Papal Organ Donor

A piece of Christian trivia: Pope Benedict XVI was the first pope in history to enter office as a declared organ donor.

Bible Trivia: Thumb Bibles

Thumb Bibles usually have to be read with a magnifying glass. The first Thumb Bible, printed for children and containing illustrations, was printed by John Weever in London in 1601. It was 3.3 by 2.7 cm (1.3 by 1.1 inches) and consisted of 128 pages.  It was abridged and did not contain the full biblical text.  Because of its size, it could only be read with a magnifying glass.

The term "Thumb Bible" was not actually used in reference to these tiny Bibles until 1849 and probably was a reference to General Tom Thumb, a circus little person who visited London in 1844 with the P.T. Barnum Circus.

There are surviving copies of over 300 different editions of the Thumb Bibles dating from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries.

World's Smallest Church

Madonna Chapel , near Bayou Goula, Louisiana (USA), is claimed to be the smallest church in the world.  Roman Catholic mass is held in the chapel each August 15, but there are no seats or pews and there is only room for one priest and an altar boy (two if the boys are quite small).   Attendees to the mass must stand outside.

The settlement, Bayou Goula, is named for an Italian sugar farmer, Anthony Gullo (aka Goula or Goullo).  In 1890, Gullo prayed to the Virgin Mary to cure his son who was threatened by a life-threatening illness.  Gullo and other residents began to build the church in 1903.

Does anyone know of a smaller church in active use, or now inactive but once in use?