Large documented reliquary with relics of St. Januarius and 10 Saints:
Large oval glass-fronted gilt brass reliquary theca housing relics of ten early Christian Saints and Martyrs centered around the first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relic of Saint Januarius, Martyr and Bishop of Benevento. Other relics are of the following saints: Saint Sebastian, Martyr; Saint Boniface, Martyr; Saint Constantinus of Perugia, Martyr; Saint Vincent, Martyr, Saint Cataldus, Bishop of Taranto; Saint Louis, King of France; Saint Victoria, Virgin & Martyr; Saint Restituta, Virgin & Martyr; Ex Veste (of the vestment) of Saint Andrew Avellino, Saint Joseph of Cupertino, and Ex Cineribus (of the bodily ashes) of Saint Cecilia, Virgin & Martyr. The relics are affixed to a ground of blue silk, surrounded by gilt flowers paperolle ornamentation, and identified in Latin on manuscript cedulae labels as S. Geruasii M. / S. Justini M. / S. Valentini M. / S. Rufinae M. / S. Fausti M. / S. Donati M. On the back, under a protective cap, theca is secured with an indistinct seal of red Spanish wax. The reliquary is accompanied by the original matching undated authentics document from the Archdiocese of Naples.
Saint Januarius, (also known as Januarius I of Benevento), was a martyr Bishop of Benevento. When Januarius was 20, he became Bishop of Naples and befriended Juliana of Nicomedia and Saint Sossius. During the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, he hid his fellow Christians and prevented them from being caught, but while visiting Sossius in jail, he was arrested. He and other Christians were condemned to be thrown to wild bears in the Flavian Amphitheater at Pozzuoli, but the sentence was changed due to fear of public disturbances, and they were instead beheaded. He is venerated as the principal patron of the city of Naples. His Feast Day is celebrated on 19 September (Catholic Church) and 21 April (the Eastern Church). In the United States, the "Feast of San Gennaro" is a highlight of the year for New York's Little Italy, with the saint's polychrome statue carried through the middle of a street fair stretching for blocks.



