An illustrated lecture by All the Saints You Should Know‘s Elizabeth Harper
Date: Monday, December 9
Time: 8:00
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
Though frequently overlooked by tourists and locals alike, the holy dead of Paris continue to haunt the city to this day. The bodies of the saints are inextricably woven into the city and unlock some of the most fascinating chapters in the history of Paris.
In this highly illustrated talk, All the Saints You Should Know‘s Elizabeth Harper will introduce you to such curiosities as cephalophores, or decapitated saints like St. Denis, the patron saint of Paris; incorruptible corpses and their corruptible counterparts sculpted in wax that reside on the same street; the relics of Roman Empress St. Helena, the first relic hunter, now hidden away in a small parish crypt; the bones of 11,000 virgins that never existed; and finally the relics of the patroness of Paris and her connection the murder of an Archbishop by an occultist in the 19th century.
Elizabeth Harper writes All the Saints You Should Know, a blog on Catholic relics and lore as well as pieces on saints and sacred destinations for Atlas Obscura. She is the creator of the “Relics in Rome” map, which pinpoints hundreds of publicly viewable saints’ relics in Rome’s 900+ churches. She was also an organizer and presenter at Death Salon 2013. By day she is a lighting designer for theatre and opera. She’s is currently collaborating with Teller from Penn and Teller on “Play Dead” in Los Angeles.