I love the portal that Robert Orsi has created. He and I share a fascination with “real presences” in the Catholic (and other) traditions and in creating the portal he has highlighted some of my favorite books dealing with presence in the Catholic tradition. I also very much appreciate his essay locating the Catholic insistence on presence in relation to the history of the discipline and his continuing efforts to highlight the extent to which theories of religion mounted implicit or explicit critiques of Catholicism.
Ann Taves
Ann Taves is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara and holder of the Cordano Chair in Catholic Studies. She is currently at work on a book titled Revelatory Events: Extra-Ordinary Experiences and New Visionary Movements.