RELICS OF SAINT BARBARA AND SAINT VICTORY

Rare pewter reliquary with a glass front containing the relics of Saint Barbara and Saint Victoire.

The relics are fixed on a purple silk background and they are identified in Latin on two handwritten labels as: S. Barbara VM and S. Victoria VM

On the back, an ecclesiastical wax seal guarantees the integrity of the relics. The silk threads are present.

Not opened.

PERIOD : 18th century
DIMENSIONS : 3.7 cm X 3 cm
SIZE : 1.5" X 1.2"

Saint Barbara is a Christian martyr of the 3rd century, venerated as the patron saint of firefighters, miners and artillerymen. According to legend, her father, a wealthy pagan, locked her in a tower to protect her from the outside world. Converted to Christianity, she had a third window pierced in her tower in homage to the Holy Trinity. Her father, furious, handed her over to the Roman authorities, who tortured her before condemning her to death. It was her own father who beheaded her, but he was immediately struck by lightning as divine punishment. Her cult spread widely in Europe, particularly among professions exposed to fire and explosions. Her feast day is December 4.

Saint Victoire is a 3rd-century Christian martyr, often associated with Saint Anatolia. According to tradition, she was a Roman noblewoman betrothed against her will to a pagan. Refusing to abandon her Christian faith, she was arrested and sentenced to death. She is said to have been killed by a soldier on the orders of her fiancé or the Roman authorities. Her cult has spread, and she is venerated as a holy martyr. Her name is notably linked to Mont Sainte-Victoire, in Provence, which is said to have been named in her honor. Her feast day is December 23.