Dem Bones Now Hear the Word of the Lord

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QUESTION My friend has just returned from Rome with tales of a crypt where skeletons are crafted into altars. What is the history of this macabre memorial? I CAME across a similar use of human bones in the Czech Republic some years ago. It was in the vault of the Cemetery Church of All Saints in Sedlec, about an hour from Prague.

The church was built in 1278 using soil from the hill of Calvary and as a result became a popular burial site.

By 1870 there were heaps of bones lying around and a carver was hired to create an ossuary. The entire chapel is decorated with remains, including a chandelier made out of every bone in the body, and monstrances made from human …