Reliquary theca with relic of St. Joseph of Leonessa, O.F.M. Cap

Oval glass-fronted brass reliquary theca housing relic of Saint Joseph of Leonessa, O.F.M. Cap. The relic is affixed on a background of silk, surrounded by a silver wire and gold paperolle ornamentation and identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as S. Jos. a Leon. (Saint Joseph of Leonessa). The reliquary is secured by the perfectly preserved seal of red Spanish wax with a coat of arms of Francesco Gaetano Incontri (†1781), the Archbishop of Florence, Italy (p. 1741-1781).

Saint Joseph of Leonessa, O.F.M. Cap., (Italian: Giuseppe da Leonessa) (†1612) is a saint of the Catholic Church and a Capuchin monk who preached to the poor and reconciled feuding families as well as warring cities which had been at odds for years. He was beatified in 1737 by Pope Clement XII and canonized by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746. His feast day is kept on February 4, within the Franciscan Order.