Pilgrimage Card, Basilica Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome, 20th Century

An Italian pilgrimage card from the Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, served by the Cistercian monks. The front shows a colour photograph of the reliquary cabinet with six numbered relics: three pieces of the Holy Cross, the INRI inscription, a holy nail, two thorns, the finger of the Apostle Thomas with which he touched the wound of Christ, and fragments of the Holy Sepulchre, the Column of the Flagellation and the Manger. The reverse contains an Italian prayer to the Most Holy Cross. Light signs of use, otherwise well preserved.

The Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome and houses one of the most important relic collections in the Christian world. Pilgrimage cards like this were taken home by pilgrims as tangible evidence of their visit and as objects for personal devotion. They have rarely survived undamaged due to their everyday use.