Reliquary theca with relic of St. Pope Gregory I (the Great), Doctor of the Church

Oval glass-fronted brass reliquary theca housing first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relic of ​Saint ​Pope Gregory I. 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. Greg. P. (Saint Gregory, Pope). 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 Pope Gregory I (†604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was one of the Latin Fathers and a Doctor of the Church. He is considered a saint in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, various Lutheran denominations, and other Protestant denominations. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian mission, to convert the then largely pagan Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. The epithet Saint Gregory the Dialogist has been attached to him in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues. Throughout the Middle Ages, he was known as "the Father of Christian Worship" because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day. His contributions to the development of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, still in use in the Byzantine Rite, were so significant that he is generally recognized as its de facto author. Immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. He is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers. His Feastday is commemorated on 3 September (Latin Church) and 12 March (Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Churches, Anglicanism, Lutheranism).