the most prec ious blood of jesus brugesrelic of the most precious blood a knight pretending to be...

BRUGESBELGIUM

The Most Precious Blood of Jesus

The oldest documentsconcerning the Holy Bloodof Bruges date back to 1256.The Holy Blood probablywas part of a group of relicsof the Passion of Christpreserved at the imperialmuseum of Bucoleonin Constantinople (modernIstanbul). In 1203Constantinople was besiegedand conquered by thecrusaders. Baldovin IX,Count of Flanders, after beingcrowned as the new emperor,sent the relic of the PreciousBlood to his native countryat Bruges.

ecent analyses were made on the crystal bottle containing the Holy Blood. The bottlehas been dated as of the 11th century. It is

also sure it was made in an area near byConstantinople. Although in the Bible there is noexplicit mention that the Blood of Christ wasever preserved, in one of the Apocryphal Gospelsit is narrated that Joseph of Arimathea preservedsome drops of the blood of Christ.

According to an ancient tradition, Count Diederik van den Elzasbrought the bottle containing the Blood of Christfrom Jerusalem to Bruges during the second crusade. Recent investigations however have pointed out that the relic arrived in Bruges at a later date, probably around 1250 coming fromConstantinople.

The veneration of the relic is at the origin of theinternationally famous procession that is heldevery year through the streets of the city on theday of the Feast of the Ascension.

The citizens of Bruges dress in historical customs and reenact biblical scenes and the arrival of the Count of Flanders who broughtthe Holy relic.

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© 2006, Istituto San Clemente I Papa e Martire / The Real Presence Association, Inc.

Relic of the Most Precious Blood

A knight pretending to bethe Count of Flanders bringingback the Most Precious Blood

Church of the Most Precious Blood

Procession in honor ofthe Most Precious Blood

Detail of Bruges

also sure it was made in an area near byConstantinople.

Interior of the Church of theMost Precious Blood, Bruges