Holy Monstrance (Relic) from New Orleans to be Auctioned in NYC on Nov. 16

THE TIMES-PICAYUNE
By John Pope

The bejeweled altarpiece once seen at St. Alphonsus Church.

LOUISIANA - A bejeweled altarpiece from the 19th century that was at St. Alphonsus Church during the time of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos is up for auction Nov. 16 in New York City and may never return to New Orleans. The piece, which is scheduled to be sold at Sotheby’s auction house, is a monstrance, a vessel shaped like a cross surrounded by a sunburst. At the center is a glass case, called a luna, in which the consecrated Host is exposed for the adoration of the faithful. The monstrance, which gets its name from the Latin word monstrare (to show), was made in France in 1857 by Jean Alexandre Chertier for the Irish Channel church, one of three built in the 180Os by the Redemptorists. [link]