1807 Documented Silver Theca with a Relic of Holy Thorn from the Crown of Thorns of Christ

Small oval glass-fronted silver reliquary theca housing a relic of the Sacred Thorn from the Crown of Thorns of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy relic is displayed vertically against crimson silk, enclosed within an oval border of gold ribbon and surrounded by metallic cannetille ornament. It is identified in Latin on manuscript cedula label as “De Spina Coronae // D.N.I.C.” (From the Crown of Thorns of Our Lord Jesus Christ). On the back, under the removable protective cap, the theca is secured with red silk cords and a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of the coat of arms of Bishop Fr. Giuseppe Bernardino Pecci, O.S.B. Oliv. (†1809), Bishop of Montalcino (1774–1809), Olivetan Benedictine, Domestic Prelate of His Holiness, Assistant at the Papal Throne, Count Palatine, and Abbot of Sant’Antimo. The theca is accompanied by the matching authentics document issued at the Episcopal Palace in Montalcino on May 22, 1807, by Bishop Pecci. The document identifies the relic as being from a thorn of the Crown of Our Lord Jesus Christ and bears the bishop’s printed coat of arms and applied ecclesiastical seal.

The Crown of Thorns is one of the principal relics of the Passion of Christ, traditionally identified with the crown placed upon His head by Roman soldiers before the Crucifixion. Preserved first in Jerusalem and subsequently in Constantinople, the Crown was acquired from Baldwin II, Latin Emperor of Constantinople, by King Saint Louis IX of France in 1239 and brought solemnly to Paris. Saint Louis commissioned the Sainte-Chapelle as a monumental reliquary to house the Crown and other relics of the Passion. Individual thorns traditionally associated with the Crown were separated and presented over the centuries to churches, monasteries, rulers, and prelates throughout Christendom.