st christopher pendant

dear all

what is the pendant made of? it feels light and doesn't polish well. most of the weight is at the edge covering, silver plated or nickel-silver? the words are deep and clear but the image of st christopher has worn down.
any age to this piece or is it just a souvenir thing? where from?

regards
phaik hooi

 

Dear phaik.
It is a medallion some Catholics wear for protection on their travels. Many have something like this in their car. Likely base metal.

 

tq! yep just found exact at
https://www.chapelgifts.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=14942
someone (probably my uncle) made the token into a pendant
not a catholic but i like it very much

 

The legend and symbolism is very nice. Christopher helped people cross the river. One day a child asked to be carried across. As Christopher did, the child got heavier and heavier. Christopher asked how this could be. The child revealed himself as Jesus. In carrying the child Jesus, he carried the weight of the world which Jesus carries to make life easier for the people.
The Catholic church doesn't recognize him as a saint anymore, but many Catholics don't care, he means too much to them.

 

Not sure, but I think that he may have been readmitted (or whatever they call it) as a Saint.
Saint Christopher metals can still be purchased wholesale.

 

No he isn't, he is seen as a fictional character. They are much more strict now. But you can't stop popular religion, they will go on no matter what Rome says. It is the same with pilgrimages to sites which aren't recognized by the church.

I recognize him, because of his value to so many people, and the strength he gives them. That counts for something. But who am I.

 

Well, I was under the impression he was still a Saint. Not sure how other religions look upon St Christopher, but according to the Catholic church he is still a saint.

https://www.catholic.com/qa/is-st-christopher-still-a-saint

Is he a myth - this explains further.
https://www.catholic.com/qa/is-st-christopher-still-a-saint


https://www.franciscanmedia.org/ask-a-franciscan-is-christopher-still-a-saint/

 

And, as Cluttered has said, a bit more:

from:
http://www.askacatholic.com/_WebPostings/Answers/2008_04APR/2008AprIsStChristopherStillASaint.cfm

Q: Is St. Christopher no longer considered a Saint?

A: That is not true. Rather, his cult has been suppressed (i.e. his feast has been removed from the calendar and devotion no longer encouraged) due to lack of historical evidence and prevalence of fantastic legends surrounding him.

Lack of historical evidence doesn't mean he didn't exist and therefore is not a saint, but the church has thought it prudent to de-emphasize devotion to him. By no means has he been de-canonized or eliminated as a Saint.

 

There are different St Christophers, which probably leads to confusion.
- The martyr is st Christopher Cynocephalon, he is still a saint.
- Then there is st Christopher of Chalcedon, he may still be recognized as a saint, frankly I don't know.
- St Christopher the Christ-bearer has been de-canonized, sorry. It seems he is based on the Egyptian God Anubis, another Cynocephalon. Formally he was never actually canonized, just became a saint during the period before the canonization process.
The St Christopher church (Roman Catholic) where my grandmother was baptized, was ordered to remove the statue of St Christopher the Christ-bearer in the 70s or face the consequences (from Rome). My grandmother was very upset.

 

The tokens and medals turn up regularly here. This one looks as though someone took a base metal token and put it in a sterling setting. As a Baptist I wouldn't have much personal use for it, but it's not a bad thing to have.