At the thematic and structural centre of Unamuno's San Manuel Bueno, mártir (1931), lies a passage whose significance has been completely overlooked. Here, the narrator, Ángela Carballino, describes her brother's reception of the Holy Communion:

Y llegó el día de su comunión, ante el pueblo todo, con el pueblo todo. Cuando llegó la vez a mi hermano pude ver que Don Manuel, tan blanco como la nieve de enero en la montaña y temblando como tiembla el lago cuando le hostiga el cierzo, se le acercó con la sagrada forma en la mano, y de tal modo le temblaba ésta al arrimarla a la boca de Lázaro, que se le cayó la forma a tiempo que le daba un vahido, y fue mi hermano mismo quien recogió la hostia y se la llevó a la boca.

(Valdés 120)¹

Until this point Ángela's narrative has concentrated the reader's attention on the actions and thoughts of Don Manuel, but now the focus of the novel broadens to include both Lázaro and Ángela as more active participants. Don Manuel ceases to be the sole source of interest because Lázaro, and to a lesser extent, Ángela, privy now through her brother to the priest's spiritual anguish, adopt the motives and responsibilities once borne by him alone. While the behaviour and beliefs of this trinity appear to be thoroughly Christian to all observers (apparently even to the bishop of Renada), the reader sensitive to indicators Unamuno has placed in the text will see that they form the hierarchy of an alternative religious system. It is one whose goal is not the salvation of the faithful in an eternal afterlife, worked out in a contemplative earthly existence. Its aim is, rather, the happiness of the people of Valverde de Lucerna here on earth, achieved through an active involvement in their lives. Although it is essential to the purpose of Don Manuel, Lázaro and Ángela that the faithful believe them to be orthodox Roman Catholics, the reality is that these three are maintaining a fiction. Through this fiction they provide the people with the “opiate” of a religion which is active rather than contemplative, and which allows them and their flock to bear the pain of life. The creation and maintenance of this fiction is motivated by what Mario Valdés has termed their “santa misión de proteger y nutrir la fe” (75). I intend to show that by means of the experiences and interactions of Don Manuel, Lázaro and Ángela, Unamuno has prepared the reader to accept the priest's declaration of the existence of an alternative Church, that of Valverde de Lucerna.

As Manuel prepares for death he calls Ángela and Lázaro to his side, and in words which recall Christ's injunction to Peter that he should feed the sheep (John 21:17), he encourages them to remain steadfast in the faith, and to care for their people. He thus explicitly and succinctly defines their function as pastors within a new construct:

Oíd: cuidad de estas pobres ovejas, que se consuelen de vivir, que crean lo que yo no he podido creer. Y tú, Lázaro, cuando hayas de morir, muere como yo, como morirá nuestra Ángela, en el seno de la Santa Madre Católica Apostólica Romana, de la Santa Madre Iglesia de Valverde de Lucerna, bien entendido.

(137)

For Manuel, Lázaro and Ángela, the theology and liturgy of the Roman Church serve as an appropriate screen, because they are identical in almost all respects to those of the Church of Valverde de Lucerna.²

But if this is the only specific mention of the alternative Church, it is not the only indication of its existence. There are, in fact, throughout the novel indicators of ambiguity and alternativity, so that Manuel's statement comes simply as the confirmation of what we should have already discovered. The concept of ambiguity pervades the novel from beginning to end ; it is expressed in the description of Manuel as “aquel varón matriarcal” (85), in the existence of another Valverde de Lucerna beneath the waters of the lake, and in Ángela's relationship with the priest. Manuel's confirmation of the alternativity of the Roman Church and the Church of Valverde de Lucerna is the most important example of ambiguity in the novel. The novel itself, in fact can be seen to be alternative construction. Ángela writes in reaction to the bishop's proposed Vita of Manuel, and her entire narrative is launched by the phrase: “Ahora que el obispo. …” In other words, had the bishop not undertaken the cause of Manuel's beatification, Ángela's story, her “confession,” might never have been told. Furthermore, her tale ends with a declaration that although the bishop had solicited from her many details of Manuel's exemplarity as a parish priest for his Vita, she has hidden from him the “secreto trágico de Don Manuel y de mi hermano” and she declares her hope that what she now writes will never come into his hands because “les temo a las autoridades de la tierra, a las autoridades temporales aunque sean las de la Iglesia” (148). She is fearful because in writing an alternative Vita to that prepared by the bishop she acts as a sort of “advocatus diaboli” or “promotor fidei” ; in casting doubt on Manuel's orthodoxy, she does so on her own as well.³

