Saint healing in Dutch Catholicism: mobilisation, markets and modernity

The article examines the development of the popularity of saint healing in Dutch Catholicism since 1850 and the (socio-historic) factors that have contributed to it. From 1850 to about 1965, the popularity of devotional healing showed a strong increase, but in the 1960s the interest dropped. In the early 1980s, this decline reached its lowest point, after which interest in saint healing started to grow again. Starting from a mobilisation approach, this article shows that this development is linked to contextual (market and demand) and institutional (method and supply) factors. The functioning style of healing practices is related to aspects of power and identity. It is argued that saint healing is a fully fledged part of Dutch and Western European culture, which has potential to survive in modern times.