A relic hunter dubbed “Indiana Bones” has lifted the lid on a macabre collection of 400-year-old jewel-encrusted skeletons unearthed in churches across Europe. Art historian Paul Koudounaris has hunted down and photographed dozens of gruesome skeletons in some of the world's most secretive religious establishments. Photo: Albertus in the church of St George in Burgrain, Germany. Incredibly, some of the skeletons, which took up to five years to decorate, were even found hidden away in lock-ups and containers. (Photo by Paul Koudounaris/BNPS)

Devotees wear costumes made of banana leaves as they head to church to attend mass as part of a religious festival, in honor of St. John the Baptist, also known locally as the “mud people” festival, in Aliaga town, Nueva Ecija province, north of Manila, on June 24, 2017. Farmers coated in mud paraded in Philippine villages on June 24 to mark one of the Catholic nation's most colourful religious festivals. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)

"Temptation", part of an installation from the artist-duo David Burns and Austin Young, appears among the works of 30 artists in the multimedia exhibition "The Value of Food: Sustaining a Green Planet" at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Wednesday, October 7, 2015, in New York. The exhibition, installed in the cathedral's seven chapels and 14 bays, explores food accessibility, sustainability and other food-related issues and runs through April 3, 2016. (Photo by Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo)

A parishioner of the St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Nairobi's Kangemi slum carries the vestments to be worn by Pope Francis during his visit to Kenya on November 24, 2015 in Kenya. Pope Francis makes his first visit to Kenya on a five day African tour that is scheduled to include Uganda and the Central African Republic. Africa is recognised as being crucial to the future of the Catholic Church with the continent's Catholic numbers growing faster than anywhere else in the world. (Photo by Nichole Sobecki/Getty Images)

Revellers participate in a parade on the street during a carnival in the village of Vevcani, south of Skopje, Macedonia January 13, 2016. Vevcani village marks the annual Orthodox St. Vasilij Day with a carnival that features a 1,400-year-old celebration with pagan roots. The highlights of the carnival include a political satire where masked villagers act out current events. (Photo by Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)

Two carnival revellers masquerade as Leonardo da Vinci's painting “Mona Lisa” pose in St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy, Sunday, January 31, 2016. Carnival-goers in Venice are being asked by police to momentarily lift their masks as part of new anti-terrorism measures for the annual festivities. (Photo by Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo)

Alexandr Kudlay, 33, and Viktoria Pustovitova, 28, have breakfast in their apartment in Kharkiv, Ukraine on March 5, 2021. Tired of occasional break-ups, this Ukrainian couple found an unusual solution to stay inseparable. On St. Valentine's Day, they decided to handcuff their hands together for three months and began documenting their experience on social media. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

A pet dog reacts while wearing a “Voltes V” themed costume during a “Pawshion Show” to mark World Animal Day in Marikina City, Metro Manila, Philippines 04 October 2023. A village in Marikina enjoined owners and animal lovers to play dress-up with their pets and participate in a fashion-show themed activity to entertain the community on World Animal Day and mark the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals in the Roman Catholic religion. (Photo by Rolex Dela Pena/EPA)