Reliquary Bust of St. Philip Neri
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Unknown artist(s)
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Keyword
San Filippo Neri , Reliquary , Reliquary bust , Relics , Oratorio , procession
Alternative Title
Abstract
This reliquary bust, housed in the Museo Diocesano of Amalfi, represents St. Philip Neri, the founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, who was cannonized on March 12,1622. On the 30th of July in the same year, the governing body of the church in Amalfi requested that Philip be made the protector of both the church and the city of Amalfi, as one of Amalfi's patron saints. The Congregation of the Oratory sent to Amalfi relics of St. Philip Neri: a piece of his liver and a sleeve of a habit he wore. At the centre of the half-length figure is a cavity which originally contained these relics, which were removed in the early 18th C and placed in a similar looking reliquary bust in the Cappella del Coro of Amalfi Cathedral. A chronicle by an eyewitness, the notary Silverio Vinaccia, describes the elaborate ceremony by which the relics, in this reliquary, were brought to Amalfi on Sept. 17, 1622. The reliquary was taken to Amalfi on a boat, one of a cortege of 30 boats, carrying along with the reliquary church dignitaries and statues of other patron saints of Amalfi. The reliquary was placed on a small altar on the boat, under a baldachin decorated with burning lamps. As the boats passed Maiori, Minori, and Atrani, trumpets, singing, the firing of guns, and what seems to have been a whole cacaphony of sounds celebrated the arrival of the relics. It was an event of enormous civic and religious importance. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Description
Museo Diocesano, Amalfi
Citation
“S. Filippo Neri E S. Ignazio Di Loyola Compatroni Di Amalfi « Arcidiocesi Di Amafi – Cava De’ Tirreni,” May 25, 2022. https://www.diocesiamalficava.it/2022/05/25/s-filippo-neri-e-s-ignazio-di-loyola-compatroni-di-amalfi/.