Fantastically Bejeweled Skeletons of Catholicism’s Forgotten Martyrs

When Peter Koudounaris, an art historian was asked, “Are you interested in seeing a dilapidated old church in the forest with a skeleton standing there covered in jewels and holding a cup of blood in his left hand like he’s offering you a toast?” his’ answer was, “Yes, of course.”

The skeleton, he learned, was one of many  the “catacomb saints,” once-revered holy objects regarded by 16th- and 17th-century Catholics as local protectors and personifications of the glory of the afterlife. Some of them still remain tucked away in certain churches, while others have been swept away by time, forever gone. continue reading and look at photographs

 

Additional reading

News category: Odd Spot.

Tags: