Finding a lost trove of holy treasures

Pat Jentges was cleaning St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Port Washington last month, clearing an emergency exit near the sacristy, when he discovered a little cubbyhole under the stairway to the basement.

And in that cubby, Jentges found a treasure trove — old photographs, financial records, a silver thurible, crosses, candle holders, an ornately framed three-panel altar card written in Latin, vestments and perhaps most amazing, two ornate reliquaries, one dating to 1830 and the other to 1842.

Jentges, an usher at the church, said he had one simple reaction to the find.

“I thought, ‘Wow, that’s just mind blowing,” he said. “All this history, just buried. I have no idea why something so special would be put in such a location, hidden away and forgotten for decades. It’s really gratifying to see it come back to life.”

Mike McComis, an usher helping to clean, called it a “wonderable discovery.”

“It really is amazing — just mind blowing,” McComis said. “We were just in awe.”

Tim Handle, St. John XXIII’s director of music and liturgy, has been cataloging and researching the find ever since.

“It’s just incredible, the amount of history we have here,” he said, gesturing to the boxes of items in his office. “This really is an incredible find.”

Perhaps the largest part of Handle’s time has been spent researching the reliquaries, shadow box-like cases that enclose relics of saints. In the back of each case, Handle found a certificate of authentication written in Latin, one signed by Father Joannes of the Order of St. Augustine in 1830 and the other by Cardinal Patrizi in 1843.

“The reliquaries just blew my mind,” Handle said. “It’s just so overwhelming.”

The reliquaries retained their bright red fabric, in part, Handle said, because they were hidden away from the light for decades. They are elaborately embroidered, with the stitching extending up the sides, with pearls and beads sewn in place.

They have a floral motif, with a cameo at the top, a flower at the bottom and an embroidered medallion in the center holding the relics.

Relics in the Catholic Church fall into three categories — first class, which include items directly associated with the life of Christ or the physical remains of a saint, second class, which are items a saint owned or frequently used; and third class, which are objects that have been in contact with a first or second-class relic.

Each of the tiny relics in the medallion is identified with tiny handwritten labels, 24 on the 1830 reliquary and 29 on the 1843 reliquary.

Handle has spent a significant amount of time translating these, and he’s in awe of what he’s discovered.

The names include well-known saints, such as St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thomas, and those that aren’t as well known, such as St. Seraphin of Montegranaro and St. Pacificus of San Severino, as well as the names of Anna and Joachim, the parents of Mary.

The relics include a piece of the burial site of St. John the Evangelist, the silk burial wraps of Sts. Peter and Paul, the cross of St. Andrew and the column of flagellation of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

“I read those and thought, I must be reading something wrong,” Handle said. 

“The column Christ was lashed to when he was beaten — this just puts it into such real context. He was a real person who was beaten. And to find this at Easter time, almost 2,000 years to the day when it happened .... that’s what makes this special. We don’t worship these things, but they make it real.”

Handle said he’s not entirely sure of his translations, but is continuing to research them. 

“I’m reaching out to all the people I know,” he said.

Handle said many churches have reliquaries, which are approved by the Vatican, and he speculated that when St. Mary’s was being founded Father F.X. Sailer — the church’s second priest who many consider the first pastor because of his role in growing the parish — may have written to the pope seeking relics for the church.

The reliquaries haven’t been seen in the church for as long as most people can recall. Handle said long-time parish member Bob Goebel recalls seeing them displayed at Easter when he was a child.

“It’s been decades,” he said.

Other items found by the ushers are equally as interesting, Handle said.

Handle has been going through a pile of old photographs, identifying them and framing some.

He has posted two online, including a view of the interior of St. Mary’s Church during the Easter season prior to 1911. 

The interior of the church appears even more ornate than it is today and the reliquaries can be seen on the side altar, but one thing in particular caught people’s eyes.

The floor of the church appears to be wood rather than the orange carpet there today.

“A lot of people were commenting, can we pull up the carpet and see what’s there below it,” Handle said.

Handle’s also been intrigued by the parish financial records, which date to the early 1900s.

“What I found interesting is back in that time period you rented pews,” Handle said.

A silver thurible, an incense burner used by priests, was dark and full with tarnish. Handle took it home and polished it, and now it gleams with life.

“It’s very pretty,” Handle said.

The embroidered vestments and cassocks now hang in a closet, ready to be worn again. 

Not everything in the trove of treasure is old. For example, the plaque commemorating the church’s addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 was among the other, far older items. 

The biggest question remaining may be why the treasures were relegated to such an ignominious resting place. Handle said he thinks they were put away for storage, perhaps at a point when the church got a new pastor, and forgotten about.

That won’t be the case again, he said. 

Handle wants to display the relics this summer when he holds the Lunch on the Hill concert series, and he hopes that once the pandemic is over and things open up, the parish will be able to display the relics again. 

After all, he said, St. Mary’s Church is an important part of Port Washington, and its history is intermingled with the community’s.

“St. Mary’s is such a staple of the community,” he said. “It’s St. Mary’s and the lighthouse.”