstasy and ecstatic gait when the body seems to move without touching the ground. In the studies carried out by the Bolandists, testimonies of some cases of levitation in the history of Christianity are pointed out: São José de Cupertino, São Francisco de Assis, São Tomás de Aquino, São Pio de Pietrelcina, São Martinho de Porre, Santo Afonso de Ligório, Santa Catarina de Senna, São Filipe Neri, São Pedro de Alcântara, São Francisco Xavier, Santa Teresa de Jesus, São João da Cruz, São Stephen of Hungary.

The original photo is displayed in a memorial in honor of Fr. Giovanni Sala.

The case of San José de Cupertino is, without a doubt, the first of all due to the conspicuous nature of this manifestation.

The Church explained this phenomenon as an advance of the gift of agility proper to glorious bodies. As a rule, mystical levitation is verified while the patient is in ecstasy and, if the body rises a little, it is called ascension ecstasy; if it rises high, it is called an ecstatic flight; and if you start walking fast off the ground, but without touching it, it’s called ecstatic walking

The Priest in the photo is a Jesuit Father named Fr. Giovanni Sala, the photo is real. Until his death, Fr. Giovanni Sala, SJ, was a student of Bernard Lonergan, a translator of Lonergan’s work into Italian and German, and a world-class Kant scholar. His writings below have been translated into English with support from members of the Lonergan Institute for the ‘Good Under Construction’ in Washington, DC.