Antique Relic Card – Veil Relic of Venerable Mother Leonora of St. Bernard, Discalced Carmelite
Antique Relic Card – Veil Relic of Venerable Mother Leonora of St. Bernard, Discalced Carmelite
A rare antique Catholic relic card dedicated to Venerable Mother Leonora of St. Bernard, an early Discalced Carmelite religious figure associated with the Carmelite foundations in the Low Countries.
The front bears the handwritten French inscription:
“Relique du Voile de la V. Mère Léonore de St Bernard”
Relic of the Veil of Venerable Mother Leonora of St. Bernard.
A small relic fragment is preserved in a tiny decorated opening at the top of the card, accompanied by a devotional image of Mother Leonora kneeling before the Virgin and Child.
The reverse contains an extensive Dutch biographical account of Mother Leonora, describing her life, religious vocation and virtues. It identifies her as having died in the Carmelite monastery in Ghent on 12 April 1639.
The reverse also bears an ecclesiastical Imprimatur from Mechelen dated 7 December 1885, providing an important historical indication for the production and devotional use of the card.
Historical catalogues of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Besançon collections independently document Leonora of St. Bernard as a Carmelite of Ghent and founder of the Carmelite convents of Mechelen and Ghent, as well as preserving numerous 17th-century letters connected with her.
This is a particularly attractive piece for collectors of Carmelite relics, antique Catholic devotional objects, historical relic cards and early Carmelite history.
Details
- Subject: Venerable Mother Leonora of St. Bernard
- Order: Discalced Carmelites
- Relic: Small textile relic identified on the card as a fragment of her veil
- Place associated with her: Ghent, Belgium
- Death: 12 April 1639
- Card: 19th-century Catholic relic card
- Imprimatur: Mechelen, 7 December 1885
- Languages: French and Dutch
- Material: Printed paper/card with mounted relic fragment
- Size: approx. 10 × 14 cm
- Condition: Antique condition with age-related toning, foxing, discoloration and general signs of age. Please examine photographs carefully.