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Relics associated with Jesus
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== Other relics == ===Nativity and childhood=== [[File:Sacra culla.jpg|thumb|Reliquary of the Holy Crib]] Wooden pieces claimed to be remnants of the manger of the baby Jesus reside in the '''Holy Crib''' reliquary at the Basilica of [[Santa Maria Maggiore]] in Rome.<ref name=AP19/> The relic consists of five narrow pieces of [[Ficus sycomorus|sycamore]] wood, which tradition holds to have been brought from the Holy Land either by [[Helena, mother of Constantine I|Empress Helena]] (see [[Helena, mother of Constantine I#Pilgrimage and relic discoveries|326–328 pilgrimage]]), or in the time of [[Pope Theodore I]] (642–649).<ref name=SA>{{cite journal |last= Longhurst |first= Christopher |title= A Roman Christmas Ritual: Micro-Architecture and the Theatre of the Presepio |journal=[[Duncan G. Stroik#Institute for Sacred Architecture and The Sacred Architecture Journal|Sacred Architecture]] |volume= 16 (Fall 2009) |publisher= The Institute for Sacred Architecture |url= https://www.sacredarchitecture.org/articles/a_roman_christmas_ritual_micro_architecture_and_the_theatre_of_the_presepio |access-date= 24 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=TJC>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Craughwell |first= Thomas J. |title= Holy Manger (first venerated in the fourth or seventh century) |encyclopedia= Saints Preserved: An Encyclopedia of Relics |year= 2011 |pages= 123–124 |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group]] |isbn= 978-0307590749 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jQblhT1XtkMC&pg=PA124 |access-date= 24 December 2023}}</ref> In 2019, a fragment of the crib was removed from the Holy Crib reliquary and placed on permanent display at the [[Church of Saint Catherine, Bethlehem|Church of Saint Catherine]] in [[Bethlehem]].<ref name=AP19>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |agency=The Associated Press |title=Relic thought to be from Jesus' manger arrives in Bethlehem |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/religion/relic-thought-be-jesus-manger-arrives-bethlehem-n1093676 |work=nbcnews.com |date=2019-11-30 |access-date=2019-12-01}}</ref> [[Agiou Pavlou monastery|St. Paul's Monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]] claims to have relics of the '''[[Gifts of the Magi]]''', while in [[Croatia]], [[Dubrovnik]]'s cathedral claims to have the '''[[swaddling clothes]]''' the [[Child Jesus|baby Jesus]] wore during the [[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple|presentation at the Temple]].<ref>{{citation |last=Janekovic-Romer|first=Zdenka|title=Javni rituali u politickom diskursu humanistickog Dubrovnika|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/76971|language=hr|page=78|publisher=Zavod za hrvatsku povijest Filozofskog fakulteta Zagreb - Institute of Croatian history, Faculty of Philosophy Zagreb|year=1996}}</ref> ===The Last Supper=== ====Last Supper knife==== The knife used by Jesus during the [[Last Supper]] was also a matter of veneration in the Middle Ages, according to the 12th-century ''Guide for Pilgrims'' to [[Santiago de Compostela]].<ref>{{citation |last= Snoek |first= Godefridus |title= Medieval Piety from Relics to the Eucharist |publisher= E.J. Brill |location= Leiden |year= 1995 |isbn= 978-90-04-10263-7 |page=248 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vXtHb-OODMkC&pg=PA281}}</ref> According to French traveler Jules-Léonard Belin the knife used by Jesus to slice bread was permanently exhibited in the Logetta of [[St Mark's Campanile]] in Venice.<ref>{{citation |last=Belin|first=Julien-Léonard|title=Le Simplon et l'Italie septentrionale: promenades et pèlerinages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bOQNAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA218|language=fr|page=218|publisher=Belin-Leprieur|year=1843}}</ref> ====Holy Chalice (Holy Grail)==== {{Main|Holy Chalice}} The [[Holy Chalice]] is the container Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve wine ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 26:27–28).<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matthew|26:27–28|NIV}}</ref> Several Holy Chalice relics are reported in the legend of the [[Holy Grail]], though not part of Catholic tradition.