Don Manuel's Christ-like behaviour (semiotically suggested in the name Manuel/Immanuel) is an apparently selfless effort to make his flock secure in their hope of the afterlife, and therefore content as members of the Church militant. But to the orthodox theological concept of the Church militant he adds an intrahistorical interpretation of the Church expectant and triumphant, that is, of the people of Valverde de Lucerna.⁴ Together with the living, the dead who inhabit the Valverde de Lucerna submerged in the lake form the “comunión de los santos” (103). Thus Manuel says to Lázaro and Ángela's mother as she lies dying: “usted no se va ; usted se queda. Su cuerpo aquí en esta tierra, y su alma aquí también, en esta casa viendo y oyendo a sus hijos, aunque éstos ni le vean ni le oigan” (118).

The fostering of “community” is largely achieved by Don Manuel's personal charisma ; it is the focus for the practice of the faith in Valverde in terms of works of mercy as well as the liturgical and extra-liturgical services. One of the latter is the recitation of the Creed by all the townspeople as a separate service. Ángela insists on the unanimous quality of this recitation: “reuniendo en el templo a todo el pueblo, hombres y mujeres, viejos y niños, unas mil personas, recitábamos al unísono, en una sola voz, el Credo” (103). This is the Creed of the Church of Valverde as well, except for the omission of the clause “creo en la resurrección de la carne y la vida perdurable.” For this is what Manuel cannot bring himself to believe, despite his desire to do so. Manuel's altruistic work is as much the result of his own anguish, his sense of the futility of life, as it is of his concern for others. His overwhelming desire that his people escape his fate, and that they live this life happily (because to his mind it is the only one which exists) leads him to do things which in another priest of the Roman Church would be considered deficiencies. Thus he does not preach against the humanistic tendencies of the times, he refuses to participate in bringing a criminal to justice lest he be punished for his crime, and he takes an active part in secular pastimes, which as Ángela remarks “en otro hubiera parecido grotesca profanación del sacerdocio, en él tomaba un sagrado carácter y como de rito religioso” (107). In the light of the theology of the Church of Valverde such activities are indeed liturgical in nature because the Church has as its end the salvation and happiness of its people, not in heaven, but here on earth.⁵ In Manuel's own words “Lo primero es que el pueblo esté contento, que estén contentos de vivir” (111).

Ángela first becomes aware of the concept of an alternative Church in the course of a conversation with Don Manuel, although she is as yet unaware of her role in it. As he explains to her that he has never felt attracted to the contemplative life of the cloister, where the solitude would be life-threatening for him, he states that his monastery is Valverde de Lucerna ; that is, it is a visible community of believers in which he acts as spiritual superior. Ángela immediately accepts this metaphor of Valverde de Lucerna, for in the very next paragraph she states: “volví del colegio de religiosas de Renada a nuestro monasterio de Valverde de Lucerna. Y volví a ponerme a los pies de su abad” (111). In writing her narrative Ángela describes her work during the early years before Lázaro's return as that of a deaconess, and this indeed is what Don Manuel calls her. The traditional duties of a deacon are described in Ángela's own account of her activities: “Yo le ayudaba cuando podía en sus menesteres, visitaba a los enfermos, a las niñas de la escuela, arreglaba el ropero de la iglesia, le hacía, como me llamaba él, de diaconisa” (114). Her ministerial work is not limited to that of a deaconess, but if Ángela never comes to share in the fullness of sacerdotal ministry, she does exercise at least one priestly function, that of confessor.

The theme of confession appears repeatedly in the novel, and is, in fact, the vehicle for the narrative, for in the first paragraph Ángela claims that she writes “a modo de confesión” (85). Her first real knowledge of Don Manuel comes as she confesses to him, and it is here that she first becomes aware of the ambiguity of her position. Rather than confessing to him, she feels that she has heard his confession: “al encontrarme en el confesionario junto al santo varón, sentí como una callada confesión suya en el susurro sumiso de su voz” (112). The confession theme is linked to Ángela's ministerial function most clearly after Lázaro's “conversion.” As she continues to act as Don Manuel's deaconess, the ambiguity of her role is now resolved into an “alternativity”: “en el tribunal de la penitencia—¿quién era el juez y quién el reo?” (125). Now the emotional turmoil with which Ángela at first confessed to Manuel is shared by him: “no sé ya lo que me digo desde que estoy confesándome contigo” (126). And Manuel recognizes in her a priestly authority as he asks absolution in the name of the Church of Valverde de Lucerna, that is, in the name of the people. Ángela “como penetrada de un misterioso sacerdocio” (127) complies, but grants absolution in the name of the Trinity. In her rejection of the Valverdian formula proposed by Manuel, and her use of the Catholic formula, Ángela demonstrates her attachment to the “faith of the charcoal-burners.” For while she has come to share in some of Don Manuel's anguish, she is one of those who does believe in an afterlife. Thus hers is an incomplete priesthood.

