Angels exist but do not have wings and are more like shards of light, at least according to a top Catholic Church "angelologist" who says the heavenly beings are now back in vogue thanks to New Age religions.
"I think there is a re-discovery of angels in Christianity," Father Renzo Lavatori said on the sidelines of a conference on angels in a lavishly-frescoed Renaissance palace in Rome.
"You do not see angels so much as feel their presence," said Lavatori, adding: "They are a bit like sunlight that refracts on you through a crystal vase."
The clergyman was taking part in a debate on angelic art by the Fondazione Archivio Storico organised in the Vatican-owned Palazzo della Cancelleria....