Dr. Joshua Furnal, Lecturer of Systematic Theology at SPPU, Maynooth, has contributed a chapter exploring the Italian mystic St. Gemma Galgani in the newly published edited volume Kierkegaard and Mysticism: Reception, Influence, Resonance, edited by Hjördis Becker-Lindenthal and published by Routledge.
The volume examines the complex intersections between Søren Kierkegaard's philosophical and theological thought and the mystical tradition, exploring questions of reception, influence, and thematic resonance across different religious and intellectual contexts.
Dr. Furnal's contribution on Gemma Galgani (1878-1903) brings his expertise in both Kierkegaard studies and Catholic theology to bear on the work. St. Gemma, an Italian mystic canonized in 1940 and known as the “daughter of the Passion” for her profound imitation of Christ's suffering, represents a significant figure in modern Catholic mysticism.
Dr. Furnal is the author of Catholic Theology after Kierkegaard (Oxford University Press, 2016) and Being before God: Cornelio Fabro, Thomism, and Søren Kierkegaard's Theology (Notre Dame Press, 2025). His research focuses on the intersection of Kierkegaard's thought with Catholic theology, Thomism, and existentialism.
Kierkegaard and Mysticism: Reception, Influence, Resonance is available now from Routledge (ISBN: 9781003461869).
