New! Church of St. Vincent – Legendary Home to Christ's Holy Blood – Georg Geyer – Beautiful Catholic Art – Archival Quality

The Church of St. Vincent is in the Alpine village of Heiligenblut, which means “Holy Blood.” It is based on the legend that in 914 AD a Danish prince named Briccius was carrying a vile of Christ’s actual blood back from Byzantium, when he was caught in an avalanche in this valley where the church stands today. To protect the vial, he put it in a wound in his leg, and when his body was found the next spring, they also found the vial, which is still kept in the church. If the vial actually contains Christ’s Blood – think of it! – It would be the only First Class Relic of Jesus possible, as the rest of him ascended into Heaven.

The first pilgrimages to the site are recorded in 1273, and about a century later the locals took up building the church, instead of the little chapel they had before. The construction took about 100 years, finishing in 1491, and is the beautiful church you see in this painting. Thousands of pilgrims visit the church every year, which is nestled in the bottom of Austria’s tallest mountain, Grossglockner. The internet’s site TripAdvisor has lots of information about this pilgrimage destination. (source: heiligenblut.at)

These legends are always based on something; they never come out of nowhere, and we believe many are true, or have true elements. The details of this legend are that Briccius got the vial of Christ’s Blood while visiting Byzantium when a devout Byzantine princess, who repudiated the loose morals of the royal court, asked Briccius to take the vial to a more worthy Christian court.

Georg Geyer (1823–1912) was an Austrian landscape painter who also did a lot of Catholic churches and shrines. Most of his work was of scenes from his native Austria. He has many paintings that come up for sale, and this picture was sold in 2012. Blick auf Heiligenblut. (View of Heiligenblut). 1889. Oil on canvas. 53.5 x 42 cm. Photo of church today from TripAdvisor, shown for informational purposes.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", 1.6" for 11x14" pictures, or 1.75" for 13x17" , 16x20", 18x24" and 24x36". Inquire about special printing needs. Not much needs to be trimmed of the art to go to the edge on this print.

Border sizes are Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.
– Acid-free paper
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John

You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewerly by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven

Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic.