Valentine’s Day is celebrated all around the world, but did you know that one of Prague churches has a special connection to the holiday?
The Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul located at the Vyšehrad fortress is one of the Prague most prominent churches. And it has one surprised relic inside, nothing smaller than shoulder blade of St. Valentine himself.
There is a little detective story behind it. In the autumn of 2002, during the check of old depository, four Baroque monstrance reliquaries were found. No one really knew what they were hiding, so they were send for restoration. Only there, during the work, it was discovered that one of the reliquaries was hiding a single, but quite large remnant. It was whole human shoulder blade! This was already quite unusual, because the other reliquaries in Czech churches hide only small bones or fragments of them. On the tiny strip, which was glued to the bone, was found the inscription: St. Valentine.
When and how the relic got to Bohemia will probably remain unanswered forever. It’s theorized that the shoulder blade was brought to Prague by Charles IV. from Italy during the 14th century.
Since than Basilica hosts every year a special pilgrimage around St. Valentine’s Day to celebrate Saint Valentine’s relics.
Interesting, right?
If you want to know about the history of Vyšehrad, take the tour with us!
