TRUE CROSS CRYSTAL RELIQUARY

This 18th-century reliquary, shaped like a heraldic shield, is an exceptional piece of Catholic devotion, crafted from cut rock crystal and set in a finely wrought silver mount. It is presented in its original case made of tooled leather with foliage motifs, lined with pink silk, which underscores its high spiritual and artistic value.

The front of the reliquary highlights a relic of the True Cross of Christ, placed at the center of a hand-painted radiant cross that seems to emerge from a stylized mound evoking Golgotha. Blue and gold flames frame the scene, expressing the divine light and the power of Christ’s Passion. A handwritten Latin inscription on a golden scroll indicates its origin:

• Ex Ligno Ss mae Crucis Dni Nri Iesu Christi
  “[Relic] of the wood of the Most Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ”

This formulation is one of the most solemn designations for a relic of the True Cross.

The back of the reliquary reveals two other first-class relics, each identified by a handwritten label carefully affixed inside the lid:

• Ex Carne S. Caroli Borromei Card.
  → “[Fragment] of the flesh of Saint Charles Borromeo, cardinal”
  This is an extremely rare corporeal relic of the Archbishop of Milan, a major figure of the Catholic Reformation in the 16th century, canonized in 1610.

• Ex Oss. S. Aloysii Gonz. Conf.
  → “[Fragment] of bone of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, confessor”
  A young Jesuit who died in Rome in 1591, a model of purity and self-denial, canonized in 1726.

An ecclesiastical wax seal guarantees the integrity of the relic. The silk threads are intact.

Not opened.

DATE: 18th century
DIMENSIONS: 8 cm 
SIZE: 3.2"

These two saints, both from the high Italian nobility, embody two essential aspects of post-Tridentine spirituality: the pastoral and moral reform of the Church with Charles Borromeo, and the heroic youth offered to God with Aloysius Gonzaga.

This reliquary, by the rarity and nature of its relics, constitutes a true synthesis of Baroque Catholic spirituality. It unites in a single object the Passion of Christ (True Cross), episcopal and reforming sanctity (Saint Charles), and the exemplary virtue of consecrated youth (Saint Aloysius Gonzaga). It was very likely intended for private veneration by a high-ranking prelate or a member of the regular clergy, perhaps in a Jesuit or Milanese context.