Ansorena's Queen Mercedes Chalice to Be Used by Pope Leo XIV in Madrid

On 7 June, Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Holy Mass in Madrid as part of his apostolic journey to Spain.

The chalice that the Pontiff will use during the Corpus Christi Mass on Sunday is the renowned Queen Mercedes Chalice, crafted by Ansorena. The chalice takes its name from María de las Mercedes of Orléans and Bourbon, the first wife of King Alfonso XII, who presented it as a gift.

The piece was commissioned by the Queen herself from the House of Ansorena as a gift for the Religious of the Assumption, with whom she had studied and for whom she held great affection. In 2022, more than a century later, the congregation presented it to Cardinal Carlos Osoro, Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid, who subsequently donated it to the Museum of the Almudena Cathedral, where it has been preserved ever since.