A special exhibit:

Though all the objects that will be displayed at Holy Cross hold considerable historical significance, the chalice is at the center of the exhibit.

The cup, which is on loan to Holy Cross from Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England, is one of at least 10 that were produced by Albert Moore, a London silversmith.

They were used from around 1650 to 1670 by 18 Jesuit missionaries who traveled about ministering to the needs of Catholics living in East Anglia, an area just to the northeast of London.

The Stonyhurst chalice, which is adorned with gold, is about 6-1/2 inches high.

“They weren’t very big because the Jesuits probably wanted to conceal them when traveling. These chalices were very easy to pack,” said Ms. Raguin, who is curator of the exhibit.

“At the time, Masses were held in barns or kitchens, away from the authorities. And, of course, it’s much cheaper to make a small rather than a big chalice,” she said.

The assumption that Mr. Moore made the chalice was made in the 1950s by a researcher named Charles Oman, based on a style comparison of similar objects created by the silversmith.

Normally crafters during the English Reformation emblazoned their works with special identifying symbols, such as a crowned lion.

Obviously, the chalices made for the Jesuits have no such markings, which would have allowed English officials to track down and arrest the artist.