The Relics of the Holy Crib

Reliquary of the Holy Crib

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Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major) is also known as Santa Maria ad Praesepem (St Mary of the Nativity), on account of a rather precious relic that the church houses.

Under the high altar sits a crystal and silver reliquary, the work of the goldsmith Luigi Valadier (1726-85), which contains five pieces of wood that the faithful hold to be part of the Santa Culla (Holy Manger or Crib), where Jesus was laid. 

Santa Maria Maggiore came to be known as the 'Church of the Nativity' during the reign of Pope Theodore I (r. 642-47), a native of Jerusalem.  

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