Church of the Dead offers macabre mummy display

By Catholic Online
12/22/2010
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Church is one of the chief tourist attractions in small Italian town

In the lively medieval town of Urbania in central Italy, visitors can pay a visit to a macabre church that holds 18 mummies behind glass. Chiesa dei Morti, or the Church of the Dead, offers a surprising view on the practice of mummification aside from those commonly found in ancient Egypt.

Chiesa dei Morti, or the Church of the Dead, offers a surprising view on the practice of mummification aside from those commonly found in ancient Egypt.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Visitors enter the church through the Baroque doorway. They are then ushered into the chapel, known as the mummy cemetery, a chilling display that has kept people coming back for generations.

The eighteen mummies stand in individual glass cases that have been on display behind the altar since 1833. Naturally mummified due to the presence of a special mold that sucked all of the moisture out of the bodies, these individuals were - and are famous both in and outside the community.

A tour guide tells how each of the mummies passed away. One, which suffered from Down\'s syndrome, died of heart failure; another died while in labor; one was murdered.

The Brotherhood of Good Death, a group founded more than 400 years ago in 1567, is responsible for the mummy display. The original goals of the brothers were to provide free burial for the dead and keep a record of the deaths.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Mummies, church, dead

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