1764 Ex Habitu Relic of Giovanni Antonio Cardinal Guadagni, Servant of God, Attached to Manuscript Letter

N.P.: Roman Catholic Church, 1764. Fine. 1764 Ex Habitu Relic of Giovanni Antonio Cardinal Guadagni, Servant of God, Attached to Manuscript Letter, Roman Catholic Church, N.P., January 4, 1764, 7 7/8 x 5.5 inches, 1 pp.

Small square of brown cloth, approximately 1/2 x 3/4 inches, affixed to manuscript letter with red thread and wax seal; writing bright, no edge wear; fine condition.

Giovanni Antonio Guadagni, Servant of God (1674-1759) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a member of the Discalced Carmelites, a Catholic mendicant order. He assumed the religious name Giovanni Antonio di San Bernardo upon his admittance to the order. Guadagni's cause of beatification - the process of canonization as a saint - began in 1763, with research into the late cardinal's life and virtues; this relic was distributed shortly after his death to be used for veneration to help promote his beatification and sainthood. The handwritten authentic to which the relic is attached reads "ex habitu Servei Dei, Joannis Antony Cardinaliy Guadagni." Guadagni received the title of Servant of God, the first of four steps in canonization. However, the cause stalled at some point, and was reactivated under Pope pius XI in 1938, but then stalled again. Little information is available on the specific circumstances; worthy of further research.