But Lázaro's case is different. He returned from the New World imbued with anticlerical, and liberal ideas, and efforts are made to show us that he is an unbeliever. Nevertheless he soon recognizes that Manuel is not as he supposed him to be. Although he does not know any other priests, he is certain that Manuel is different. Even he, Lázaro, is attracted by Manuel's charisma, and feels pulled to hear him preach. From the beginning he intuits that Manuel does not believe what he professes: “es demasiado inteligente para creer todo lo que tiene que enseñar” (118), which is nothing less (as the reader has already learned) than “todo lo que cree y enseña a creer la Santa Madre Iglesia Católica, Apostólica, Romana” (114). It is the death of his mother which acts as a catalyst in Lázaro's conversion. As Manuel asks Lázaro to tell his mother that he will pray for her so that she may die contented, Lázaro comes face to face with the practical application of Manuel's theology, and he sees its effectiveness. From this time forward Lázaro becomes a disciple of Manuel. While Ángela's narrative does not explicitly reveal it, we are led to believe that the reason Manuel concentrates so much effort on Lázaro is that he recognizes in him a potential co-religionist, that is, someone who can wholeheartedly share his ideas. There is no one in the village apart from Lázaro who can fulfill this function, because to convert any of the others to his ideal of service would undermine their belief in the eternal life, and thus cause them to share Don Manuel's anguish. In Lázaro's case, however, the situation is clearly different, because he enters the narrative already in a state of agnosticism. It is a relatively simple matter for Manuel to show him the benefits of feigning belief in order to promote unity and tranquility in the community. With the happy death of his mother, Lázaro has proof positive of the efficacy of this system of action. Lázaro's sympathy with Don Manuel's goals leads to his regular attendance at Mass, and to a promise that he will take Communion.

The importance of the Communion episode has been overlooked, perhaps because critics have not read it in the light of Catholic eucharistic practice. If we take into account the prevailing attitudes towards the sacrament at the time the novel was written, it becomes clear that Unamuno intended this passage to affect the reader's interpretation of the work. Lázaro's announcement that he will take Communion, not privately, but publicly, indicates an apparent solidarity with the people, a joining in communion with them: “se dijo que cumpliría con la parroquia, que comulgaría cuando los demás comulgasen” (120). The public or liturgical aspect of this act is emphasized in the narrative: “Y llegó el día de su comunión, ante el pueblo todo, con el pueblo todo” (120). As he prepares to administer the sacrament, Don Manuel is so moved by Lázaro's reception of the Holy Communion that he drops the Host.

Until the Vatican II Council (1962-65), the eucharistic doctrine of the Roman Church was essentially that developed by St. Thomas Aquinas, codified in the decrees of the Lateran IV Council (1215) and reaffirmed in the decrees of the Council of Trent (1545-63). According to this doctrine of transubstantiation, the bread and wine are changed in substance into the Body and Blood of Christ, leaving only the “accidents” or appearances of the original elements. Thus the bread and wine, after consecration, are in a real sense the sacramental Presence of Christ. Emphasis on this physical change (as opposed to the exclusively spiritual change allowed by the Reformers) led to a fastidious observance of propriety with regard to the handling of the consecrated elements. Thus only a priest could normally touch the Host ; the laity were most certainly not permitted any contact with the Host except on the tongue. The use of the houselling cloth⁶ and the communion plate or paten held beneath the chin of the communicant was designed specifically to prevent such contact. Lázaro's act of retreiving the Host and administering it to himself can only be seen as an act of sacrilege, which would normally cause scandal in a public ceremony. Yet the syntax used in Ángela's reporting of this act is designed to draw the reader's attention to Lázaro's role here: “Y fue mi hermano mismo quien recogió la hostia y se la llevó a la boca” (120).

