(ORDO NEWS) — At the end of 2017, Spanish restorers discovered a note written in the 18th century inside the statue of Jesus Christ. Its author, a priest, described in detail the life of his time.
When the sculptural image of the crucified Jesus Christ, which adorned the church of Santa Agueda in northern Spain, began to crack, church ministers invited restorers from the Da Vinci Restauro association.
When they got started, they discovered that the loincloth element was removable. Under it was a cavity, and in it were two folded sheets of paper.
They were preserved almost perfectly, which made it possible to read the text in full. Its author is Joaquín Minges, chaplain of the cathedral in Burgo de Osma Ciudad de Osma. Both the cathedral and the church of Santa Agueda are located in the Spanish community of Castile-Leon.
The document was dated 1777. The priest talks about the sculptor Manuel Bala, who created this and other statues for local churches.
Not limited to this, Minges reports on important events of his era. Mentioning that King Charles III is on the throne, the priest adds that “the Inquisition operates in the country, which does not tolerate transgressions against the Church of the Lord,” and the Supreme Court is located in Madrid.
Minges did not ignore the lives of ordinary people. According to him, they most often suffer from typhoid fever, and their favorite entertainment is playing cards or a ball. In addition, the chaplain spoke in detail about the harvests of grapes, wheat, barley and other crops.
The restorers note that it is extremely rare to find any artifact inside the statues, but this letter is the largest find in all the years of their work. Experts have no doubt that the priest wanted to leave a message for posterity.
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