St. Wenceslas’s skull to be protected by new reliquary on journey to Stará Boleslav

The skull of St. Wenceslas will be safeguarded in a newly designed reliquary during its ceremonial transfer to the National St. Wenceslas Pilgrimage in Stará Boleslav, near Prague.

The special climate-controlled case will ensure that the relic of the nation’s patron saint is protected from temperature changes during the journey. It will maintain the same stable conditions as in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, where the relic is usually kept.

The reliquary will be carried by eight soldiers from the 26th Command, Control, and Reconnaissance Regiment on Saturday, the eve of the saint’s feast day, according to the Stará Boleslav Chapter.

Stará Boleslav, where Duke Wenceslas was murdered in 935, is the oldest Czech pilgrimage site linked to the cult of the saint. The Roman Catholic Church restored the National St. Wenceslas Pilgrimage in 2003, and thousands of pilgrims gather in the town each year to mark the occasion.