Author Archives: religiousbodies

An eternal heart. The cardiac phenomena of St Teresa of Ávila

Leonardo Rossi For the Carmelite Order, 2022 is a year of important commemorations, being the anniversary of the death of Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) and the fourth centenary of her canonisation (1622). Pope Francis celebrated a memorial mass last 12 March to commemorate the Castilian mystic. However, apart from some initiatives by the SpanishContinue reading “An eternal heart. The cardiac phenomena of St Teresa of Ávila“

Confusing coffins.

Tine Van Osselaer Let’s talk coffins. Or, to put it more precisely, let’s talk about a coffin that was deemed important enough to be displayed decades after it had held the remains that it was originally designed for. The coffin of Margaret Wake (1617-1678) is just such a specimen. Kept in a glass case atContinue reading “Confusing coffins.”

Of bodysnatching and lesser crimes

Kristof Smeyers The archives of the Franciscans in my hometown Hasselt, Belgium, hold a box that is labelled, in all capitals, ‘CRIME’. This surprises me. The box sits in a voluminous collection of records about the Franciscan brother Valentinus Paquay, who for more than a century now has been widely revered as the town’s mostContinue reading “Of bodysnatching and lesser crimes”

The body matters

Written by Leonardo Rossi The body matters. The corpses of religious leaders and charismatic figures have been charged with powerful – and sometimes contradictory – meanings. Human remains of illustrious people are for some groups monuments of devotional memory while, for others, they are irritating symbols that need to be hidden or destroyed. In thisContinue reading “The body matters”

Gazing at death and the dead

Workshop report (by Linde Tuybens) The most dangerous person at a funeral is the body in the coffin –  Richard Cobb On May 5th and 6th, researchers from all over Europe and the USA met in Antwerp to explore a range of fascinating topics around death and the dead. An initiative of the Contested Bodies project, this workshopContinue reading “Gazing at death and the dead”

Send us your (early Christian) martyr

by Tine Van Osselaer I watch with eager anticipation as my guide is carefully opening a series of small doors. We are not unwrapping one layer after another, but sections of a single, bigger, display case.  The impact of the procedure is best compared to one of those visual puzzles. Every new piece gives youContinue reading “Send us your (early Christian) martyr”

Breathing life into a body

by Kristof Smeyers Here is a story. One evening a nun sneaks down into the vault under a chapel. She has been contemplating this all day. She shivers: she is a little cold and more than a little nervous. It’s around nine o’clock and she is alone, but she doesn’t feel alone. In the cornerContinue reading “Breathing life into a body”

Bodies on display. An alternative Roman Tour

By Leonardo Rossi Rome, bodies, (aspiration to) eternity. If these keywords arouse your interest, then you are reading the right post. Whether you are travelling with your imagination sitting on a cosy sofa or walking on the centuries-old cobblestones of Rome, this alternative tour throws you into popular Roman devotion, showing you stages unfamiliar toContinue reading “Bodies on display. An alternative Roman Tour”

Stigma

by Linde Tuybens As historians, we can’t claim the exclusive right to tell the story of stigmatics. Other cultural products – books, films, theatre plays – are also shining light on their extraordinary lives. Recently, news has spread that American filmmaker Abel Ferrara is preparing a film on the early life of Padre Pio, allegedlyContinue reading “Stigma”