Introduction
What is a monstrance, and who was Thadea Petrucci?
A monstrance is used to display a consecrated communion wafer, the Eucharistic host. It is only brought out during the Eucharistic Adoration or Benediction, and placed on the altar by a higher-level member of the clergy. At all other times, the host is hidden. [1]
The place of origin for this monstrance was Florence, Italy. It was commissioned and constructed sometime between 1340 and 1350. It’s important to note that in the late 1340’s, a terrible outbreak of the Black Death in Florence occurred. There’s an inscription in Latin that states that a “Mistress Thadea Petrucci” commissioned the monstrance “for the salvation of the dead.” As the patron, Petrucci had left traces of her identity across the monstrance.
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[1] “What is Eucharistic Adoration?” Saint Ambrose Foundation. Accessed April 26, 2017. http://www.catholic-church.org/kuwait/eucharistic_adoration.htm