Above is a reliquary showing bone fragments (ex ossibus) of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Apostle, Evangelist and Theologian. John the Baptist, aka the Forerunner, was the cousin and baptizer of Jesus Christ. He died as a martyr, beheaded by Herod Antipas at the request of Salome.
The Apostle John, aka the Beloved, was the only bishop to remain at the foot of the Cross with the Virgin Mary when Christ was dying. He was one of the four evangelists and the only one among the 12 apostles to die a natural death. The bone fragments shown above constitute first class relics and the reliquary was sealed by the Augustinians.
