A nurse bows to the life size statue of Pope Francis as her friend takes a photograph at the St.Louis hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, November 19, 2019. Pope Francis arrives in Thailand on Wednesday for the first visit here by the head of the Roman Catholic Church since St. John Paul II in 1984. (Photo by Manish Swarup/AP Photo)

A Filipino Catholic performing self-flagellation lies on the ground with his bloodied back outside a church on Good Friday, defying a government ban on religious gatherings amid rising coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, in Manila, Philippines, April 2, 2021. (Photo by Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

Francisco Solano poses for a photo in his bird-feather suit after attending a Mass commemorating the feast day of St. Francis Solano, in Emboscada, Paraguay, Friday, July 24, 2015. Some 500 people attended the festivity – a mix of indigenous and Guarani Indian beliefs. The festival begins with a Mass, continues with a procession of the diminutive wooden statue of St. Francis, and ends with people dancing in suits made with black, white, brown and grey feathers. (Photo by Jorge Saenz/AP Photo)

Local youth representatives dressed a Stormtrooper and Darth Vader (L-in black) from the Star Wars film franchise patrol in a wooden boat around a submerged village to remind residents to stay at home during the enhanced community quarantine in suburban Manila on May 6, 2020, as part of government's efforts to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP Photo)

On the morning of the October 4, 2025, the second day of the Chuseok holiday, a lenticular cloud resembling an unidentified flying object (UFO) appeared in the northeastern sky as seen from the Healing Forest in Hogun-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, creating a spectacular sight. (Photo by Newsis)

“Nicholas II (Russian: Николай II, Николай Александрович Романов, tr. Nikolay II, Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov) (18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church. Nicholas II, his wife, his son, his four daughters, the family's medical doctor, the Tsar's valet, the Empress' lady-in-waiting and the family's cook were murdered in the same room by the Bolsheviks on the night of 16/17 July 1918”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Tsar Nicholas II (1868–1918) with his wife. (Photo by W. & D. Downey/Getty Images). Circa 1900

Kokeshi dolls these traditional wooden figurines were said to have been originally made as souvenirs to sell to people visiting the local hot springs in Northern Japan. Although there are about 10 different styles, each doll is made with an enlarged head and cylindrical body with no arms or legs.

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)