The Kaplica Czaszek (skull chapel) of St. Bartholomew’s Church, Czermna, Kudowa, Poland dates from the end of the 18th century and is the only such chapel in the country. Over 21,000 human remains are interred here, while the remains of 3,000 victims of plague and war adorn the walls. The remains were collected, cleaned, and…
Tag: Memento mori
Peter Bruegel Paints Some American Bishops
One of the lesser annoyances of the past weeks of depravity and scandal was seeing the loathsome vulpine face of sexual predator Theodore McCarrick (formerly Cardinal, and hopefully soon-to-be-former “bishop” and “father”) staring back at me from endless articles about his crimes. Now that the report is out on criminal coverups in Pennsylvania, we have…
Wax Souls
These wax images are found in the Victoria & Albert Museum, and show the potential destiny of the soul at death. They were created for private devotion so the Christian could meditate on the last things. The “memento mori” (“remembrance of death”), is not morbid. We made it morbid by detaching it from its…
Memento Mori Beads
This carved ivory and silver rosary is from Germany in the the early 16th century. Each bead has a head divided between face and skull, with certain beads showing a decaying face. It’s a reminder that life is fleeting. Two of the beads form the inscription, “Remember death / This is what you will be.” Metropolitan…
Weird Catholic 
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