‘Crown of Thorns’ returns to Notre Dame cathedral for public veneration
Paris, Dec 13: An ancient relic that many Christians revere as Jesus Christ’s “Crown of Thorns” is returning to Notre Dame, five years after it was saved from the flames of the cathedral’s devastating 2019 fire.
The crown – a circular band of branches encased in a gilded golden tube – is being brought back to its historic home Friday. The ceremony will be presided over by the archbishop of Paris and attended by knights and dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, marking a key moment in the cathedral’s restoration journey.
The relic was first mentioned by Jerusalem pilgrims in the 5th century before being transferred to Constantinople in the 10th century. In 1239, it was acquired by King Louis IX of France, who brought it to Paris and housed it at Notre Dame before commissioning the Sainte-Chapelle for its safekeeping. It was later returned to Notre Dame. (AP)
New Zealand scientists suspect specimen of world’s rarest whale died from head injuries
Melbourne, Dec 13: Scientists suspect the first complete specimen ever recorded of the world’s rarest whale died from head injuries, an expert said Friday.
The first dissection of a spade-toothed whale, a type of beaked whale, was completed last week after a painstaking examination at a research centre near the New Zealand city of Dunedin, the local people who led the scientific team, Te Runanga Otakou, said in a statement issued by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
A near-perfectly preserved 5-metre male was found washed up on a South Island beach in July. It was the first complete specimen ever recorded. There have only been seven known sightings and never of a living spade-toothed whale.
New Zealand conservation agency beaked whale expert Anton van Helden said the whale’s broken jaw and bruising to the head and neck led scientists to believe that head trauma may have caused its death. “We don’t know, but we suspect there must have been some sort of trauma, but what caused that could be anyone’s guess,” van Helden said in a statement. The dissection was also notable because scientists and curators worked together with local Maori people to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and customs into each step of the process. (AP)