Reliquary theca with relics of Saint Eulalia of Barcelona, Virgin and Martyr.
Oval glass-fronted brass theca housing very large (22 x 10 mm!) first-class ex ossibus relic of Saint Eulalia, Virgin and Martyr.The relic is affixed to a purple background and titled on a handwritten cedula label as S. Eulaliae V. et M. On the back, under protective cap, the theca is secured with a perfectly preserved red wax seal with a coat of arms of a Catholic bishop.
Saint Eulalia (Aulaire, Aulazia, Olalla, Eulària) (†303), co-patron saint of Barcelona, was a 13-year-old Roman Christian virgin who suffered martyrdom in Barcelona during the persecution of Christians in the reign of emperor Diocletian. For refusing to recant her Christianity, the Romans subjected her to thirteen tortures; including: putting her into a barrel with knives stuck into it and rolling it down a street, cutting off her breasts, crucifixion on an X-shaped cross, and finally, decapitation. Her feast day is commemorated on February 12 (August 22 in the Orthodox Church)
