Of the many interesting things in the church shown to us by the Very Rev. Mark Ullrich, V.F., this container has an unknown origin or purpose.
It is decorated with images of monks and an abbot.
It is most definitely not a baptismal font, nor a holy water container: when the dome is lifted, sharp spikes on the bowl would make it dangerous to use!
Some think it may be a large reliquary; others think it might have housed an abbot's hat.
Can any reader solve this mystery?
I think this is a large reliquary that housed a relic of a saint who was an abbot. Because it's too beautiful and solenm to house a hat....
ReplyDeleteI have seen this on numerous occasions and i have never heard a satisfactory explanation of what it is or was. I say a reliquary but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteI asked my brother about this (he is a Catholic Priest) because he has travelled to many countries on pilgrimage to visit shrines and important locations that contain many significant relics. He, like the others who commented, believes it is a reliquary that held the head of a saint which would explain the spikes to hold it in place.
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