The arm of Santo Stefano Protomartire

In 1461, the Dominican father Salvatore da Gaeta celebrated a mass at the church of Maria SS. del Boschetto, asked the city and obtained that it was rebuilt the high altar, defective and in poor condition. During the works, a lead box containing a relic of an arm and a parchment written in a Chaldean language was found. The box, as a precaution, was placed at the mother church of the city. In 1481, some Chaldean priests passing through Milazzo recognized that language and interpreted the script. The scroll said that in the box there were relics belonging to the arm of St. Stephen Protomartyre. In the city, their claims were not given full credibility and the Arcicescovo of Messina undertook to re-interpret the writing.

It took well forty years, until, after the searches and examinations conducted on the remains of the Saint that were kept in Rome, which seem to lack just parts of the arm, in 1521 was confirmed the translation given by the Chaldean priests. From that moment on, the relic was placed in the mother church and the devotion to Santo Stefano was consolidated and increased. The relic, placed in a silver arm, was unfortunately destroyed in a fire. The remains were recovered and reassembled in the artistic reliquary in gold and silver that you can see in photos.

The most glorious title from the historical-artistic point of view of the interesting treasure of the Milazzese Cathedral is the “arm” reliquary in silver, and gilded silver of the seventeenth century, already in the Old Cathedral, of S. Stefano. It has the shape of an arm covered with sacred vestment and its embroidery is made by hand; in the upper hand he holds a copper stone on his palm. On the hand and wrist, barely visible, the acronym PRO-88 that assumes the attribution of the work to Giuseppe or Nicola Provenzano (1688). The base, which has the shape of a parallelepiped, measures cm. 17×13 and is divided into four sides with the following inscription: “Plenua gratis – et fortitudine – faciebat prodigia – et signa magna in populo”. The interest of this precious heirloom is constituted by its absolute rarity. The reliquary is displayed to the faithful every year during the celebrations in honor of the saint and on 26 December.