RELIQUARY OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE AND 2 SAINTS

Rare reliquary in silvered bronze with a glass front containing relics of Saint Anne, Saint Mary Magdalene, and Saint John of the Cross. The relics are placed on a red silk background and surrounded by silver thread decoration. They are identified in Latin on handwritten labels as follows: 

 "S. Annae M.V."
→ Sanctae Annae Matris Virginis
Translation: Saint Anne, Mother of the Virgin Mary

"S. Mariae Magd. Pœnit."
→ Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae Pœnitentis
Translation: Saint Mary Magdalene, the penitent

"S. Joann a Cruce"
→ Sanctus Joannes a Cruce
Translation: Saint John of the Cross

Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, embodies the origins of faith and the sacred transmission of life. She represents blessed motherhood and the human roots of the Incarnation. Saint Mary Magdalene, a figure of conversion and repentant love, symbolizes the return to God through mercy. She is the sinner turned disciple, a soul transformed by grace. Saint John of the Cross, for his part, embodies the mystical dimension of union with God, through the dark night and contemplation. Together, they trace a spiritual path: from birth in the faith (Anne), to the conversion of the heart (Mary Magdalene), and on to mystical union (John of the Cross). This reliquary thus celebrates a complete journey of sanctification.

Good condition with original glass.

Unopened.

Ecclesiastical seal and silk threads present.

PERIOD: Between 1816 and 1839
DIMENSIONS: 3 cm x 2.5 cm
SIZE: 1.2" x 1"

Saint Anne is the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus. She is venerated as a model of motherhood and faith in Christian tradition. Her cult developed early, especially in the East, and later in the West. She embodies the human origin of the mystery of the Incarnation by transmitting the faith to her daughter Mary. Patroness of mothers, educators, and grandparents, she is invoked for the protection of families.

Saint Mary Magdalene was a faithful disciple of Christ, witness to His Passion and Resurrection. Traditionally identified as a repentant sinner, she embodies divine mercy and transformation through love. She was the first to see the risen Christ and to announce the news to the apostles. Her cult grew strongly during the Middle Ages, especially in Provence. She is the patroness of penitents and seekers of inner truth.

Saint John of the Cross was a 16th-century Spanish Carmelite, a great mystic and Doctor of the Church. A reformer of the Carmelite Order alongside Saint Teresa of Ávila, he lived a life of asceticism and contemplation. His writings, such as The Dark Night and The Spiritual Canticle, express the soul’s union with God through interior purification. He embodies the mystical path marked by silence, detachment, and pure love. He is the patron of poets and contemplatives.