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The artifact featured here is an oval reliquary measuring 52 X 46 cm, with a relic of the original Chair of St. Peter enclosed in glass, with sealing wax and silk threads intact. The wax seal and unbroken threads authenticate the relic, as does the document of authenticity accompanying the item. The image of the papal cross keys & tiara are what drew the Curator to this particular item.
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As can be seen in the photo with Pope Francis the original throne is decorated with small carved ivory plaques showing the labors of Hercules and some celestial constellations. The chair is actually visible through Bernini’s canopy.
An ancient tradition holds that the Apostle himself sat upon it during sermons. However, the archaeologist G.B. De Rossi, who was able to examine the venerable relic during one of the centenary festivities in 1867, the last time that the Chair was put on show, concluded that only the acacia wood skeleton dates from the early age, while the other parts in oak, anchored to the skeleton by strips of iron and the ivory plaques, belong to a re-construction of the Chair made in the Byzantine period.
This reliquary is thought to be the original acacia wood dating from the time of St. Peter himself using the chair.
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What’s Behind the Viral Photo of Pope Francis Venerating a Chair? And CNA Journalist Mentions Papal Artifacts.Com
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 4, 2024 / 18:15 pm
On Wednesday, Oct. 2, the Holy Father had the opportunity to view the historic relic of St. Peter’s chair in the Ottoboni sacristy of St. Peter’s Basilica after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square ahead of the second session of the Synod on Synodality. The photo of him sitting before the chair went viral.
Francis is the first pope since 1974 to have viewed the relic believed to have belonged to St. Peter the Apostle.
Ordinarily, the historic wooden chair is encased inside the large chair monument crafted by the 17th-century sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which is installed directly above the altar in the apse of the Vatican basilica.
What’s the story behind the ‘chair relic?’
Ancient tradition maintains that St. Peter himself sat on the chair during sermons to the early Christians in Rome.
However, according to Papal Artifacts, archeologists determined that only the acacia wood skeleton of the chair in its current form dates back to this time period. The rest of the chair is composed of oak, bound to the original skeleton by strips of iron, and is believed to be a reconstruction made during the Byzantine period. The ivory plaques featured in the bottom portion of the throne are also attributed to this time. They depict sketches of Hercules and various constellations.
Pope Alexander VII commissioned Bernini to construct the monument where the chair is ordinarily encased during his pontificate in the 17th century. Bernini completed the monument between 1647 and 1653, but it was not installed above the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica until 1666.
The bronze-gilded throne is set against a backdrop of golden clouds, directly above the main altar — which is composed of black and white marble from Aquitaine and red jasper from Sicily.
Above the chair, there is a pair of angels holding the tiara and keys symbolizing papal authority, while four large statues of St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Athanasius, and St. John Chrysostom surround the monument. On the chair itself, there are three gold bas-reliefs representing the Gospel episodes of the consignment of the keys (Matthew 16:19), “feed my sheep” (John 21:17), and the washing of the feet (John 13:1-17).
What does the Chair of St. Peter symbolize?
Every year on Feb. 22, the Church celebrates the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, which is also a symbolic title for the papacy itself.
In 2006, during a speech delivered during his general audience on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI described the spiritual significance of this symbol as “a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation.”
The Holy Father’s veneration of the chair — a symbol of the Church’s unity under the instruction of Christ — takes place amid the commencement of the second session of the Synod on Synodality.
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