Reliquary theca with a relic of the Blessed Andrea Franchi O.P.

Oval glass-fronted brass pendant reliquary theca housing the first-class ex carne (of the flesh) relic of the Blessed Andrea Franchi.  The relic is affixed to a gilt paper starburst on a ground of red-colored silk, surrounded by silver wire ornamentation, and identified in Latin on a fancy manuscript cedula label as Ex Carne. B. Andreae Franchi (of the flesh of the Blessed Andrea Franchi). On the back, the theca is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of a coat of arms of Monsignor Ferdinando Minucci (†1856), Archbishop of Florence, Italy (1828-1856).

Blessed Andrea Franchi (†1401) was an Italian Roman Catholic member of the Order of Preachers who served as the Bishop of Pistoia before his resignation due to ill health. Franchi became a noted preacher and evangelist who was also known for his holiness and his deep commitment to the poor of his diocese. His remains were deemed to be incorrupt after their exhumation in 1613 - a sweet odor was said to have emanated from his body following the exhumation. The confirmation of the late bishop's 'cultus' (or popular devotion) allowed for Pope Benedict XV to confirm Franchi's beatification on 21 November 1921.