Saint Catherine of Bologna
The 500 year old mummified relic of St. Catherine sits forever on a golden throne
Category Relics and Reliquaries, Mummies
The beautiful church of Chiesa della Santa, like many Italian churches, is filled with stunning architecture, art and decoration. Most visitors would miss the nondescript wooden door near the left of the entrance entirely. The curious among them might be bold enough to ring the doorbell. Those who do will find themselves buzzed in, and at the end of a corridor, will come face to face with the mummified relic of St. Catherine of Bologna. Sitting eerily upright in a golden throne and wearing a nun's habit, her black hands clutch a golden cross and a bible. Her tight, almost featureless skin is said to have turned black from the soot of centuries of candles.
Adorning the walls around her are finger, toes, and a skull crowned with flowers; from other saints or important figures of the church. St. Catherine was said in life to have been visited in visions by God and Satan alike, and was tormented by gruesome visions of the crucifixion, the last judgment, and the devil's tricks. She was a talented painter and gifted musician (her beloved violin hangs on the wall to her right), and thus is the patron saint of artists and temptation. When her sisters exhumed her body, 14 days after burial, she was found to be, according the the church's pamphlet, "intact, flexible, and sweet-smelling." She has been sitting in her Golden Throne in the small chapel of the Cheisa della Santa for over 500 years.
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- Hours Hours of Operation: Daily: 10-12 and 4-6 (These are the hours only for the small chapel where St. Catherine's mummy is housed. The church itself has longer hours)
- Address Tagliapietre 19, Chiesa della Santa, Bologna, Italy
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