1991 Documented Theca with Relic of St. Benedict Joseph Labre, the Beggar of Rome

Round glass-fronted yellow-metal reliquary theca housing a first-class ex ossibus (“from the bones”) relic of Saint Benedict Joseph Labre. Displayed against crimson silk, the relic is identified by the Latin cedula label: “S. Bened. J. Lab. C.” (Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, Confessor). On the back, under the protective cap, the theca is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of the coat of arms of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (commonly known as the Carmelites). Accompanied by the matching authentics document issued in Rome on May 5, 1991, by Father Redemptus Maria Valabek, O.Carm., Postulator General.

Saint Benedict Joseph Labre (†1783) was a French pilgrim and Franciscan tertiary known as the “Beggar of Rome.” After several unsuccessful attempts to enter monastic life, he embraced a vocation of voluntary poverty, traveling on foot to many of Europe’s principal shrines while devoting himself to prayer and Eucharistic adoration. He spent his final years among Rome’s poor and died near the Church of Santa Maria ai Monti. Beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1860, he was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881. Patron of the homeless and pilgrims, his feast day is April 16.