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Friday, February 15, 2013


From the website for the Basilica of Saint Anthony:
Reliquary of St. Anthony’s jaw, 1349In the Treasury Chapel there is: the Saint’s tunic, the two wooden boxes, the cord and two seals, the three crimson red cloths reconstructed as a cope, the two large decorated drapes, the plaque, some small coins and the rings. All of which can be devoutly observed.
Up the left flight of steps there are three niches which contain relics of St. Anthony and other Saints, and above, gifts donated in recognition or as signs of devotion by wealthy pilgrims who have visited the Patron Saint of Padua. We must instead focus on the most prestigious relics of St. Anthony which are in the central niche. The Saint’s tongue (in the center). Its feast is February 15. Do not expect it to be a tongue which is bright red in color. It is still however an inexplicable fact, given that it is a very fragile part of the body that is usually among the first parts to disintegrate after death. More than 770 years have passed since St. Anthony died and this tongue is a perennial miracle, unique in history and full of religious significance, a seal marking the work of re-evangelization of society carried out by the Saint. 
A gilded silver masterpiece, a work by Giuliano da Firenze (1434-36) proudly contains the relic of the jaw (left). More precisely, the lower jaw, contained in a case shaped like a bust, with a halo and crystal glass where the face should be. It was commissioned in 1349 by Cardinal Guy de Boulogne-sur-Mer, who experienced one of the Saint’s miracles: He brought it to Padua the following year, to solemnly organize the placing of the jaw into this reliquary. The cartilage of the larynx. This is still incorrupt. These are the parts of the body used in phonation, that is to say, in speech, and thus attracted attention straightaway, although not considered inexplicable like the tongue during the recent recognition in 1981. It was still decided to place it with the Saint’s tongue. The reliquary is the work of Carlo Balljana from Treviso. 

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