Some Headlines You Just Have to See For Yourself
There's really not much I can add:
Via BBC News
Layers of irony, I'm certain. But a wonderful bit from the article:
Something about a heritage of faith goes here, but I'm just not sure what that is.
____________________
Notes:
British Broadcasting Corporation. "Severed head of patron saint of genital disease on sale". BBC News Online. May 24, 2011. BBC.co.uk. May 25, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13522546
There's really not much I can add:
Via BBC News
Layers of irony, I'm certain. But a wonderful bit from the article:
It is unclear exactly how his head may have ended up in Ireland.
Auctioneer Damien Matthews, who is selling the macabre item on Sunday, said that the family think an ancestor brought it back from the grand tour of Europe in the 18th century.
The grand tour was an educational rite of passage for wealthy Europeans from the 17th until the 19th century, intended to provide insight into the great cultural symbols of Europe.
The head sat for many years in the family hall in County Louth, but was recently uncovered in an outhouse.
Mr Matthews said that although he couldn't be certain it was the head of a saint: "It's certainly ancient, and it's certainly the head of somebody."
The Holy Cross Monastery, a Benedictine order in Rostrevor, County Down, did not even know who St Vitalis was, and after an internet search, declined to comment further on the matter of his or anyone else's severed head.
(BBC News)
Auctioneer Damien Matthews, who is selling the macabre item on Sunday, said that the family think an ancestor brought it back from the grand tour of Europe in the 18th century.
The grand tour was an educational rite of passage for wealthy Europeans from the 17th until the 19th century, intended to provide insight into the great cultural symbols of Europe.
The head sat for many years in the family hall in County Louth, but was recently uncovered in an outhouse.
Mr Matthews said that although he couldn't be certain it was the head of a saint: "It's certainly ancient, and it's certainly the head of somebody."
The Holy Cross Monastery, a Benedictine order in Rostrevor, County Down, did not even know who St Vitalis was, and after an internet search, declined to comment further on the matter of his or anyone else's severed head.
(BBC News)
Something about a heritage of faith goes here, but I'm just not sure what that is.
____________________
Notes:
British Broadcasting Corporation. "Severed head of patron saint of genital disease on sale". BBC News Online. May 24, 2011. BBC.co.uk. May 25, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13522546