History of The Term
Amongst Italian communities, there is generally no word for "Benedicaria," and often it is simply called "the things we do and have always done." However, the word for a practitioner is Benedetto (for a male) or Benedetta (for a female), both of which mean "Blessed One." In Giuseppe Tornatore's 2000 motion picture Malèna, however, there is a scene where the older ladies of the village are exorcising Renato with Holy Cards and praying Rosaries. The boy's father sees this and says "Va fanculo cu la benedicaria!" ("Go fuck off with the Benedicaria!")
In the English language, the word Benedicaria itself first appeared in writing thanks to Sicilian-American author Vito Quattrocchi, who self-published his book Sicilian Benedicaria: Magical Catholicism. Quattrocchi had already been a published author, with The Sicilian Blade (1993, Desert Publications) under his belt. However, this move towards self-publication on Quattrocchi's part has proven to be successful, and now the word Benedicaria is in common use, at least throughout the internet, as a way of identifying these traditions of spiritual practices.
Along with Quattrocchi, another name associated with Benedicaria is that of Agostino Taumaturgo, a Roman Catholic priest who maintains Quattrocchi's website and whose book, The Things We Do: Ways of the Holy Benedetta was published in 2007.
Discussions on the subject of Benedicaria could be found on the forums at the Stregoneria Italiana website (now inactive), whose membership consists of both Catholics and Pagans who work together to debunk the stereotypes prevalent regarding Italian culture and spirituality. The discussion on this site also covers the subjects of Italian Folk Culture(i.e. Stregoneria, Fattura, etc.), Christian Magic, and many other aspects of Italian language, food, history, politics, and culture.
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