Cimitero di Cappuchini

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return. – Genesis 3:19

A rare, eerie sight awaits under Santa Maria della Concezione, built in 1636.The church was commissioned by Pope Urban XIII, whose brother was a member of the Capuchin order of monks. Five years after the church was built, Cardinal Antonio Barberini (the Pope’s brother – both of a very powerful family) had the bones of thousands friars transferred from the friary into the crypt of this church. Over time, as many as 4,000 people – monks and poor Romans alike – have been interred in the Cimitero di Cappuchini.

However, they are not simply buried.Their bones are artfully arranged in arches, flowers, spirals, and other designs across the walls, arches, and coves of the crypt.Even the lamps are made from various human bones. In some places, the skeletons are kept intact and are wearing Franciscan habits. Nightly, the monks came down to these crypts to pray and reflect. The last room of the crypt has a sign on the floor reading: "What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be."

While it is certainly macabre and morbid, the sentiment is one of Christians throughout the centuries. This mortal body that we have is only for a time. The world we live in now will pass away. As disconcerting as it is, death happens all the time, all around us – and we would do well to not be afraid of it, but to accept it as part of the life God graciously granted us.

God, our Creator, we know that you have granted us this world only for a short time. Help us to use it well, to your glory, always mindful of the rest that we will finally have in you. Grant us calm hearts without fear, so we can continue to serve you in the time we have here, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.