4. Jesus’s diapers can be seen in Dubrovnik and Aachen
He may only have lived for 33 years, and very humbly, but that was plenty of time for Jesus to have touched a lot of things and owned a few bits and pieces. We’ve already seen his foreskin and death-shroud on this list, but what of the Son of God’s possessions? Well, no toys are recorded, but at some stage in history someone had the ingenious idea for another relic: his diapers. Depictions of the baby Jesus often show him naked but, logically, there must have been some sanitary measures in ancient Nazareth…
Christ’s diapers are now on display in reliquaries at Dubrovnik and Aachen. Although they are termed ‘swaddling clothes’ at the latter, information boards at Dubrovnik Cathedral describe its version as a ‘diaper’. Although ‘swaddling clothes’ sounds more hygienic, these were still wrapped around naked infants, and you don’t have to be a parent to work out what that means. But since these diapers/ swaddling clothes touched Jesus and were worn by him, they are First-Class Relics (the most holy kind) in Catholic belief. Still, it’s funny to think that these beautiful cases contain a dirty old nappy…
