The course aims to introduce students to the development of Western Catholic spirituality from the roots of the modern age to the present day. The study is organized according to five constitutive threads of Christian spirituality (ascetic, reparative, missionary, martyrial, and mystical) which correspond to the five stages of the Christian spiritual path (purgative way, night of the senses, illuminative way, night of the spirit, unitive way). Masters and witnesses of these threads, particularly the ascetic thread, will be presented to observe the constants and innovations over time. Students are invited to delve deeper, in agreement with the instructor, into the spirituality of the master or witness they find most relevant to their knowledge needs.

The methodology includes:

-Lectures that mainly develop the roots of the modern age and the evolution of ascetic spirituality as a model for the other four threads of spirituality, which will also be sufficiently introduced.
-Personal reading and study by the student based on the bibliography indicated by the instructor.