I was puzzled when I first learned about the Christian Feast of the Circumcision. The celebration, which dates to the sixth century or earlier, commemorates the circumcision of Jesus. Over the centuries Jesus' foreskin (prepuce), which many churches claimed to possess, was worshiped as the "Holy Grail" of Christian relics. The foreskin relic located in a small Church in Calcata, Italy, was deemed the most authentic. Since the 16th century the Calcata church has celebrated the Feast of the Circumcision with a parade featuring Jesus' foreskin carried in a reliquary which villagers stormed to rapturously kiss.
Unfortunately, the Calcata relic disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 1983. Christians in the parish mourned the loss. Was the Vatican the culprit in the theft, as some charged? Since 1900, when Pope Leo XIII threatened excommunication for anyone who spoke of Jesus' foreskin, the Vatican has sought to shift the focus of the celebration to Mary, mother of Jesus, rather than the foreskin. Nevertheless, foreskin celebrations continued and are favored by traditionalists like Msgr, Charles Pope.
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