Thursday in the Museums

THE ROBES OF SAINT PETER AND SAINT JOHN

Two extraordinary relics of the Sancta Sanctorum

Press Release

Vatican City, 17 May 2024 - On Thursday 23 May a meeting will dedicated to two more precious relics from the inestimable “Treasury” of the Papal Chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum: the tunic of Saint Peter and the dalmatic of Saint John.

In April 1903, after numerous fruitless attempts, a blacksmith finally managed to break the heavy lock that had for centuries sealed and protected the Treasury of the Sancta Sanctorum inside the Lateran Patriarchate.

Little was known about the chapel, dating back to the times of Pope Nicholas III (1277-1280), reserved for the Pope’s private worship and located at the top of the Holy Steps.

Relics and works of inestimable value were found, such as the jewelled cross of Pope Sergius, the Acheropite figure of the Saviour, the enamelled cross of Paschal I, the silver so-called Vatican capsella, a painted wooden cross-shaped reliquary, stones from the Holy Land, Coptic textiles with historical illustrations, glass vials, up to the Byzantine shrine for the head of Saint Praxedes.

Among the relics were also found a tunic and a dalmatic of oriental style, which a strong modern tradition identified as garments worn by Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist respectively.

Following the discovery, the Treasure was transferred for the most part to the collections of the Vatican Apostolic Library and since 1999, thanks to a rescript of Saint John Paul II, the Treasure of the Sancta Sanctorum together with the Historical Collections of the Apostolic Library were transferred to the competence of the Vatican Museums, which have continued to exhibit them to pilgrims and visitors.

The new Thursday in the Museums meeting, entitled “The Robes of Saint Peter and Saint John, two extraordinary relics of the Sancta Sanctorum”, will present the history and recently concluded conservation interventions of the two sacred robes, carried out by the Vatican Museums Tapestries and Textiles Laboratory. The results of new analyses and historical research carried out at the Cabinet of Scientific Research will be presented, enriching the history of both relics with further information and meaning.

The usual introduction by the Director of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, will then be followed by interventions by Luca Pesante, Head of the Department of Decorative Arts; Alessandro Vella, Assistant of the Department of Christian Antiquities, Loretta Del Francia Barocas, Associate Professor of History of Coptic Art at “La Sapienza” University of Rome; Chiara Pavan and Emanuela Pignataro of the Tapestries and Textiles Restoration Laboratory; and Stefania Bani and Francesca Cibin of the Cabinet of Scientific Research applied to Cultural Heritage.

For this occasion, the two precious robes will remain on extraordinary display within the museum itinerary in the Sala degli Indirizzi di Pio IX, located at the exit of the Sistine Chapel.