medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Hi,
Well it certainly SEEMED like a sale, though it was in 1998 so I can't
recall correctly if it indeed said 'donation' on the sign.
However, I was just in Rome in March and in the Vatican gift shop upstairs
they sell the same kind of relic as my Gennaro...a little white piece of
something with a red background, surrounded by either a silver or gold color
medallion that actually says 'relic' on it.
AT this gift shop they were selling relics of John XXIII, which I found
peculiar as he has not been officially sainted yet and only beatified, which
brings me to an interesting question...can one get relics from one who is
only beatified, or does the person have to be officially sainted before
relics mean anything?
The John XXIII relics were, I believe, around 3 or 4 Euros each, so I got a
bunch to give to friends, as well as a pair in both silver and gold for
earrings. I put diamond studs through the 'holder-thing' and voila! Lovely
relic earrings. With matching pendant, of course. They had bins of them
right there with all the other great tacky pope souvenirs (sp?).
Then on the plane ride to K'zoo this year I sat next to a woman who was
going to Ohio where it was reported a saint (I forget which one) was
supposed to make an appearance. She had an extra relic so she traded it for
one of my John XXIII.
The relic she gave me is oval shaped, whereas my gennaro and john xxiii are
round. Hers says "Ex Indumentis" on one side, and on the other it says "eivs
in obiiv nro prae sentia mvniamvp", with an engraving of someone, though I
can't tell who it is. He looks to have some form of hood on his robe and a
moustache, and he's holding an open book in one hand and a cross in the
other, and in the background it looks like two big, lit candles.
Anyone know who the mystery saint could be?
The back of my relic is engraved with San Gennaro, and says San Gennaro on
it.
Wendy Reardon
PS--Some day when I'm the Ambassador to the Vatican...could we keep quiet
about the illicit airborne relic trading? I'd hate to have something like
that ruin me... :)
There is no better place for great tacky souvenirs than Rome. I regret not
having bought a Pieta bottle opener at the gift shop on the landing on the
way up to the cupola of St. Peter's, but I did bring Phyllis Jestice back a
huge lollipop with John Paul II on it, and a snowdome with John Paul II
inside for my publisher, which I found very amusing since it hardly ever
snows in Rome.
Makes you wonder if the pope himself has all these items in his office. I
would, if I were pope.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marjorie Greene" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 10:40 AM
Subject: [M-R] trafficking in relics
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Wendy,
>
> I'm curious about the "sale" of a San Gennaro relic.
> Selling relics is strictly prohibited by the Church.
> Can you enlighten me tactfully, i.e. without getting
> too specific about who was selling what? Was it a
> "sale" or was a "donation" suggested for the object?
>
> MG
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo!
> http://sbc.yahoo.com
>
> **********************************************************************
> To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
> to: [log in to unmask]
> To send a message to the list, address it to:
> [log in to unmask]
> To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
> to: [log in to unmask]
> In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
> [log in to unmask]
> For further information, visit our web site:
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
>
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|