c. 1624-1650
Reliquary Bust of Saint Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
Artist/maker unknownFrancis Borgia (Spanish, 1510-1572), great grandson of Pope Alexander VI and grandson of King Ferdinand of Aragon, became a monk in 1551 and rose to be the third head or general of the Jesuit order. The “B” on the base of the bust refers to the beatification of Borgia that took place in 1624. He was canonized as a saint in 1670. The central cavity--now empty--was originally intended to hold a relic.
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