Though there are many legends about St. George. What is certain is that he was martyred for his Christian faith in Diosopolis (Lydda, now Lud in Palestine) in 303, during the persecution of Diocletian. Devotion to him in the West was spread by the crusaders. He was a particular favorite of King Richard the Lion Hearted, who brought devotion to him back to England, of which country he became the patron saint, along with Edward the Confessor. He is also the patron of Germany, Venice, Genoa, Aragon, Catalonia, Portugal, Ferrara, and Greece. He is a patron saint of soldiers, armorers, chivalry, butchers, cavalry riders, saddlers, and boy scouts. He is one of the 14 Holy Helpers and is invoked for protection from skin disease. His relics are scattered throughout the world. Some are in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. And his skull is in San Giorgio in Velabro Church in Rome.
Our reliquary of St. George was made in Bologna and certified by Cardinal Francesco Battaglini of Bologna in1885. It is mentioned in one of the volumes of the urban chronicle of the Southern District of the Roman Prefecture that it was present in the living room in the house of Marco Minghetti on the Via Nazionale in Rome. During meetings of the Italian house of Marco Minghetti on the Via Nazionale in Rome. During meetings of the Italian government which took place there, Minghetti and Cardinal Battaglini prayed for divine help, while they were engaged in the complex process of reconciliation of the extreme left and right political parties, trying to bring them together into a cohesive well-functioning government.
Minghetti, who was born in Bologna, was originally a member of the state council summoned by Pope Pius IX to prepare the constitution for the Papal States. But, when the Pope publicly denounced the Italian Risorgimento, Minghetti resigned and joined the Piedmontese army as a captain on the general staff. He held many offices in the Italian government in its various turbulent phases. During his time as premier in the 1870s, he inaugurated the rapprochement between Italy, Austria, and Germany and reformed the naval and military administration. As minister of finance, he also managed to balance the State budget for the first time since 1860. He died in Rome on December 10, 1886. By this time, Cardinal Battaglini had moved the St. George reliquary back to the cathedral in Bologna He died there died in 1892.
In 1920, due to the strengthening of the local fascist organization in Bologna after a massacre which took place in the Palazzo d’Accursio (the city hall), Cardinal Giorgio Gusmini decided to distribute the cathedral reliquaries for safekeeping to pious Catholics. The St. George reliquary was cared for by Gertruda Bianzo. In 1926, after a visit to Bologna by Benito Mussolini and an attempt on his life, the situation worsened. Cardinal Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano therefore decided to send the reliquaries to Rome for their protection. A nun named Sister Angela Priscelli helped facilitate the secret transfer. The reliquaries were placed in several Roman Churches. Some were kept in the vault of St. Peter’s. And St. George ended up in the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. In 1936, the Bolognese petitioned Pope Pius XI to return the reliquaries to their city, but he delayed doing so. Pope Pius XII agreed to return them, but then World War II broke out, and the transfer was postponed. In 1944, the reliquary of St. George and several other treasures were returned to Bologna and handed over to the chaplain at the front during the North Italian operation, just in time for the Battle of Bologna (April 9-21, 1945).
The reliquaries were kept safely in the cathedral until August 2, 1980, on which day a group of neo-fascist terrorists bombed the Central Railway Station, which resulted in the Bologna Massacre – the death of 85 people and the wounding of over 200 others. In response to this catastrophe, Cardinal Antonio Poma called on Catholics to pray in front of the city’s shrines, which were displayed in the Piazza Maggiore – including the reliquary of St. George. In 1994, the reliquary was moved back to Rome. By 2006, it was in a private collection. From 2012 to 2018, it came to the attention of antique lovers and changed hands several times, until it was purchased at a private closed auction in 2019. It was sold to an entrepreneur in Russia, from whom it was obtained for the Shrine of All Saints in Morton Grove in April of 2021.
Our reliquary of St. George was made in Bologna and certified by Cardinal Francesco Battaglini of Bologna in1885. It is mentioned in one of the volumes of the urban chronicle of the Southern District of the Roman Prefecture that it was present in the living room in the house of Marco Minghetti on the Via Nazionale in Rome. During meetings of the Italian house of Marco Minghetti on the Via Nazionale in Rome. During meetings of the Italian government which took place there, Minghetti and Cardinal Battaglini prayed for divine help, while they were engaged in the complex process of reconciliation of the extreme left and right political parties, trying to bring them together into a cohesive well-functioning government.
Minghetti, who was born in Bologna, was originally a member of the state council summoned by Pope Pius IX to prepare the constitution for the Papal States. But, when the Pope publicly denounced the Italian Risorgimento, Minghetti resigned and joined the Piedmontese army as a captain on the general staff. He held many offices in the Italian government in its various turbulent phases. During his time as premier in the 1870s, he inaugurated the rapprochement between Italy, Austria, and Germany and reformed the naval and military administration. As minister of finance, he also managed to balance the State budget for the first time since 1860. He died in Rome on December 10, 1886. By this time, Cardinal Battaglini had moved the St. George reliquary back to the cathedral in Bologna He died there died in 1892.
In 1920, due to the strengthening of the local fascist organization in Bologna after a massacre which took place in the Palazzo d’Accursio (the city hall), Cardinal Giorgio Gusmini decided to distribute the cathedral reliquaries for safekeeping to pious Catholics. The St. George reliquary was cared for by Gertruda Bianzo. In 1926, after a visit to Bologna by Benito Mussolini and an attempt on his life, the situation worsened. Cardinal Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano therefore decided to send the reliquaries to Rome for their protection. A nun named Sister Angela Priscelli helped facilitate the secret transfer. The reliquaries were placed in several Roman Churches. Some were kept in the vault of St. Peter’s. And St. George ended up in the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. In 1936, the Bolognese petitioned Pope Pius XI to return the reliquaries to their city, but he delayed doing so. Pope Pius XII agreed to return them, but then World War II broke out, and the transfer was postponed. In 1944, the reliquary of St. George and several other treasures were returned to Bologna and handed over to the chaplain at the front during the North Italian operation, just in time for the Battle of Bologna (April 9-21, 1945).
The reliquaries were kept safely in the cathedral until August 2, 1980, on which day a group of neo-fascist terrorists bombed the Central Railway Station, which resulted in the Bologna Massacre – the death of 85 people and the wounding of over 200 others. In response to this catastrophe, Cardinal Antonio Poma called on Catholics to pray in front of the city’s shrines, which were displayed in the Piazza Maggiore – including the reliquary of St. George. In 1994, the reliquary was moved back to Rome. By 2006, it was in a private collection. From 2012 to 2018, it came to the attention of antique lovers and changed hands several times, until it was purchased at a private closed auction in 2019. It was sold to an entrepreneur in Russia, from whom it was obtained for the Shrine of All Saints in Morton Grove in April of 2021.
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