Latest news with #relics
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Display of saint's remains draws huge crowds - but bishop says it 'encourages morbid curiosity'
Tens of thousands of people have flocked to see the remains of a revered Spanish saint, more than 440 years after her death, prompting debate over whether such displays "encourage morbid curiosity". Catholic worshippers in their droves have travelled to Alba de Tormes in western to view relics of Saint Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century religious reformer. Faithful lined up to see her, silent and wonderstruck as the remains of the mystic were put on display in a silver casket for the first time in more than 100 years. "It gave me a feeling of fulfilment, of joy, and of sadness," said Guiomar Sanchez, who travelled from Madrid with her two daughters on Sunday, the last full day of the exhibit. "Seeing her was an inexplicable experience," she added, praising the saint as being ahead of her time. After weeks on display, the casket of Saint Teresa was resealed on Monday and carried through the streets with pilgrims following behind her. Saint Teresa, who died in 1582, is a towering figure from Spain's Golden Age and 16th-century counter-reformation. Her explorations of the inner life and meditations on her relationship with God were controversial, yet they have been held up over the centuries as a "profound treatise on spirituality," said Jose Calvo, a professor of theology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca who specialises in Medieval history. Her admirers include Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco, who was rumoured to have kept a relic of the saint's hand next to his bed, and new , who visited her birthplace last year. Read more from Sky News: Some worshippers this month were visibly moved. On Sunday, a group of nuns from India wept as they looked upon the saint's remains behind a glass case. But the exhibition has also provoked debate over the appropriateness of displaying the remains of long-dead people in public. "It is not a good idea to display the body of Saint Teresa in this way," said nearby Bishop of Salamanca, Jose Luis Retana. "It only serves to encourage people's morbid curiosity." But local church officials and experts downplayed such reactions, saying the display was nothing out of the ordinary for how Catholics have revered their saints for centuries. "It was just something people always did when they thought somebody might be a saint," said Cathleen Medwick, who wrote a book about Saint Teresa. "And the fact that her body hadn't decayed very much was also considered a sign of her sanctity," she added.
The Independent
26-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Tens of thousands flock to see corpse of Spanish saint more than 440 years after death
Hundreds of Catholic worshippers flocked to the small Spanish town of Alba de Tormes this month to witness a remarkable sight: the remains of Saint Teresa of Ávila, lying in an open silver coffin more than four centuries after her death. The saint, mystic, and 16th-century religious reformer, drew silent, wonderstruck crowds who lined up to pay their respects. What is visible is a skull dressed in a habit with vestments covering other parts of the body, not all of which is intact. The saint's heart is kept in another part of the church, officials said. Other body parts are kept as relics — fingers, a hand and a jaw — in churches across Europe. Teresa's remains have also spawned reaction online about the macabre nature of crowding around her centuries-old skull. In Alba de Tormes, church officials and experts downplayed such reactions, saying the display was nothing out of the ordinary for how Catholics have revered their saints for centuries. 'It was just something people always did when they thought somebody might be a saint,' said Cathleen Medwick, who wrote the book 'Teresa of Avila, The Progress of a Soul.' 'And the fact that her body hadn't decayed very much was also considered a sign of her sanctity," Medwick added. 'It gave me a feeling of fulfillment, of joy, and of sadness,' said Guiomar Sánchez, who traveled from Madrid with her two daughters on Sunday, the last full day of the exhibit. A map of Alba de Tormes: Inspired by her mother's belief in the Carmelite nun, Sánchez praised the mystic's writings as being ahead of her time. Sánchez said she also came in part to honor her mother. 'Seeing her was an inexplicable experience,' Sánchez added. On Monday morning, the coffin of the saint who died in 1582 was resealed and carried through the town streets, with pilgrims following the procession. It is unclear how many years — or decades — will pass before the church once again makes St. Teresa's remains visible to the public. Teresa was last displayed in 1914, when devotees had a single day to see the saint. This time, the display drew almost 100,000 visitors over two weeks, said Miguel Ángel González, the prior of the Discalced Carmelites of Salamanca. The coffin that holds the saint's remains is barely 1.3 meters (4 feet) long. Teresa is a towering figure from Spain 's Golden Age and 16th-century Counter-Reformation. Her explorations of the inner life and meditations on her relationship with God were controversial, yet they have been held up over the centuries as a 'profound treatise on spirituality," said José Calvo, a professor of theology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca who specializes in Medieval history. Many have worshipped her. Former Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco is believed to have kept a relic of the saint's hand next to his bed. Last September, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV visited the saint's birthplace in Avila, an hour's drive from Alba de Tormes. Some worshippers this month were visibly moved. On Sunday, a group of nuns from India wiped away tears as they stood by the side of the coffin and looked at the saint's remains behind a glass case. Gregoria Martín López, 75, climbed to an elevated part of the church behind the altar, hoping to get a better view from above of the diminutive saint's skull. 'The saint for me is a thing of great strength. If they close her, I can say that I saw her,' Martín said and with tears in her eyes, blew a kiss down to Teresa's relic as organ music filled the space.
