An edition of The vanishing Messiah (2016)

The vanishing Messiah

the life and resurrections of Francis Schlatter

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The vanishing Messiah
David N. Wetzel, David N. Wetz ...
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Last edited by MARC Bot
July 19, 2019 | History
An edition of The vanishing Messiah (2016)

The vanishing Messiah

the life and resurrections of Francis Schlatter

  • 1 Want to read

In 1895, an extraordinarily enigmatic faith healer emerged in the American West. An Alsatian immigrant and former cobbler, Francis Schlatter looked like popular depictions of Jesus, and it was said that his very touch could heal everything from migraines and arthritis to blindness and cancer. First in Albuquerque, and then in Denver, thousands flocked to him, hoping to receive his healing touch. Schlatter accepted no money for his work, behaved modestly, fasted heavily, and treated everyone, from wealthy socialites to impoverished immigrants, equally. He quickly captured national attention, and both the sick hoping to be cured and reporters hoping to expose a fraud hurried to Denver to see the celebrated healer. By November of 1895, it is estimated that Schlatter was treating thousands of people every day, and the neighborhood in which he was staying was overrun with the sick and lame, their families, reporters from across the country, and hucksters hoping to make a quick buck off the local attention. Then, one night, Schlatter simply vanished. Eighteen months later, his skeleton was reportedly found on a mountainside in Mexico's Sierra Madre range, finally bringing Schlatter's great healing ministry to an end. Or did it? Within hours of the announcement of Schlatter's found remains, a long-haired man emerged in Cleveland to say that he was Francis Schlatter, and the next twenty-five years, several others claimed to be Denver's great healer. In The Vanishing Messiah, a modern researcher painstakingly pieces together evidence from letters, newspaper reports, hospital records, mug shots, and published reminiscences of the healer to find out what really happened to Francis Schlatter after he left Denver in the middle of the night in November 1895. In doing so, David N. Wetzel uncovers a historical puzzle of lies, deception, and betrayal, and offers a tantalizing look into a nineteenth-century messiah and his twentieth-century reincarnations--one of whom may have been the healer himself.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
279

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
615.8/52
Library of Congress
RZ232.S35 W48 2016

The Physical Object

Pagination
xii, 279 pages
Number of pages
279

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL27211943M
ISBN 10
1609384237
ISBN 13
9781609384234
LCCN
2015033813
OCLC/WorldCat
924636863

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