RELIC OF SAINT ROSE OF VITERBO

Rare silver reliquary with a glass front containing the relic of Saint Rose of Viterbo . 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: Ex habitu D. Rosae v. Vit. (From the habit of the blessed Rose, virgin of Viterbo.). 

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 : 4 cm X 3 cm
SIZE : 1.6" X 1.2"

Saint Rose of Viterbo (1233–1251) was a young Italian mystic of the 13th century, known for her religious fervor from childhood. She preached conversion and penance, despite her young age, and courageously opposed Emperor Frederick II, in favor of the pope. Rejected by the authorities of Viterbo, she was expelled from her hometown but continued to bear witness to her faith. She attempted to enter the Poor Clares , but was prevented from doing so due to her fragile health. She died at only 18 years old, and her body, found intact years later, rests in the monastery of Santa Chiara in Viterbo. Canonized in 1457, she is the patron saint of Viterbo and the Franciscan tertiaries.