The History of our State Founder’s, King St. Stephen’s Hand Relic
King Stephen died on the 15th of August 1038, the day of the Assumption. The
chapter of Fehérvár, fearing that the embalmed and mummified body would be
desecrated, removed it from the marble sarcophagus in the centre of the Basilica
and hid it in the burial chamber beneath. It was at this time that the right hand,
was severed. As it had been left intact and was believed to have miraculous
powers, it was taken to the Basilica’s treasury.
It was fled to be safeguarded from the vicissitudes of the war in the West, and returned to Hungary on August 19, 1945 to be entrusted to the care of the parish of St. Stephen’s Basilica in 1950.
It has been put on display in today’s glass case since 1987, protected with a double reliquary.
The outer, chapel-shaped shrine was made from József Lippert’s design in Vienna, 1862 and the Right Hand relic of the King is encased in a glass cylinder inside.
In the early 1800s, by order of Joseph II, the relic was guarded by the Order of the Crusaders, and after the Order's dissolution in 1865, the Archdiocese of Esztergom was responsible for its safe custody. In the early 1900s it was moved to the Sigismund Chapel in the Buda Castle Palace, where it remained until 1944 when it was then smuggled to the West to keep it away from the ravages of war. It was returned to Hungary on the 19th August 1945. In 1950, it was entrusted to the parish of St. Stephen's Basilica. From 1987 it was on display in the chapel of the Holy Right (now the Chapel of St. Mary), and since 2018 it has been on display in the church. It is protected by a double reliquary: the outer chapel- shaped neo-Gothic reliquary was designed by József Lippert and built in Vienna in 1862. The inner glass cylinder houses the relic. Every year on the 20th of August, Hungarians celebrate the founding Holy King with the procession of the Holy Right.
The Holy Right can be found in the Basilica at The Altar of Our Lady of Hungary.
In the early 1800s, by order of Joseph II, the relic was guarded by the Order of the Crusaders, and after the Order's dissolution in 1865, the Archdiocese of Esztergom was responsible for its safe custody. In the early 1900s it was moved to the Sigismund Chapel in the Buda Castle Palace, where it remained until 1944 when it was then smuggled to the West to keep it away from the ravages of war. It was returned to Hungary on the 19th August 1945. In 1950, it was entrusted to the parish of St. Stephen's Basilica. From 1987 it was on display in the chapel of the Holy Right (now the Chapel of St. Mary), and since 2018 it has been on display in the church. It is protected by a double reliquary: the outer chapel- shaped neo-Gothic reliquary was designed by József Lippert and built in Vienna in 1862. The inner glass cylinder houses the relic. Every year on the 20th of August, Hungarians celebrate the founding Holy King with the procession of the Holy Right.
The Holy Right can be found in the Basilica at The Altar of Our Lady of Hungary.