FIRST-CLASS RELIC OF SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS

Rare reliquary in silvered bronze with a glass front, containing the first-class relic Ex Ossibus of Saint Paul of the Cross.

The relic is fixed at the center of a refined decoration. It rests on a deep red fabric background; this color, omnipresent in Christian liturgy, symbolizes the blood of Christ and His redemptive sacrifice. The relic is identified in Latin on a handwritten label as: Ex Ossibus B. Pauli a Cruce (From the bones of Blessed Paul of the Cross).

Good condition with its original glass.

Not opened.

Ecclesiastical seal and silk threads present.

PERIOD: 19th century
DIMENSION: 3 cm x 2.5 cm
SIZE: 1.2" x 1"

Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) was an Italian mystic and founder of the Congregation of the Passionists.
Born in Ovada, near Genoa, he grew up in deep Christian fervor.
From his youth, he felt the call to dedicate his life to the Passion of Christ.
In 1720, he experienced a mystical retreat during which he received the inspiration to found an order dedicated to meditating upon and preaching the Cross.
He established the Passionists, religious in black habits marked with a heart and a cross.
A great preacher, he traveled across Italy proclaiming God’s mercy and conversion.
Beatified in 1853 and canonized in 1867, he is honored as a saint throughout the Catholic Church.