BuffaloNews.com is reporting that the tapestry, which is now hanging in the sacristy of St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo, features a cross in the center surrounded by the inscription "In Hoc Vinces" or "In this [sign] you conquer." Other inscriptions indicate that the cross contains relics from Our Lord's Passion. These relics purportedly came from the seamless garment Jesus wore during His Passion, the sponge used to moisten His lips while He hung on the Cross, the thorns that crowned His head as well as the Holy Shroud in which He was buried.
Surrounding these relics is the calendar containing relics from the saints whose names are labeled in what is described as "cramped, antiquated script." These names include St. Ann; St. Veronica; St. Francis Xavier; St. Patrick; St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary; St. Mary Magdalene; St. Bonaventure; and many more.
"I've never seen something like this in connection with America," said Dr. Holger A. Klein, a professor art history and archeology at Columbia University. An expert on reliquaries who wrote a book on the relics of the True Cross, Klein said tapestries showing a complete year are similar to other rare reliquary pieces dating back to the 16th century.
"This is actually a very valuable piece — and it's more valuable to Buffalo, because it has this history," said Klein.
According to diocesan sources, the tapestry came to Buffalo in the 1850's or early 1860's as a gift from the Vatican and Pope Pius IX to Bishop John Timon who was the first bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo.
This ties the reliquary's arrival in Western New York to the period between 1847 and 1867, which was Timon's tenure as bishop.
It may have been sent by the Vatican as a gift to mark the opening of the cathedral in Buffalo in the early 1860s, a gesture which was not uncommon in the 19th century Catholic Church.
"That was a common practice, that the pope, or the Papal See, would give a relic or reliquary, to a new bishop," Klein said. "It happened in Cleveland, it happened in New York."
What happened to the tapestry next is much less certain.
Diocesan authorities believe at some point after Timon's death, sometime around the turn of the century, the reliquary was placed in the keeping of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, who had a large convent on Main Street in downtown Buffalo. It may have been moved there to keep it safe during construction of the new Cathedral.
Sister Eva Amadori, who discovered the reliquary, said she can't remember if it was ever venerated within the convent that housed it for more than 100 years.
"It may have been venerated back when we first got it," Sister Amadori told the News. "But since then, we've moved from Main Street. It was just tucked away in a corner."
Sister Amadori, who works as an archivist for the order, was poking around in the archives of the sisters' main convent when she discovered the reliquary.
"It caught my eye," said the nun, who described the tapestry as measuring two feet by three feet and preserved inside an ornate antique frame. "I thought, 'What is this?' I looked at the front side — and then I looked at the note on the back side, and I thought, this isn't even ours."
The crumbling, handwritten note attached to the back of the heavy frame stated that the reliquary had been placed in the care of the nuns by the Catholic diocese.
Sister Amadori immediately called the diocese and spoke to Monsignor James F. Campbell, rector at St. Joseph's Cathedral. At his instruction, she loaded it into her car and brought it downtown.
"I had never seen anything like this," said Campbell, who realized at once that they had found something valuable. "I had never even heard about it."
He enlisted the help of experts, such as the Rev. Michael Burzynski of St. John Gualbert in Cheektowaga, New York who has a collection of 1,100 relics and is considered to be an expert on the subject.
Burzynski examined the reliquary which is embroidered on ivory silk or satin in the form of a calendar that lists the names of well-known as well as less familiar saints.
"It's pretty much the saints of the old Roman calendar," said Burzynski, who examined the reliquary. "But not every day is a saints' day, so some of them are 'fillers' — rather obscure Roman martyrs, things like that."
Whether or not all of the relics are authentic will have to be investigated, but Burzynski said, the reliquary's beauty and provenance tell him they are probably real.
"I am sure that most of the relics in there are genuine," he said.
Msgr. Campbell agrees. "Rome goes back a long way. And they have relics of all of those saints."
For the time being, the reliquary will remain hanging in the sacristy of the cathedral where priests prepare for celebrating Mass.
"It's something that speaks to someone's faith," said Campbell, an ardent history buff. "This reliquary speaks to the prestige of Bishop Timon at the time. And Pope Pius giving him this gift, that's the real story."
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