Reliquary theca with relic of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome

Oval glass-fronted brass reliquary theca housing relic of ​Saint Philip Neri. The relic is affixed to a red silk ground surrounded by silver wire and gilt paperolle ornamentation and identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as S. Philip Ner (Saint Philip Neri). On the back, under the protective cap, the theca is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of a coat of arms of Fr. Vitale Giuseppe de’ Buoi (†1787), Bishop of Faenza, Italy.

Saint Philip Neri, (Italian: Filippo Romolo Neri; † 1595), known as the Apostle of Rome, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of the Oratory of Filippo Neri. Patron of Rome, US Special Forces, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, laughter, humor, and joy.