1839 Documented reliquary theca with relics of St. Francis Solanus, Patron of South America

Oval glass-fronted brass reliquary theca housing the first-class ex ossibus (from the bone) relic of Saint Francis Solanus. The relic is affixed to a silk ground surrounded by gilt paper and silver wire ornamentation and identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as S. Francis Sola. C. (Saint Francis Solanus, Confessor).  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 Father Vitale Loschi (†1842), Bishop of Parma (1831-1842). The relic is accompanied by the original matching authentics document issued and sealed by the order of Bishop Loschi in 1839.

Saint Francis Solanus O.F.M., (Francisco Solano y Jiménez) (†1610) was a Spanish Franciscan friar and missionary in South America, honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He was beatified by Pope Clement X in 1675, and canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. He is a Patron Saint of Argentina; Bolivia; Chile; Paraguay; Peru; and also against earthquakes. His feast day is commemorated on 14 July.