Not to jump into the territory that our prestigious guests Josh and Dylan cover so well at Atlas Obscura, but a friend just pointed me to Sacred Destinations’ guide to “The Dead On Display.” It’s a fine survey of mummy museums, long-dead saints and their body parts, and, er, Jeremy Bentham and Lenin. Above, the body of St. Clare (d. 1253) in Assisi, Italy. Of course, for even more on this matter I heartily recommend Anneli Rufus’s classic book Magnificent Corpses: Searching Through Europe for St. Peter’s Head, St. Claire’s Heart, St. Stephen’s Hand, and Other Saints’ Relics. From Sacred Destinations:
Incorrupt Saints on Display
* St. Andrew Bobola
Church of St. Andrew Bobola, Warsaw, Poland
Died in 1657, discovered incorrupt 1697.* St. Bernadette Soubirous
Convent of St. Gildard, Nevers, France
The visionary of Lourdes, died 1879. Surely the most beautiful corpse you’ll ever see (with some help from wax).* Mother Cabriani
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Mother Cabrini High School Chapel, New York City, USA
Italian-born nun, died in Chicago 1917.* St. Catherine Labouré
Chapel, Rue du Bac, Paris, France
A Mary visionary, exhumed after 56 years.* St. Catherine of Bologna
Died 1463, has been on display in an upright position for over 500 years.
The Dead On Display (Thanks, Michael-Anne Rauback!)