Translating Faith: Ethiopian Pilgrims in Renaissance Rome.

The article discusses Samantha Kelly's book, "Translating Faith: Ethiopian Pilgrims in Renaissance Rome," which focuses on the Ethiopian community at Santo Stefano, a church near St. Peter's in Rome, during the sixteenth century. The book challenges prevailing notions of early modern Catholicism by highlighting the autonomy and agency of the Ethiopian community in shaping their own religious practices and discourse. Kelly's study emphasizes the importance of understanding the Ethiopians' perspective and examines their interactions with Europeans, as well as the papacy's support for Ethiopian pilgrims. The book also addresses the role of race in these cross-cultural encounters and highlights the interconnectedness of different cultures in shaping the early modern world. [Extracted from the article]