The holy foreskin, or holy prepuce, is exactly what it sounds like: the foreskin of baby Jesus. We know that Jesus, like all Jewish boys, was circumcised.
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. (Luke 2:21)
But is there any reason to believe that it was kept? It is very unlikely. But in a later culture that esteemed relics, it could be understood why some would think about. When Jesus experienced the resurrection, his entire body was changed and he ascended to heaven. The only possible remaining part of his body would be his foreskin.
Such a tradition goes back to the Arabic Infancy Gospel of the Savior. This text is first mentioned in the 9th Century, although its original date is unknown. Because of its parallels with the Qur’an, it likely was written after that text.
And the time of circumcision, that is, the eighth day, being at hand, the child was to be circumcised according to the law. Wherefore they circumcised Him in the cave. And the old Hebrew woman took the piece of skin; but some say that she took the navel-string, and laid it past in a jar of old oil of nard. And she had a son, a dealer in unguents, and she gave it to him, saying: See that thou do not sell this jar of unguent of nard, even although three hundred denarii should be offered thee for it. And this is that jar which Mary the sinner bought and poured upon the head and feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, which thereafter she wiped with the hair of her head.
It is claimed that Charlemagne gave it to Pope Leo III on December 25, 800. As the interest in relics grew, so did the number of holy foreskins. Having a relic that went back to Jesus was especially valuable and there was no way to prove if something was legitimate. Despite that, it is unknown if any of the holy foreskins still exist.
I do not for a minute think that Jesus’ foreskin was kept and then passed around as a relic. But this is interesting for what it says about Christian piety during a particular part of church history.
