I developed a fascination with Catholicism when I was 13 or 14, on a two-week long school trip to Italy. The development of iconography, the opulent aesthetics, costumes, and cathedrals enchanted me. I was enraptured by the complex, ancient rituals, the larger than life buildings tediously and meticulously constructed for the benefit of something unseen; the tools, language, and structure of this religion that felt so vast and fantastical were immediately interesting to me. More than anything, I developed a romantic attachment to the saints—ordinary people who, like ordinary people around the world, exhibited some sort of intangible, inexplicable connection to the spiritual realm that most could never have. It was in the basilicas and chapels of saints in small, rural Italian towns that I met my love for the religions and spirits of ordinary people and with the way they change and mold organized religion to fit their lived experiences. I am not any kind of Christian, which I think is why its so interesting.
For now this shrine is just for my Christian objects — forgive me my autistic special interest. Other religious objects, and my talismans and good-luck charms, will be uploaded later.