RELIC OF SAINT JOACHIM

Rare silver reliquary with a glass front containing the relic of Saint Joachim. The relic is fixed in the center of a richly decorated setting. decorated with gold-edged paperolles, silver threads and it is identified in Latin on a handwritten label as: S. Joachim . A red fabric background provides contrast and highlights the relic; this color, omnipresent in the Christian liturgy, symbolizes the blood of Christ and his redemptive sacrifice.

The red wax seal affixed by the Church not only guarantees the authenticity of the relic, but also that the reliquary has not been opened and that the relic has not been handled since it was closed. It thus ensures its intact preservation, providing complete certainty as to its provenance and integrity.

PERIOD : 18th century
DIMENSIONS : 3.8 cm X 3 cm
SIZE : 1.5" X 1.2"

Saint Joachim is, according to Christian tradition, the father of the Virgin Mary and the husband of Saint Anne. His story is mainly reported in apocryphal texts, such as the Protevangelium of James. He is described as a just and pious man, long deprived of children before God answered his prayers. An angel is said to have announced to him the miraculous birth of Mary, destined to become the mother of Christ. His cult developed in the Middle Ages, particularly in the East and the West. He is celebrated on July 26, at the same time as Saint Anne, in the Catholic Church. Saint Joachim is often represented as a bearded old man, in the company of Saint Anne and the young Mary.