Ecstatic Franciscan priest called the Flying Friar. He was born near Brindisi of very poor parents and in his youth was sickly and slow-witted, earning the nickname \u201cthe gaper\u201d for his habit of wandering around with his mouth open. He joined the Franciscan order, working as a servant, and was eventually admitted as a novice, although he remained very backward in his studies. His life in the church was marked by a long succession of reported mystic happenings: He was most famous for his ability to levitate, of which 70 instances were recorded in 17 years. One of the most spectacular was a flight high above the altar to make secure images that had been placed there. On another occasion he helped workmen to erect a cross, 36 feet high, by flying in midair and lifting it into place as if it were a straw.\u201d In 1767 he was canonized, not for his levitations, which were said to have disturbed his superiors, but for his extreme patience and humility. These feats were recorded long after Joseph of Copertino s death and are based on legend.<\/p>\n
Scientists believe that persons or inanimate objects cannot levitate because this would entail the suspension of the natural law of gravity which anchors everything to the Earth. Without gravity we would all float around like the objects in a space ship.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ecstatic Franciscan priest called the Flying Friar. He was born near Brindisi of very poor parents and in his youth was sickly and slow-witted, earning the nickname \u201cthe gaper\u201d for his habit of wandering around with his mouth open. He joined the Franciscan order, working as a servant, and was eventually admitted as a novice, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-j"],"yoast_head":"\n