RELIC OF SAINT JOHN OF CAPISTRANO

Rare oval bronze reliquary with glass front, containing a relic of Saint John of Capistrano. The relic, placed on a red textile background, is framed with a twisted metal wire and identified by a handwritten Latin label: « S. Io: a Cap. » (abbreviation of Sanctus Joannes a Capistrano). The ensemble is in good condition for use, retaining its original glass, its ecclesiastical seal, and its original silk sealing threads, all still present, attesting that it has never been opened; age-related wear and dust visible beneath the glass, consistent with its age; original internal assembly and perfectly legible label.

The authenticated relics of Saint John of Capistrano (1386–1456) are sought after, as the saint is one of the great Franciscan figures of the Observant reform and the spiritual hero of the victory of Belgrade (1456), alongside John Hunyadi. His relics are most commonly found in collections of Franciscan orders and in the regions of Central Europe where his cult was particularly active.

PERIOD : 18th century
DIMENSIONS : 4 cm × 3.2 cm
SIZE : 1.6" × 1.25"

Trained as a jurist, he became a Friar Minor of the Observance and a disciple of Saint Bernardine of Siena; John of Capistrano traveled throughout Italy, the Empire, and Hungary as a preacher of penance and a reformer of ecclesiastical life. As a papal inquisitor against the Hussite heresies, he was above all the spiritual leader of the Christian militias during the siege of Belgrade (1456), where his fervor galvanized the troops who routed the army of Mehmed II. He died shortly thereafter, struck by the plague in Ilok (Croatia). Canonized in 1690, he is the patron saint of military chaplains, jurists, and itinerant missionaries. His feast day is celebrated on October 23.