1783 Documented Silver Theca with Relic of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, the Apostolic Doctor

Small oval glass-fronted silver reliquary pendant theca housing a second-class ex pallio (“from the cloak”) pre-canonization relic of Saint Lawrence of Brindisi. The Holy relic is displayed against ivory silk within a metallic sunburst, surrounded by gold-paper filigree and silver cannetille ornament. It is identified in Latin on a manuscript circumferential cedula label as “Ex Pallio B. Laurentii a Brundusio O. Cap.” (From the cloak of Blessed Lawrence of Brindisi, of the Capuchin Order). On the back, the theca is secured with red silk cords and a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of the coat of arms of Archbishop Giovanni Lercari (†1802), Archbishop of Genoa (1767–1802). The theca is accompanied by the matching authentics document issued on July 10, 1783, by Archbishop Lercari. The document identifies the relic as “particulam ex Pallio Beati Laurentii a Brundusio Ordinis Capucinorum Confessoris” (“a particle from the cloak of Blessed Lawrence of Brindisi, Confessor of the Capuchin Order”) and bears Lercari’s engraved coat of arms, an applied ecclesiastical seal, and a secretarial countersignature.

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, O.F.M. Cap. (†1619) was an Italian Capuchin priest, missionary, diplomat, and gifted biblical scholar fluent in several languages. He promoted Catholic reform throughout Central Europe, served as Vicar General of the Capuchins, and undertook important papal diplomatic missions. Beatified by Pope Pius VI on May 23, 1783, he was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on December 8, 1881, and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Saint John XXIII in 1959. Patron of Brindisi, his feast day is July 21.