Staff Reporter
AS anyone who has seen the third (and arguably best) instalment of the Indian Jones trilogy will remember, the Holy Chalice, or Holy Grail, is the vessel that Jesus used at the Last Supper to share wine. What fans of the film may not know, however, is that a chalice thought to be the genuine item finds its home in the Cathedral of Valencia.
Known as the Santo Caliz, the agate cup supposedly from the 1st century AD is preserved in a chapel, and attracts a regular stream of the faithful on pilgrimage.
According to a new study, however, it also once attracted the attention of Britain’s MI6 secret service.
Despite being the object of hundreds of years of study, what happened to the cup during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) has remained in the shadows until now.
A researcher named Dr. Ana Mafe Garcia has had access to previously unseen documents that show that an undercover operation was organised in the midst of the war to take the Holy Chalice from Valencia to London.
Her findings, as reported by radio station Cadena SER, show that MI6 offered one of the people who was in charge of protecting the Holy Chalice, Sabina Suey, the chance to take it to the UK via sea. She was also given the chance to take her entire family with her.
But eventually she refused because she did not trust the operation.
Based on Dr Mafe’s findings, the International Scientific Commission of Holy Grail Studies is preparing an exhibition dedicated to Sabina Suey and her role in the history of the Holy Chalice.
The exhibition will include the recently discovered documents, as well as interactive displays that will immerse the visitor into the context of events back in 1936.
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