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Gloves Lincoln Wore to Ford's Theater Sell for $1.5 Million at Auction
A pair of leather gloves worn by President Abraham Lincoln to Ford's Theater on the night of his assassination fetched $1.5 million at auction this week, part of a trove of relics from his life and death that a debt-saddled presidential foundation had put on the block. One of two handkerchiefs that Lincoln had with him on that fateful date in American history, April 14, 1865, sold for $826,000, according to Freeman's | Hindman in Chicago, the auction house that handled Wednesday's sale. Like the gloves, which a friend of the Lincolns had framed for display on his dining room wall, the handkerchief was described in an auction catalog as having been potentially stained with the president's blood. And a cufflink-style gold and onyx button with the letter 'L' on it, which a doctor removed to check for Lincoln's pulse as he lay on his deathbed, went for $445,000. The auction of the items from the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, which was conducted in person, online and by phone, raised nearly $7.9 million, the auctioneers said. The total included a 28 percent buyer's premium, which auction houses tack onto the hammer price to help cover expenses from sales. The buyers were not identified by the auction house, which said that the proceeds had nearly doubled pre-sale estimates for the collection. But the piecemeal sale of the artifacts, known as Lincolnania, did not escape controversy, drawing criticism from a prominent collector who said that she had sold them to the foundation so that they could be displayed publicly. The foundation, the nonprofit that put the 144 items up for sale, said in a statement on Wednesday that the auction's proceeds would significantly help retire loan debt that it has been carrying since 2007. The group used the money from a loan to help buy a $25 million trove of Lincoln artifacts from the collector, Louise Taper, 90 percent of which were still in its possession after the auction, the foundation said. 'As a national nonprofit, this marks a significant step forward for our organization and its future philanthropic and educational mission,' Erin Carlson Mast, the foundation's president and chief executive, said in the statement. The foundation, which was created in 2000, did not say how much of the loan had been repaid. In 2018, the organization made headlines when it created a GoFundMe page, saying that it had privately raised $15 million to help it keep the $25 million collection but needed to come up with the remainder of the money in 20 months. That appeal raised $35,000, according to the group's GoFundMe page. The foundation had acquired the artifacts from Ms. Taper, a philanthropist and collector, for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. The museum opened in 2005 in the city where Lincoln practiced law and lived while he was in the Illinois Legislature and briefly in Congress. Ms. Taper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday, but she told the Chicago television station WBEZ this week in an email that she had never intended for the collection that she had painstakingly curated to be 'dispersed to the wind.' 'I am appalled,' Ms. Taper told the station. The auction also featured a War Department reward poster offering $30,000 for information leading to the capture of John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Lincoln. It sold for $762,500. A ticket stub from the April 14, 1865, production of 'Our American Cousin' at Ford's Theater, during which Lincoln was assassinated, fetched $381,500. In 2023, two tickets from that performance sold for $262,500. Not all of the sought-after artifacts were intertwined with Lincoln's assassination. A first printing of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address from 1865 sold for $165,600, and an 1824 book that was twice signed by Lincoln and believed to be one of the earliest surviving examples of his handwriting went for $521,200.
Washington Post
07-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Sotheby's postpones auction of jewels associated with Buddha after backlash from India's government
HONG KONG — Sotheby's on Wednesday postponed an auction of jewels associated with Buddha's remains after the Indian government opposed the sale and demanded it be halted. The gems for auction were found buried together in reliquaries with the corporeal relics of the historical Buddha and discovered in northern India in 1898, the auction house said. They dated back to around 240-200 BC, it said.
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Sotheby's postpones auction of gems linked to Buddha after India threatens legal action
HONG KONG, May 7 (Reuters) - Auction house Sotheby's said on Wednesday that it had postponed the auction of a collection of hundreds of jewels linked to Buddha's corporeal relics after India's government threatened legal action and demanded the jewels be returned. The sale of the collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, circa 240-200 BCE, has drawn criticism from Buddhist academics and monastic leaders. here. India's government said in a May 5 letter to the auction house that the relics constituted "inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community. Their sale violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions." The auction was due to take place on Wednesday morning at Sotheby's headquarters in the Asian financial hub. Sotheby's said in an emailed statement that in light of the matters raised by India's government "and with the agreement of the consignors, the auction ... has been postponed. This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate." Notice of the gems sale had been removed from its auction house on Wednesday and the website page promoting the auction was no longer available. Sotheby's had said in February that the 1898 discovery of the relics at Piprahwa in northern India ranked "among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time". India said that the proposed auction "offends the sentiments of over 500 million Buddhists worldwide," adding that the sale violated core Buddhist ethics and disrupted "sacred tradition."
