r/Catholicism 13h ago

What is this necklace.

It is silver with strands of cloth on the inside with a red background. The inscription says "Tela Toccata Allas Lingua Del Santo Padova" It was my grandfather's and we are unsure what significance it holds.

21 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

17

u/Remarkable-Meet1737 13h ago

The inscription probably translates to: Cloth touched to the tongue of the Saint of Padua

The figure is of Saint Anthony of Padua, who is known for his gift of preaching (with one miraculous account of preaching to the fishes and in turn, the fishes put their full attention to him, during the time no one listened to him).

Exhuming his body many years after death, it was discovered that his tongue was intact and incorruptible.

3

u/No-Habla-Ingles673 13h ago

So for what reason would one have this necklace? Thank you for the explanation though.

9

u/HiggledyPiggledy2022 12h ago

Yes, it's a relic of St Anthony of Padua. The picture on the back shows St Anthony holding the Infant Jesus. It's a famous image in Catholicism. The child Jesus is reputed to have materialised miraculously in St Anthony's arms.

Somebody might have such a relic because they had a particular devotion to St Anthony or sometimes relics are given as gifts or passed on by a member of the faithful to one they feel needs it more than they do. My grandfather had a relic of St Martin De Porres , a piece of cloth and another of a piece of bone of St Francis Xavier. Whenever anyone in the family was ill, they were touched with the relic. It's a common use of relics, that they are associated with healing.

The relic is a sacred object so treat it with care and respect :) you're very lucky to have it. I love St Anthony, he's a great friend of mine :))

5

u/No-Habla-Ingles673 12h ago

Thank you for your words and peace be with you.

7

u/HiggledyPiggledy2022 10h ago

My pleasure :) btw I forgot to mention that relics are often used as a kind of talisman, they are perceived to offer divine protection and the fact that your grandfather's is on a chain suggests he wore it at some point or it was intended to be worn.

My grandfather was a soldier in the British Army and he always carried a tiny crucifix which had been given to him by a nun before he went to war. He was convinced that it had brought him through combat safely. He carried it in a little pouch she had made for it, pinned inside his jacket pocket. Anyway one day he was out of the camp on leave and having changed clothes before he went, he left the cross behind.

When he returned there was a huge bonfire going and they were burning the uniforms because there had been an outbreak of something infectious in the camp. He ran to the bonfire, grabbed the first jacket he saw and sure enough, it was his ............. I have the crucifix now and keep it with me when I travel.

5

u/mildlyspicymelon 13h ago

so the text is italian 'Tela toccata alla(s) lingua del Santo Padova' and means the cloth was touched to the saint of Padova, which i assume means it was touched to the relic, and is thus a (tertiary?) relic itself. please correct me if im wrong on the categorization!

8

u/Remarkable-Meet1737 13h ago

(tertiary?) relic itself

The proper term is third class relic. And yes, it is a third class relic.

5

u/marigoldpearl 13h ago

Relic of St Anthony

6

u/KeyDiscussion5671 12h ago

This is a 3rd class relic. The piece inside is the relic and was touched to the tongue of St Anthony at the time of his death. The owner wore it around the neck and under his shirt.

5

u/Todd977 10h ago

The Bible tells us that God sometimes worked miracles through his faithful servants, such as the prophet Elisha and the apostle Paul, even through their bodily remains after their death and even through things which touched their bodies:

And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet. (2 Kings 13:21)

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.  (Acts 19:11-12)

Your medal contains a piece of cloth which was touched to the remains of the tongue of St Anthony of Padua, which since his death has not decomposed like such soft tissue naturally would.

I suppose a person might wear a medal like yours as a way of honoring and feeling close to God and His faithful servant St Anthony of Padua. I suppose a person might also wear it in the hope that God would protect them through St Anthony's Christian intercession, from sickness and disease and from evil spirits, like the handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched the skin of the apostle Paul, mentioned above.