ABSTRACT
St. John of Matha was the founder of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives, which was approved by Pope Innocent III in 1198. As the name suggests, the Order’s purpose was to redeem Christian captives from Muslim territories, within the framework of the devotion to the Trinity. Members wore a large red and blue cross on their habits, echoing crusading orders such as the Knights Templar and the Order of the Knights of St. John. Very little is known about John of Matha, who died in 1213 in Rome. After his death, his body was displayed to the public for four days, before being buried with great ceremony in the church of S. Tommaso in Formis in an ornate marble sarcophagus. By the time of the theft, the Counter-Reformation and its broad programme of reform had given rise to a number of movements for reform among established orders, especially in Spain.
