Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

Does Jesus' Foreskin Still Exist?

October 9, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 1983, in the mountaintop Italian town of Calcata, a holy relic went missing from its secure location: a shoebox under the parish priest’s bed. The artifact was the foreskin of Jesus Christ, and its disappearance ended a centuries-long tradition of venerating what medieval Christians believed was the only piece of Jesus’s body he left behind on earth. Dr. James White, a medievalist from the University of Alberta, spent his PhD tracing how this particular body part became one of the most sought-after—and most theologically complicated—relics in Christian history.

How a circumcision became a relic

The story begins with a single verse in the Gospel of Luke (2:21), which states that Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, as was customary for Jewish boys. For medieval Christians, this was the only unambiguous scriptural evidence that Jesus ever shed a piece of his body. Unlike hair clippings or fingernail parings, which are never mentioned in the Bible, the circumcision was recorded. And if flesh was removed, it had to exist somewhere.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **Introduction & The Heist** - Kate Lister sets up the episode with a story: in 1983, the holy foreskin of Jesus is stolen from its "secure location" in a shoebox under a priest's bed in Calcata, Italy.
  • 2 (05:06) **How a PhD Student Found Jesus' Foreskin** - James White explains how he stumbled onto the topic while studying Saint Catherine of Siena.
  • 3 (07:53) **The Origin Story: Circumcision & Charlemagne** - The relic's origin is traced to the biblical fact of Jesus' circumcision (Luke 2:21) and a legend that began around 1100 AD.
  • 4 (09:57) **What is a Religious Relic?** - James defines a relic and explains its function in medieval Christianity.
  • 5 (17:31) **The Proliferation: 25 Holy Foreskins** - The episode details how multiple churches simultaneously claimed to possess the same relic.
  • 6 (22:17) **Erotic Visions & Mystical Consumption** - The discussion turns to the "oddly erotic" visions of medieval nuns and mystics involving the foreskin.
  • 7 (27:30) **Was it Sublimated Sex or Religious Devotion?** - Kate and James debate whether these visions were erotic or purely devotional.

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Show Notes

STOLEN! Jesus' foreskin!


Well, maybe not. But 2000 years after his birth, where might Jesus' foreskin be? And why does it matter to people?


Kate is joined by Dr James White for this episode to find out how the Holy Prepuce has supposedly survived the last two centuries, and what it has meant to the people devoted to it.


James is a historian of late medieval Europe, with a special interest in the body, gender, and religion. He teaches at the University of Alberta, where his research has focused on

late medieval devotion to the Holy Foreskin and anti-Jewish condemnation of circumcision by Christians.


This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Sophie Gee. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.


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All music from Epidemic Sounds.


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