Oval silvered brass glass-fronted pendant reliquary theca housing the first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relics of Saint Barnabas, the Apostle. The relic is affixed to the background of red silk ground surrounded by silver wire ornamentation and identified in Latin on a bi-color manuscript cedula label as S. Barnabae A. (St. Barnabas, Apostle). On the back, under a protective cap, the theca is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint with a coat of arms of Cardinal Giulio Maria Cardinal della Somaglia (†1830), Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria sopra Minerva and Vicar General of the Vatican under Pope Pius VII. The relic is accompanied by the original matching authentics document issued by Monsignor della Somaglia in 1803.
Saint Barnabas, was one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. Named an apostle in Acts 14:14, he and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers. They traveled together making more converts, and participated in the Council of Jerusalem (c. 50). Barnabas and Paul successfully evangelized among the "God-fearing" Gentiles who attended synagogues in various Hellenized cities of Anatolia. He is a holy patron of Cyprus, Antioch, against hailstorms, and invoked as peacemaker.