Mystical Literature Under the Scrutiny of Artificial Intelligence: The Case of Maria Valtorta
Rizziero Carofano, Liberato De Caro
Scientia et Fides August 24, 2026 DOI: 10.12775/setf.2026.015 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that supervised machine learning classification separated the four text classes (Maria Valtorta, Jesus, Azaria, Paraclete) so clearly in the deep structure of the language that the texts appear attributable to four different authors, and discusses possible causes of this result. |
Abstract
Maria Valtorta, a mystic lived in Italy in the XX century, claimed to have received mystical visions about the life of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and some saints. She reported in her writings texts and dictations attributed to Jesus, her guardian angel, Azaria, and the Paraclete. Additionally, she wrote an autobiography. These texts underwent binary and multiclass supervised classification using Machine Learning algorithms. Classification metrics and confusion matrices have shown that the four classes of texts (Maria Valtorta, Jesus, Azaria, Paraclete) are so well separated in the deep structure of the language as if the texts were attributable to four different authors. Possible causes of this unexpected result are discussed.