. . . He suddenly flew towards
the altar in a straight line, leaving untouched all the ornaments of
that structure; and after some time, being called back by his superior,
returned flying to the spot whence he had set out."
And another:
"He flew similarly upon an olive tree . . . and there remained in
kneeling posture for the space of half an hour. A marvellous thing it
was to see the branch which sustained him swaying lightly, as though a
bird had alighted upon it."
But Copertino is a remote little place, already famous in the annals of
miraculous occurrences. It can be urged that a kind of enthusiasm for
their distinguished brother-monk may have tempted the inmates of the
convent to exaggerate his rare gifts. Nothing of the kind. He performed
flights not only in Copertino, but in various large towns of Italy, such
as Naples, Rome, and Assisi. And the spectators were by no means an
assemblage of ignorant personages, but men whose rank and credibility
would have weight in any section of society.
"While the Lord High Admiral of Castille, Ambassador of Spain at the
Vatican, was passing through Assisi in the year 1645, the custodian of
the convent commanded Joseph to descend from the room into the church,
where the Admiral's lady was waiting for him, desirous of seeing him.
and speaking to him; to whom Joseph replied, 'I will obey, but I do not
know whether I shall be able to speak to her.' And, as a matter of fact,
hardly had he entered the church and raised his eyes to a statue . . .
situated above the altar, when he threw himself into a flight in order
to embrace its feet at a distance of twelve paces, passing over the
heads of all the congregation; then, after remaining there some time, he
flew back over them with his usual cry, and immediately returned to his
cell.
