Ticket sales began Thursday for "Vatican Splendors from St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Swiss Guard," a show of historical and cultural artifacts and papal memorabilia opening Sept. 27 at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.

The exhibit features about 200 items, including such exotica as bits of St. Peter's bones, Michelangelo's compass, a smoke cartridge used to announce the election of a pope, a terra cotta sculpture by Bernini, and uniforms worn by the Swiss guards, who are traditional defenders of the Vatican state. Visitors will be allowed to touch a bronze cast of the hand of the late Pope John Paul II.

History center officials expect 150,000 visitors from throughout the Midwest to see the show before it closes early next year (the exact date has not been set). History Center museum director Dan Spock declined to say how much the museum paid to rent the show, but said it was expected to "pay for itself."

Many of the objects have never left the Vatican and are rarely exhibited even in Rome, said Mark Greenberg, president of Evergreen Exhibitions, which organized the exhibit. St. Paul is the last stop in a three-city U.S. tour.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors, $13 for children 6-12. Children 5 and younger are free with adult ticket purchase. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at 1-877-282-8422. For more information see www.mnhs.org/vatican.

MARY ABBE