Shell of Saint James the Apostle Pendant

Shell of Saint James the Apostle Pendant :: 148159_ws

• solid bronze with leather band
• from the art studio of Butzon and Bercker, Germany
• 1.5 x 1.5 inches
• gift box included

This pendant of the scallop shell of St. James the Greater Apostle was worn by pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The shell is both a symbol of baptism (as used by St. John the Baptist) and as a symbol of pilgrimage since thirsty pilgrims used the shell to draw to water to drink as they made their way to the shrine.

The scallop shell is also incorporated into the Coat of Arms of Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict's affinity for St. Augustine of Hippo (Bishop and Doctor of the Church, 354-430 AD) is well known. While a doctoral candidate in 1953, he wrote his dissertation on The People of God and the House of God in Augustine's Teaching is always about the Church.

As the story goes, St. Augustine was once walking along the seashore as he meditated on the unfathomable depths of the central mystery of the Christian faith: the Holy Trinity. Augustine noticed a boy carrying water from the sea in a seashell and pouring it into a little hole in the sand. When Augustine asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied, “I am emptying the sea into this hole.” The boy's futile effort to empty the sea into a little hole helped Augustine to understand that no one would ever be able to fathom and exhaust the depths of the mystery of the Triune God.