The Second Finding

For generation after the relic was buried the whereabouts of the most important reminder of the Passion and Suffering of Our Lord was lost from memory

It was not until 1048 when the Apostle Saint Andrew appeared again on three occasions to a blind German beggar indicating its precise whereabouts the relic came to light

Each year the Church celebrates the date of the second finding made on the12th March. Isabella d'Este declared the day a bank holiday and a day of public rejoicing. A Benedictine Monastery and a church were built to commemorate the finding.

From then on Mantua became a centre of pilgrimage. Pilgrims, Popes and Emperors came to adore the sacred relic.

In 1053 Pope Leone IX came to Mantua and in 1055 the Emperor Henry III also came and was granted a minute portion of the relic as a gift. This portion eventually found its way to the city of Weingarten where it is still conserved and revered.

Luigi Pescasio

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