Why Is a Can of Sardines Among the Treasures of the Vatican?

Jozef, Cardinal Beran, used a clean sardine can as his Chalice during his long imprisonment by the Reds. Pope Paul ordered that it be kept amongst the Chalices of the Popes. 

From Aleteia

By Paulo Teixeira

The life of Cardinal Josef Beran explains the connection between a can of sardines, the manger, and how we welcome Jesus.

During the Advent and Christmas seasons, we look tenderly at the Nativity scene and imagine how difficult it must have been for Mary and Joseph to lay their son Jesus in the straw in a stable. The manger, where animals fed, became the cradle of the One who feeds the world.

In the Nativity scenes in our homes and churches, the baby Jesus is depicted in line with the Gospel narrative—wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger—surrounded by respect and veneration despite his humble circumstances. During the celebration of the Mass, we also show great respect and veneration for the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The liturgical vessels, the cloths, the candles... Everything, even in its simplicity, refers to the greatness of Jesus.

Would Jesus, who was born among animals and placed in a manger, also accept being present in the Eucharist in a can of sardines? This seems like a strange question, but it’s explained by the testimony of Cardinal Josef Beran, which leads us to think about the simplicity and depth of God’s humility.

Jesus, our treasure

To understand the relationship between the manger and the sardine can, we must first go to the sacristy of the popes at the Vatican. Of course, it’s a reserved place, not accessible to the public, with chalices and liturgical vessels of inestimable historical value.

There, in this locked and restricted place, among works made of gold and crystal, is also the sardine can, open and used.

It’s kept as a precious treasure of the Vatican because it belonged to Cardinal Josef Beran, who used it to celebrate Mass while he was a prisoner. He was arrested by the Nazis and later imprisoned by the Communists. In the darkness of prison, his dignity and faith manifested themselves in one of the simplest and most powerful liturgical acts in the history of the Church in the 20th century.

Cardinal Josef Beran

Josef Beran was born in 1888 in Bohemia. His trajectory, even before becoming the cardinal archbishop of Prague, is a testimony to his unwavering resistance against the totalitarian ideology that swept through Czechoslovakia. Beran was, in the words of historians, “the archbishop who refused to be silenced.” The punishment for this courage was imprisonment—first at the hands of the Gestapo, and then, for an even longer and more oppressive period, by the communist regime.

In total, Cardinal Beran would spend 17 years of his life behind prison walls and in places of isolation. He survived the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, from where American troops liberated him in 1945. Upon his return to Prague, he was decorated as a “hero of the resistance,” but the peace was short-lived. In 1949, the newly appointed archbishop was arrested again by the new communist regime, which saw his moral leadership as a dangerous focus of resistance.

Improvising to remain faithful

It is in this scenario of darkness and deprivation that one of the most striking and symbolic chapters of his life emerges: the secret celebration of Mass in prison. Where faith was forbidden and human dignity crushed, Cardinal Beran needed creativity and courage to carry out what was essential for him: the Eucharistic sacrifice.

In the absence of a sacred chalice, an altar, and liturgical vestments, faith found a way through humility. In a hidden corner, on his knees and in nearly absolute silence, he transformed the ordinary into the sacred. His chalice, to consecrate the wine, was not made of gold, but a simple, small sardine can. The can, empty and clean, bore witness to his extreme deprivation, but also to the infinity of the mystery renewed there.

This object, a disposable can of a staple food, became the vessel for the Body and Blood of Christ. The gesture sums up the theology of suffering and hope: faith does not reside in the wealth of the temple, but in the purity of the heart and the validity of the act.

For the few prisoners who could share this moment of risk, the sardine can was a beacon. It represented the presence of God where man tried to banish him.

Communist persecution isolated Beran for 14 years, forcing him to live under strict surveillance and preventing him from exercising his episcopal ministry. It was only in 1965, after complex negotiations between the Vatican and the Czech government, that he was released and traveled to Rome in forced exile.

Roman exile

As soon as he arrived in the Eternal City, bearing his testimony of resistance (and the tin can), Pope Paul VI elevated him to the dignity of cardinal. The Czech ambassador to the Vatican, Pavel Vosalik, years later described this gesture as “a slap in the face to the Czech regime. The Pope told them, ‘You don't want him in your home; I’ll give him a place among the Popes.’”

Cardinal Beran participated in the last session of the Second Vatican Council, where he delivered a famous speech on religious freedom.

He lived to be 80, passing away in 1969. He was buried in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, alongside the popes. His last wish was eventually fulfilled in 2018: his remains were repatriated to Prague, where they rest in St. Vitus Cathedral as an eternal symbol of Czech resistance against tyranny.

The process of his beatification, which began in 1998, only solidifies the memory of a pastor who, even with a simple can of sardines, managed to preserve and proclaim the Gospel in the deepest captivity. His life is a stark reminder that the dignity and essence of faith are indestructible, even when stripped of all material trappings.

Welcoming Jesus

Pope Paul VI asked that the can of sardines with which the cardinal celebrated Mass be kept among the sacred vessels of the popes. More specifically, it’s kept between the chalice that was used at the Mass proclaiming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX in 1854, and a precious crystal chalice that Pope Paul VI received as a gift. More precious than the noble materials of the chalices is Cardinal Beran's testimony.

How about you? What manger are you preparing in your life to welcome Jesus? Do you also have a relic of simplicity and faith, or some other object that demonstrates respect and faith?

Pictured: Servant of God His Eminence Jozef, Cardinal Beran