1810 Documented reliquary theca with relics of St. Apollonia & St. Lucia of Syracuse
Oval glass-fronted silver reliquary theca housing the first-class ex ossibus (of a bone) relics of two female martyr Saints: Saint Apolonia, and Saint Lucia of Syracuse. Precious relics are affixed to a silk ground and identified in Latin on manuscript cedulae labels as Ex Oss / S. Apolon. / S. Luciae (of the bone of Saint Apolonia, Saint Lucia). On the back, under the protective cap, the theca is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of a coat of arms of MonsignorCarlo Francesco Maria Caselli O.S.M. (†), Bishop of Parma (1804–1828). The relic is accompanied by the original matching authentics document issued and sealed by the order of Cardinal Caselli in 1810.
Saint Apollonia (†249) was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius. According to church tradition, her torture included having all of her teeth violently pulled out or shattered. For this reason, she is popularly regarded as the patroness of dentistry and those suffering from toothache or other dental problems. She is venerated in Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy, and her feast day is celebrated on February 9.
St. Lucia of Syracuse (†304), also known as Saint Lucy, or Saint Lucia (Italian: Santa Lucia), was a young Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution who is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Churches. She is one of eight women, who along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass. She is a patron of the blind; martyrs; Perugia, Italy; Mtarfa, Malta; epidemics; salesmen, Syracuse, Italy, throat infections, and writers.