<ref>{{CathEncy| wstitle = Chalice| title = Chalice| first =Herbert | last = Thurston}}</ref> Of the existing chalices, only the {{lang|es|Santo Cáliz de Valencia}} (Holy Chalice of the [[Cathedral of Valencia]]) is recognized as a "historical relic" by the Vatican,<ref>{{citation|title=Official website of the Valencia cathedral - The Holy Chalice of the Lord Supper|chapter-url=http://www.catedraldevalencia.es/en/el-santo-caliz_historia.php|chapter=The History of the Holy Chalice }}</ref> although not as the actual chalice used at the Last Supper.<ref>{{Harvnb |Griffin|2001|p=103}}</ref> Though not claiming the relic's authenticity, both [[Pope John Paul II]] and [[Pope Benedict XVI]] have venerated this chalice at the Cathedral of Valencia.<ref>{{citation|title=Pope to Venerate Holy Grail|url=http://www.zenit.org/article-16519?l=english|publisher=Zenit News|date=2006-07-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725102819/http://www.zenit.org/article-16519?l=english|archive-date=2010-07-25}}</ref> ===Crown of Thorns=== {{Main|Crown of thorns}} [[File:Couronne_d'epines_-_Crown_of_Thorns_Notre_Dame_Paris.jpg|right|thumb|[[Relic]] of the crown of thorns, received by French [[Louis IX of France|King Louis IX]] from [[Baldwin II, Latin Emperor|emperor Baldwin II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davisson |first1=Darrell D |title=Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415939294 |editor1-last=Kleinhenz |editor1-first=Christopher |volume=1 |location=Abingdon, England |page=955}}</ref> It was preserved at [[Notre-Dame de Paris]] until April 2019, when it was moved to the Louvre following [[Notre-Dame fire|a fire]].]] The relics of [[Passion (Christianity)|the Passion]] presented at [[Notre-Dame de Paris|Notre-Dame Cathedral]] in [[Paris]] include a piece of the True Cross from Rome as delivered by Helena, along with a Holy Nail and the Crown of Thorns. The [[Gospel of John]] tells that, in the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Roman soldiers mocked Jesus by placing a thorny crown on his head (John 19:12).<ref>{{bibleverse|John|19:12|NIV}}</ref> The crown is a circle of cane bundled together and held by gold threads. The thorns were attached to this braided circle, which measured {{cvt|21|cm}} in diameter. The seventy thorns were reportedly divided up between the Byzantine emperors and the Kings of France. The accounts of pilgrims to Jerusalem report the Crown of Thorns. In 409, Paulinus of Nola states the Crown was kept in the basilica on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. In 570, Anthony the Martyr reports the Crown of Thorns in the Basilica of Zion. Around 575, Cassiodorus wrote, "Jerusalem has the Column, here, there is the Crown of Thorns!" Between the 7th and the 10th centuries, the Crown of Thorns was moved to the Byzantine emperors' chapel in Constantinople for safekeeping. In 1238, the Latin Emperor [[Baldwin II of Constantinople]] pawned the relics for credit to a Venetian bank. [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]], the king of France redeemed the Crown from the Venetian Bank. On 10 August 1239, the king deposited 29 relics in [[Villeneuve-l'Archevêque]]. On 19 August 1239, the relics arrived in Paris. Wearing a simple tunic and with bare feet, the King placed the Crown of Thorns and other relics in the palace chapel in a structure he commissioned. During the French revolution, the relics were stored in the National Library. After the Concordat in 1801, the relics were given to the archbishop of Paris who placed them in the Cathedral treasury on 10 August 1806. Since then, these relics have been conserved by the canons of the Metropolitan Basilica Chapter, who are in charge of venerations, and guarded by the Knights of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Napoleon I and Napoleon III each offered reliquaries for the crown of thorns. They were on display at Notre-Dame Cathedral during scheduled religious ceremonies, until a serious fire struck the cathedral on 15 April 2019.<ref>[http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/Veneration-of-the-Crown-of-Thorns Notre Dame de Paris - Veneration of the Crown] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028110046/http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/Veneration-of-the-Crown-of-Thorns |date=2010-10-28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/04/16/notre-dame-cathedral-art-relics-saved-fire-firefighters-crown-of-thorns-paris/3485917002/|title=Notre Dame fire: Paris Fire Brigade chaplain braved the blaze to rescue cathedral treasures|website=[[USA Today]] |date=2019-04-17}}</ref> ===Crucifixion=== [[File:Heiliger Nagel 1.jpg|thumb|Relic with a [[holy nail]] at the [[Bamberg Cathedral]]|alt=|374x374px]] Many relics currently displayed result from the journey of [[Helena (empress)|Helena]], the mother of [[Constantine the Great]], to [[Syria Palaestina]] in the 4th century.