The highly secretive Vatican has long been a treasure trove of mysteries and conspiracies. Locked away from the world and only seen by a very few, the inner sanctum of this place has spawned all manner of weird stories, including long lost texts, Illuminati secrets, covert information on all manner of unsolved mysteries, and even. Read more »
The recumbent bronze statue of Fernand Arbelot (1880-1942) holding in his hands the face of his beloved. He is remembered for his one desire in death: to forever gaze upon the face of his wife. Arbelot died in Paris during the German Nazi occupation. Bruno De Hogues/Getty Images
Millions of people enter the grounds of Père Lachaise in Paris each year. Some of them never, ever leave.
It is, after all, one of the most famous cemeteries in the world – and although it s strongly linked to death, Père Lachaise is perhaps better known for its great beauty and the incredible demand for its few burial spaces.
And among them is the Emblem of Agadja, the fifth king of Abomey (present-day Benin).
It is a caravel, made of hammered silver, decorated with three sails and two small anchors hanging under its hull.
It evokes the 18th century slave trade Agadja engaged in with Westerners via the port of Ouidah in the Gulf of Guinea.
The precious vessel could have crowned an assen in the 19th century, a ritual object perpetuating the link with this royal ancestor.
26 objects returned to Benin
In spite of the emblem s painful symbolism, could Benin s government demand it be returned to its country?
The Untold Truth Of Pere Lachaise, The World s Most Visited Cemetery Shutterstock
By Kathy Benjamin/Feb. 8, 2021 12:57 pm EDT/Updated: March 23, 2021 10:23 pm EDT
If you never went through an emo phase, you might think it s weird that people like to visit cemeteries. And sure, some can be sad, uncared for, and small, but there are other cemeteries that are basically a combination art gallery and beautiful park.
Pere Lachaise in Paris might be the most stunning of them all. As the Encyclopedia Britannica notes, it s probably the most visited cemetery in the world (it s impossible to know for sure, since Pere Lachaise, like most cemeteries, doesn t actually count up the people who come there, but the superlative is generally accepted by people who know about these things.)
French missionary s legacy lives on among Kolkata s poor
Father François Laborde dedicated his life to disadvantaged slum dwellers
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When Father François Laborde died at the age of 93 in India s Kolkata s city on Christmas Day, many close to him recalled his often-repeated words that the Indian poor evangelized him to be a better Christian.
After his arrival in India in 1965, the priest of the Prado Institute dedicated his life to the poorest, the outcasts, and the handicapped youth of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), the capital of West Bengal state in eastern India. I had gone to India to evangelize the poor, but it was they who evangelized me, he used to tell his confreres and friends.