15 49.0138 8.38624 both 0 bullet 0 4000 1 0 horizontal https://www.messynessychic.com 300 4000
Tag / catholic

Jesus and Kitsch: The Rise of the American Megachurch

They called him Big Butter Jesus – Sweet Cream Jesus. Sometimes, Touchdown Jesus. The nicknames for the massive statue outside Monroe, Ohio’s Solid Rock Church may have varied between dairy and football allusions, but its purpose was unflinching: bring in the people. With his arms outstretched to the heavens, conveniently off Ohio’s Interstate 75, the…

The Outlawed Secret Masonic Society of Pugs

There was one way only for Europe’s intellectual elite to become a member of what is probably history’s oddest Masonic societies: by puckering up to the rear end of a pug as an expression of total devotion. You read correctly; the mid-18th century was filled with pantaloon-clad ladies and gents lining up to become “Mops,” …

Did Jesus Escape to Japan?

Greetings from Shingo, a rural village, 650km north of Tokyo that is believed by its inhabitants to be the last resting place of Jesus Christ. Make the pilgrimage to its quiet hills, and you’ll find yourself in a veritable slice of the Twilight Zone where the Christian prophet led a double life as a garlic…

Another Reason to Check Your Attic: Priest Holes

Once upon a time in ye olde England, it was illegal to be Catholic. In case you need a quick refresher: King Henry VIII needed a male heir to the. He blamed Catherine of Aragon (his brother’s widow and the first of his six wives) for not bearing him a son. On these grounds, he…

The Truth Behind the Pope’s Ruby Red Slippers

If the clothes make the man, then the shoes make the Pope – and more specifically, his ruby red shoes. The scarlet slippers have been reincarnated for thousands of years for his Holiness, and each pair has a story to tell in the history books as well as on-screen, from HBO’s TV show, “The Young…

For Sale: Your ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ Fixer-Upper Awaits

When Matthew Hampshire drops us a line, we know it’s time to head into the belly of yet another crumbling beauty. This time, the photographer gave us a peek inside one of his lushest expeditions to date, in the hills of northern Italy at the ghostly Villa Moglia. Step behind her gates for yourself, but…

Just a Quick Pilgrimage to the Church of Doom

I came across this photograph and assumed it must be a film set from a 1960s sci-fi flick. Surely those nuns haven’t just come from a prayer session inside that monstrous building? As it turns out, this picture of architectural doom is indeed of a real Catholic church, located in a small medieval hamlet close to Dusseldorf, Germany.…
Visit Us!
Our Paris shop is open
Paris Restaurant Guide
Unlock the Vault
Weekend & City Guides
Unlock the Vault
ABOUT NESSY
Mum & Dad named me Vanessa, but you can call me Nessy.

INSTAGRAM