Michael Ledger-Lomas

Leap of faith: the miraculous phenomenon of levitating saints

St Joseph of Cupertino liked to nest in the tops of trees, and Allied pilots were dissuaded by the airborne Padre Pio from dropping bombs near his monastery in Apulia

St Joseph of Cupertino would drift into the rafters of churches like a lost birthday balloon. Painting by Ludovico Mazzanti [Alamy]
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  • They Flew: A History of the Impossible

    Carlos M.N. Eire

    Yale, pp. 512, £30

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