LATE 17th CENTURY SILVER RELIQUARY WITH A RARE RELIC OF THE HOLY SHROUD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

A unique piece from the private collection of a Roman Monsignor: A wonderful filigree silver reliquary, a masterpiece of the Roman silversmiths of this golden age of Baroque art, about 3 inches (7.5 cm) tall, with fine detailing and silver flowers, sealed with the red wax seal of Cardinal Frederico Caccia (1635 - 1699).

Inside the theca, the precious relic is surrounded by filigree gold paperoles and silver thread decoration. In the center is the most precious relic, one of the rarest of which we know, a fragment of the Holy Shroud of Our Lord Jesus Christ, venerated in Turin, and inscribed S.[anta] Sindone D.N.J.C. [the Holy Shroud of Our Lord Jesus Christ].

The tiny part of the Shroud was most likely detached in 1694 when repairs were made to it by Sebastian Valfrè, and presented between 1695 and 1699 by Duke Victor Amadeus II (1666 - 1732) whose family, the Savoy, was the owner of the Shroud at the time. The Savoy have erected a magnifiscient Chapel of the Holy Shroud, and the reliquaries containing small pieces of the Shorud itself were most likely bestowed to commemorate the Chapel's competion in 1694 after 27 years in construction.

It is well known, that Savoys were trying to leverage the phenomenal success of the veneration of the Shroud to achieve dominance in Piedmont, to transform Turin into the new absolutist capital, and to gain international recognition as a ruling house of royal rank. Therefore, it is likely, that a number of reliquaries containing small pieces of the Shroud were gifted by the Duke Victor Amadeus II to achieve the dynastic aspirations of the Savoy.

Portrait of Cardinal Frederico Caccia, Archbishop of Milan, (1635 - 1699)
Rome, late 18th cent. Engraving by Benedictus Fariat after a painting by Ludovico David.

Provenance:

The relic comes from the life-long collection of the late Monsignor Corrado Balducci, obtained directly from the executor of his estate.

Monsignor Corrado Balducci, (1923 - 2008), was a Roman Catholic theologian of the Vatican Curia, a close friend of the Pope, long time exorcist for the Archdiocese of Rome, and a Prelate of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Monsignor Balducci was a member of a small group that acts as consultants to the Vatican on various matters concerning humans and spirit or demonic contact. Monsignor Balducci often appeared on Italian TV to talk about religion, satanism, and other topics. He has written several books about the subliminal messages in rock and heavy metal music, diabolic possessions, and extraterrestrials, including "O Diabo: ...Vivo e Atuante no Mundo," and "Adoratori del diavolo e rock satanico."

The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy.

The origins of the shroud and its image are the subject of intense debate among scientists, theologians, historians and researchers. Some contend that the shroud is the cloth placed on the body of Jesus Christ at the time of his burial, and that the face image is the Holy Face of Jesus. Others contend that the artifact was created in the Middle Ages. The Catholic Church has neither formally endorsed nor rejected the shroud, but in 1958 Pope Pius XII approved of the image in association with the Roman Catholic devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.

On the upper right edge of the Shroud a fragment was removed at the turn of the 18th century to spread as relics for private veneration by Cardinals and important dignitaries.