Vatican reliquary theca with relic of St. Stephen, the Protomartyr
Round glass-fronted yellow-metal reliquary theca housing the first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relic of Saint Stephan, the Protomartyr. The relic is affixed to a red silk ground and identified in Latin on a typeset cedula label as S. Stephani Protm. (Saint Stephen Protomartyr). 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 Monsignor Ugo Poletti, the Vicar General of Rome (1973-1997).
Saint Stephen (†c.34), venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who would later become a follower of Jesus and known as Paul the Apostle. The relics of the protomartyr were later translated to Rome by Pope Pelagius II. He is considered to be a patron of altar servers; casket makers; deacons; headaches; horses; masons. His feast day is celebrated by the Western Church on the 26th of December and on the 27th of December by the Eastern Church.