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} The authenticity of many of these relics is questioned. For instance, the [[Holy Nails]] brought back by Helena, some believe the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' notes are problematic based on the number of claimed relics:<ref name="HN" /> {{blockquote|Very little reliance can be placed upon the authenticity of the thirty or more holy nails which are still venerated, or which have been venerated until recent times, in such treasuries as that of Santa Croce in Rome, or those of Venice, Aachen, Escurial, Nuremberg, Prague, etc. Probably the majority began by professing to be facsimiles which had touched or contained filings from some other nail whose claim was more ancient.}} The [[Scala Sancta]], the stairs from [[Pontius Pilate]]'s praetorium, ascended by Jesus during his trial, were brought to Rome by [[Helena of Constantinople]] in the 4th century according to tradition.{{sfnp|Nickell|2007|p=96}} The [[Basilica of the Holy Blood]] in [[Bruges]], [[Belgium]], claims a specimen of Christ's blood on a cloth in a [[phial]], given by [[Thierry of Alsace]] after the 12th century.{{sfnp|Nickell|2007|p=169}} Other claimed relics, based on the [[Crucifixion of Christ]] include: * The [[Holy Coat]]: The possession of the seamless garment of Christ ({{langx|la|tunica inconsultilis}}; John 19:23),<ref>{{Bibleverse|John|19:23|NIV}}</ref> for which the soldiers cast lots at the Crucifixion, is claimed by the cathedral of [[Trier]], Germany, and by the parish church of [[Argenteuil]], France. The Argenteuil church claims that their Holy Coat was brought by [[Charlemagne]].{{sfnp|Nickell|2007|p=104}} * The crucifixion site called Golgotha, is in the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] in Jerusalem. Inside the church the crucifixion site consists of a pile of rock about {{convert|7|m|ft}} long by {{convert|3|m|ft}} wide by {{convert|4.8|m|ft}}.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} * The [[Iron Crown of Lombardy]] and [[Bridle of Constantine]] are reported to be made from the Holy Nails.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Holy Nails |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10672a.htm |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> * The [[Holy Lance]] is the spear used by the Roman soldier [[Longinus (hagiography)|Longinus]] to pierce Jesus' side when he was on the cross.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy Lance {{!}} History, Relic, Legend, & Authenticity {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Holy-Lance |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> * The [[Holy Sponge]] is claimed by numerous holders, including the church [[Santa Croce in Gerusalemme]] in Rome. * The Column of the Flagellation, which Jesus was tied to during the [[Flagellation of Christ]], is reportedly in the [[Basilica di Santa Prassede|Basilica of Saint Praxedes]] in Rome. ===Bodily relics=== {{further|Relic of the Holy Blood}} Christian teaching states that [[Ascension of Jesus|Christ ascended into heaven corporeally]]. Therefore, the only parts of his body available for [[veneration]] are those obtained prior to the Ascension. At various points in history, a number of churches in Europe have claimed to possess the [[Holy Prepuce]], Jesus' [[foreskin]] from his [[Circumcision of Jesus|Circumcision]]; tears shed by Christ when mourning Lazarus; the blood of Christ shed during the crucifixion; a milk tooth that fell out of the mouth of Jesus at the age of 9; beard hair, head hair, Christ's nails.<ref>[[Jacques Collin de Plancy|Jacques Albin Simon Collin de Plancy]]. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ADictionnaire_critique_des_reliques_et_des_images_miraculeuses%2C_T2.pdf&page=53 Dictionnaire critique des reliques et des images miraculeuses, T. 2. 1827. / Jésus-Christ / P. 43-80.]</ref><ref>[[Émile Nourry|P. Saintyves]]. [https://archive.org/details/lesreliquesetles00sain/page/106/mode/2up Les reliques et les images légendaires. — Paris: Mercure de France, 1912. — / Les reliques corporelles du Christ / P. 107—184.]</ref>
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