It follows that if laymen were not permitted to touch the Host, then Lázaro, in touching it must in some sense have acquired sacerdotal privileges. In administering the sacrament to himself, Lázaro, in effect, demonstrates that ordination in the Church of Valverde de Lucerna is open to anyone who wholeheartedly embraces its beliefs. The reality of his ordination is made clear to the reader in the “confession” he makes to Ángela immediately afterwards. When Ángela commends him for the joy he has brought to the whole “communion of saints” (“a todos, a todo el pueblo, a todo, a los vivos y a los muertos, y sobre todo a mamá” [120]), he reveals that he has done it for this reason, and not because of his belief in the sacrament. His sharing of priesthood with Manuel is emphasized when Ángela describes him as “mi hermano, tan pálido y tan tembloroso como Don Manuel cuando le dio la comunión” (120). After revealing Don Manuel's theology to Ángela, Lázaro shows his full acceptance of it: “me rendí a sus razones, y he aquí mi conversión” (122), and his entrance into the hierarchy of the Church of Valverde de Lucerna when he says: “y ahora hay otro más para consolar al pueblo … para corroborarle en su fe” (123). From this point on, Lázaro takes a full share in the works of Manuel, even liturgically: “le acompañaba en sus visitas a los enfermos, a las escuelas, y ponía su dinero a disposición del santo varón. Y poco faltó para que no aprendiera a ayudarle a misa” (128).

The aspects of community-building and sharing inherent in the liturgical act of Communion are emphasized not only in Lázaro's reception of the sacrament, but in that of Ángela. Her Communion provides the opportunity for Don Manuel to share with her his most daring and heretical thought: that even Jesus Christ is needful of intercession. Ángela, greatly disturbed by this idea, later asks Manuel to identify the people's “sin” and their resultant need for prayers. Manuel's answer is a first attempt to identify an alternative Church, here called the “Iglesia, Católica, Apostólica, Española” whose theology has been defined by its premier theologian, Pedro Calderón de la Barca:

¿Cuál?—me respondió.—Ya lo dijo un gran doctor de la Iglesia Católica, Apostólica, Española, ya lo dijo el gran doctor de La vida es sueño, y dijo que “el delito mayor del hombre es haber nacido”. Ése es, hija, nuestro pecado: el del haber nacido.

(136)

The very next passage tells of Manuel's approaching death, and his charge to his fellow ministers that they care for the faithful, consoling them with the theology and sacraments of the Church of Valverde de Lucerna.

The intrahistorical “theology” which underlies the entire novel finds expression in the Church of Valverde de Lucerna. The creation of this alternative Church is a natural result of Unamuno's anguish of doubt and at the same time of his recognition of the potential of the Church to mitigate that anguish. San Manuel Bueno, mártir is the narration of the theology of the Church of Valverde de Lucerna at work in the life of one of its saints.

Notes

1. Martin Nozick's reference to this passage is typical of the superficial treatment it has received: “during their long walks by the lake (Manuel) convinces him to take communion and reenter the bosom of the Church. He complies, the townspeople are elated …” (162)

2. Liturgy, or public worship, is more important than theology for Don Manuel. It is what Lázaro calls “religión” when he advises Manuel's successor: “poca teología, religión, religión.” Ángela's reaction is significant: “Y yo, al oírselo me sonreía pensando si es que no era también teología lo nuestro” (82).

3. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, defines the role of the promotor fidei as “to examine critically the alleged virtues of a candidate for beatification or canonization” (1131) ; this is precisely what Ángela does.

4. Traditionally, the terms “militant,” “expectant” and “triumphant” have referred to members of the visible Church on earth, the invisible Church in Purgatory awaiting the resurrection of the flesh, and those enjoying the Beatific Vision in Heaven.

5. With regard to Unamuno's view of salvation, Gilberto Cancela has pointed out that while “Unamuno considera la postura de la Iglesia prácticamente coincidente con la suya,” it differs in that it does not attempt to save the faithful from “la muerte temporal, del no ser eternos, sino de otra situación completamente distinta” (81).

6. The houselling cloth is a length of white linen folded over the communion rail, and under which the kneeling communicant places his hands.

Works Cited

Cancela, Gilberto. El sentimiento religioso de Unamuno. Madrid: Playor, 1973.

Nozick, Martin. Miguel de Unamuno. Twayne World Authors Series 175. New York: Twayne, 1971.

Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 1957, 2nd edition. Ed. F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 1983.

Unamuno, Miguel de. San Manuel Bueno, mártir. Ed. Mario J. Valdés. Madrid: Cátedra, 1979.