The Connelly Center at Villanova University has placed on display a historic golden chalice from southern Ireland dating back to 1480, writes TaRhonda Thomas for 6abc.

“Most of the chalices and metalwork of Ireland were melted down or were taken by Cromwellian soldiers or other English soldiers in Ireland,” said Dr. Joseph Lennon, Villanova Professor and Emily C. Riley Director of the Center for Irish Studies.

“This one was apparently saved. And we’re fortunate that for 400 years someone has kept it safe.”

It’s likely the chalice was saved by Catholic monks. 

The university is the first place to have the chalice on display. The silver chalice-coated in gold–was also used for the first time in centuries at a March 20 public Mass on Villanova’s campus.

About 2 million people in the Philadelphia region claim Irish ancestry. Philadelphia was once a place where Irish immigrants came to restart their lives, particularly between the 1880s to 1920, Lennon said.

Many Irish families have entrusted their artifacts to Villanova’s Irish Studies Department, from an Irish miner’s piece of coal to an Irish nun’s harp.  

The chalice will eventually travel to Dublin for display at the National Museum of Ireland.

Read more at 6abc about this unique treasure at Villanova University.