Summary

In Saint Christina the Astonishing, Christina suffered from a terrible seizure at 22 and was presumed dead. Her body was taken to a church for her funeral during which she sat up in the coffin and floated up to the rafters. Christina told the priest she had been to hell, purgatory, and heaven. In heaven she was told that she had to go back to earth “to do penance for the sinful” (308).

After that, Christina became fearless and performed many dangerous acts that left her unharmed. No matter what she did, she could still smell the sin of others. Sometimes her sisters would get tired of hearing about the strange things she did and would chain her to her bed, but she always broke free and ran to the forest where she felt calm. She would stay until she knew...