Page 49 - The mystery of faith

who as Spanish ambassador was one of the leading nobles involved in the administration of those relics
Philip had received as gifts from the Pope, prelates and various religious orders. By presenting the
Hieronymite Monastery of San Isidro del Campo in Santiponce (an area close to Seville in the Aljarafe)
with the gift of a relic of Saint Eutiquio (obtained during the count’s posting in the Vatican, and then
brought back to Spain) Guzmán had hoped to secure his family the patronage of a sacred space within
the monastery.2 Despite their acceptance of his gift, the order did not grant the count the patronage he
sought, so he focused his attention on the parish church of Olivares, another town in the Aljarafe,
which was also the name-place of his title. Here, he built his family chapel in direct proximity to the
church’s presbytery, which just happened to also house an extensive and varied collection of reliquaries,
arranged over several shelves.

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