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Relics

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King Richard the Lionheart's heart is entombed beneath his effigy.
Rouen, France

King Richard I's Embalmed Heart

His "Lionheart" is entombed separately from the rest of his body.
Phar Lap's heart at the National Museum of Australia.
Canberra, Australia

Phar Lap's Heart

The gigantic preserved heart of a champion racehorse.
The church sits just outside the Vatican on the grounds of the Russian Embassy.
Rome, Italy

Saint Catherine Russian Orthodox Church

The first Russian Orthodox church in the Catholic city of Rome in almost a thousand years.
Exterior, arches
Chennai, India

San Thome Basilica

This Gothic-style church is reputedly built atop the remains of one of Jesus's apostles.
Rome, Italy

Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte

At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.
The shrine for the relics of the Apostle St. Thomas, Basilica in Ortona
Ortona, Italy

Relics of the Apostle St. Thomas

The relics of one of Jesus' 12 apostles are enshrined in this Italian Basilica.
The interior of St. Anthony's Chapel.
relics

Only the Vatican Has More Christian Relics Than Pittsburgh

St. Anthony’s chapel is home to some 5,000 important relics.
Susanna Weyandt October 17, 2016
Body of St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes
Nevers, France

The Not-Quite Incorruptible St. Bernadette of Lourdes

Perhaps the most beautiful of preserved saints, with a little help from Paris.
The horned Madonna detail
Milan, Italy

Horned Madonna of Portinari Chapel

The odd depiction of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus is rooted in the Catholic Church's eradication of Catharism.
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
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

Miracle Towns: Where Plastic Junk Becomes Holy Relics

Sarah Laskow September 23, 2015
relics

12 Papal Miracles: An Unscientific Ranking

Sarah Laskow September 22, 2015
relics

100 Wonders: The Middle Finger of Modernity

Dylan Thuras August 6, 2015