FILIGREE ENAMEL RELIQUARY, ST. PHILOMENA RELIC, DOC!

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NOTE: THIS LISTING IS ALLOWED ACCORDING TO THE EBAY RULES SINCE THE RELIQUARY CONTAINS NO HUMAN BODY PART AND REMAINS BUT OBJECTS OF DEVOTION! A spiritual treasure, worthy of the treasury of a Cathedral: A filigree fire-gilt Altar (standing) reliquary with many fine details, an elegant masterpiece of the French goldsmiths of the 19th century, with enamel medaillons and colourful rhinestones. The reliquary is more than 10 inches in height and over and over decorated with the finest ornaments and flowers. Six cross-stars surround its center, the Holy Cross of Our Lord on top has a turquoise-coloured inlay. Limoges, ca. 1840. Inside, surrounded by red silk, in a sterling silver theca, placed on a golden star, surrounded by filigree gold thread decoration, is a significant relic of St. Philomena, Virgin Martyr The reliquary is sealed with the red wax seal of Bishop Joannes Costantini, Bishop of Melfi in the North of Italy. The reliquary comes with its ORIGINAL DOCUMENT, issued and signed on October 20, 1838 by Bishop Costantini, describing the relic as of "Sancta Filumenae Virginis et Martyris" and the theca as "silver, of oval shape, covered with crystal glass". Please note that reliquaries with still the original documents are VERY RARE. Although the red wax seal itself confirms the authenticity, the document also allows a public veneration, what is important if you want to donate or inherit it to your Parish church one day. · S. Philomena (Filumena), Virgin Martyr On May 25, 1802, excavators in the ancient Catacomb of St. Priscilla in Rome came upon a well-preserved shelf tomb sealed with terr-cotta slabs in the manner usually reserved for nobility or great martyrs. The tomb was marked with three tiles, inscribed with the following confusing words: LUMENA / PAXTE / CUMFI. However, if one places the first tile last and separates the words properly, the very intelligible sentence emerges: Pax tecum, Filumena, which is "Peace be with you, Philomena." Also inscribed on the tiles were symbols: a lily, arrows, an anchor and a lance, which would appear to indicate virginity and martyrdom. Inside the coffin t were discovered the remains of a girl of about twelve or thirteen years of age, along with a vial or ampulla of her dried blood. Transferred to the Treasury of the Rare Collections of Christian Antiquity in the Vatican, the relics were soon forgotten by the public, especially since no record existed of a virgin martyr named Philomena. But in 1805, a Neapolitan priest, Don Francesco di Lucia, travelling to Rome with his newly appointed bishop, requested and, after a brief delay, received the relics of this martyr "Philomena" to enshrine in his village church at Mugnano, near Naples. Immediately upon the official donation of St. Philomena's sacred relics, signal favors began to be granted through her intercession and unusual events to occur. The favors, graces and even miracles started to increase, even before her enshrinement at Mugnano, and they steadily grew in number tafter - such that this virgin martyr soon earned the title, "Philomena, Powerful with God". In 1837, only 35 years after her exhumation, Pope Gregory XVI elevated this "Wonder-Worker of the Nineteenth Century" to sainthood. In an act unprecedented in the history of Catholicism, she became the only person recognized by the Church as a Saint solely on the basis of her powerful intercession, since nothing historical was known of her except her name and the evidence of her martyrdom. St. Philomena has been successfully invoked by her supplicants in every sort of needed, such that she has become another patron of "hopeless" and "impossible" cases, like St. Jude or St. Rita, but she is known to be especially powerful in cases involving conversion of sinners, return to the Sacraments, expectant mothers, destitute mothers, problems with children, unhappiness in the home, sterility, priests and their work, help for the sick, the missions, real estate, money problems, food... read more

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