St. Laurence & the Holy Grail: The Story of the Holy Chalice of Valencia

Many scholars are convinced that The Holy Chalice of Valencia is the Holy Grail, celebrated in medieval legneds as it was venerated by monks in the secluded Monastery of San Juan de la Peña, built into a rocky outcropping of the Spanish Pyrenees. The tradition of Aragón has always insisted that the flaming agate cup of the Holy Chalice was sent to Spain by St. Laurence, the glorious Spaniard martyred on a gridiron during the Valerian persecution in Rome in 258 AD. Now there is new evidence: A sixth-century manuscript written in Latin by St. Donato, an Augustinian monk who founded a monastery in the area of Valencia, provides never-before-published details about Laurence, born in Valencia but destined for Italy, where he became treasurer and deacon of the Catholic Church under Pope Sixtus II. It explicitly mentions the details surrounding the transfer of the Holy Cup of the Last Supper to Spain. Janice Bennett acquaints the reader with the enthralling story of the Holy Chalice, the renowned relic that embarked from the Last Supper on an amazing pilgrimage that providentially ended in the Cathedral of Valencia, a miraculous odyssey that has been characterized by dnager, greed, martyrdom and fire from the very beginning. The author presents abundant evidence for authenticy, delving into many provocative topics, such as the importance of relics for early Christians, the difference between legend, tradition and history, and the veracity of St. Laurence's death on the gridiron. It is a fascinating account that will dispel forever the notion that the famous relic was ever lost. The mythical Quest for the Holy Grail is now over.