1875 Vatican reliquary monstrance with relic of the True Cross of Jesus Christ

A small ornate bronze reliquary monstrance housing in the central crystal-fronted round cavity a removable silver cruciform theca with particles from the Wood from the True Cross of Jesus Christ. The relics are displayed in a cruciform shape on the ground of red silk. The theca itself is engraved with an inscription(front) 1875 // 7BRE // LOURDES (October 7, 1875, Lourdes [France]), and on the back D12 L20825 V3 M29. The silver theca can be opened by removing the bottom screw revealing a seal of read Spanish wax with an imprint of a coat of arms of Monsignor Costantino Patrizi Naro (†1876), Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Vicar General of the Roman Curia.

The True Cross is a significant Christian relic that is believed to contain physical remnants of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, according to Church tradition. In 326-28, Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, traveled to the Holy Land and discovered what was believed to be the hiding place of three crosses used in the crucifixion of Jesus and two thieves, St. Dismas and Gestas. A miracle then revealed which of the three was the True Cross. Over time, fragments of the True Cross were broken up and distributed widely. In fact, Cyril of Jerusalem noted in 348 that the "whole earth is full of the relics of the Cross of Christ." Many of the small relics of the True Cross found in Europe were obtained from Constantinople after the city was sacked during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. These relics were divided by the present bishops and distributed among knights who then donated them to various churches and monasteries. Today, these fragments remain important symbols of faith for many Christians.