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Relics and Reliquaries

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The sword in the stone.
Chiusdino, Italy

The Sword in the Stone at Montesiepi Chapel

This sword isn't waiting for a king to pull it out. It was placed there by a saint.
relics

This 680-Year-Old Saint’s Hand Has Never Decomposed

Elizabeth of Aragon's incorrupt appendage is temporarily on view in Portugal.
Rafaela Ferraz July 12, 2016
medieval

The Gruesome Legend of Swedish King Might Actually Be True

Forensic evidence gives credence to mythic life (and death) of Erik the Lawgiver.
Jessie Guy-Ryan March 19, 2016
The Chapel of the Tablet
Aksum, Ethiopia

Chapel of the Tablet

Supposedly this Ethiopian chapel holds the Ark of the Covenant, guarded by virgins who cannot leave the building.
The jeweled remains of Hyacinth, a first century saint
Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany

Jeweled Skeletons of the Fürstenfeld Abbey

These blingy, baubled skeletons lie in glass boxes inside a baroque Bavarian church.
Relics of a mummified child
Munich, Germany

The Relics of Munich Residenz

This magnificent museum claims to house the cranium of a disciple and the skull of a pope.
Katakombenheiligen
Rott am Inn, Germany

Skeletons of Rott am Inn

These jeweled relics have a scandalous and contested past.
relics and reliquaries

FOUND: Five Heart-Shaped Boxes With Five Actual Hearts Inside

Sarah Laskow December 3, 2015
ex-voto of ships in Notre-Dame de la Garde
Marseille, France

Notre-Dame de la Garde's Nautical Ex-Voto

Sky ships, planes, and portraits left as unique tokens of hope and thankfulness.
saints

The Decapitated Saints Who Still Managed to Hold Their Heads Up

Sarah Laskow October 30, 2015
relics

100 Wonders: The Middle Finger of Modernity

Dylan Thuras August 6, 2015
The domes of San Pedro Claver Cathedral
Cartagena, Colombia

San Pedro Claver Museum and Cloisters

An inspired museum dedicated to the patron saint of enslaved people, inside the cloisters where he lived and died.
Dearborn, Michigan

Edison's Last Breath

A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford.
relics

Rooms Full of Wax Legs: The Strange And Moving Tradition of Ex-Voto Offerings

Sarah Odedina April 9, 2015
The Procession of the Holy Blood
Bruges, Belgium

The Procession of the Holy Blood

This gruesome biblical parade celebrates the one day a year that a bit of Jesus' blood turns to liquid.
Galileo's Middle Finger
Florence, Italy

Galileo's Middle Finger

The middle finger of modernity.
relics

Of Shipwrecks and Wrist Bones: The Story of St. Paul’s Remains

Kristin Winet October 6, 2014
relics

LA's Patron Saint is a Third-Century Martyr in a Postmodern Tomb

Elizabeth Harper August 11, 2014