The German director Alexander Landsberger together with his team from the public television channel ZDF, travelled to Valencia last October to film a documentary based on the investigations centred on the Holy Chalice in the Cathedral of Valencia together with Dr. Ana Mafé García.

This is the second time that the Germans have come to Spain in search of the Holy Grail. The first was in the 1940s. Luckily, whoever came for it made the wrong choice. Instead of the Royal Pantheon Monastery of San Juan de la Peña in Huesca, Reichführer Heinrich Himmler went to Montserrat (in Catalonia). And so he left empty-handed…

The Holy Chalice is in all probability the cup that Jesus Christ had between his fingers at the Last Supper shortly before he died on the cross. The Holy Grail is also a symbol associated with power and blood. It is actually one of the most sought-after objects of worship in the Western Middle Ages. Since its appearance in literature, this cup of blessing in which Jesus Christ drank promises power, influence and eternal life.

Dr. Ana Mafé explains in the documentary the evidence that proves that the sacred vessel, also known as the Holy Chalice, was found in the Cathedral of Valencia. The piece is presented in the Chapel of the Holy Chalice of the Cathedral of Valencia by Dr. Jaime Sancho Andreu who has been its custodian for the last twenty years.

Tradition considers that the dark and shiny cup shown in Valencia is the true Holy Grail. The doctor in History of Art, Ana Mafé García, shows in the documentary part of her scientific studies carried out in the Laboratory of History of Art of the University of Valencia together with Dr. María Gómez, which demonstrate that the cup that there is in Valencia is a true “Hebrew cup of blessing” of more than two thousand years ago, belonging to a Jewish family descendant of the tribe of Judah. The piece is archaeologically catalogued as KOS KIDUSH ESTHER – VALENCIA, 2018. And it is the only whole cup of these characteristics that exists in the world.

Her doctoral studies have been granted by the #verysentirlacultura program of the Losan Optical Centre, and are included as an essay in the book EL SANTO GRIAL, published by Sargantana. This book explains the travelling journey of the relic from Jerusalem, passing through the catacombs of Rome and arriving in Osca, Hispania. As does the documentary directed by Alexander Landsberger.

At the request of Dr. Mafé, the TV channel ZDF also counted on the German historian Michael Hesemann to explain in the Pyrenees of the Jacetania the route of the Holy Grail Way. In 2008 Michael Hesemann drew up the “treasure map” based on the study of the medieval epic called “Parzival” (13th century) which describes the Holy Grail as a “shining stone from heaven”.

His participation also extends to the Capital of the Empire with the mission of verifying the research that Dr. Mafé cites in her thesis, after applying the iconological method to the female figures that appear in the catacombs of Rome.

These deaconesses represent in fact a celebration where the physiognomy and the colour of the main cup that they carefully carry between their fingers is a reflection of the figure of the Holy Chalice of the Cathedral of Valencia.

Could this mean that the Holy Chalice in Valencia is the only grail? In the documentary we will see how all this research material is put to the test in physical experiments and with replicable methodology.

Very interesting is the contribution that is discovered in Piró silversmith’s workshop with the master Don Antonio Piró. As well as the intense visit to the Real Colegio Seminario de Corpus Christ directed by Dr. Daniel Benito Goerlich, professor of the University of Valencia.

Any cup that claims to be the Holy Grail must be able to pass certain archaeological requirements in order to be considered worthy of such a title. That is why other traces of other pieces will also be followed in the documentary.

What do the legends surrounding King Arthur in mythical sites such as Tintagel and Glastonbury say in England? Having no object to show, they still feed the Grail myth there.

Don’t forget to tune in to the first German broadcast on Sunday 9 August at 9.45pm on ZDFinfo.

Dr. Ana Mafé García is the president of the Cultural Association El Camino del Santo Grial (a national association founded in 2002) and the president of the International Scientific Commission of the Holy Grail Way (formed by academics from all continents).

Her doctoral studies have been granted by the #verysentirlacultura program of the Losan Optical Centre, and are included as an essay in the book EL SANTO GRIAL, published by Sargantana. The book explains the unique journey.

She has been part of the European project Holy Grail Route (2015) through academic contributions at the First International Congress of the Holy Grail Route, sponsored by the University of Zaragoza in Jaca.

She collaborates with different media to give international diffusion to the Holy Grail (Holy Chalice) and to position Spain as an international focal point of the studies of the medieval legend that so many visitors are fascinated with.

This research aims to establish the city of Valencia as the epicentre of the Knowledge of the Holy Grail, this search representing the journey of the Way of the Holy Grail.

The most interesting thing that can represent to support the diffusion and the knowledge about the Holy Grail is the cultural projection that exists of this symbol. Working together in this direction can relaunch Spain as the best country in the world to know by foot.

In 2014 the Vatican awarded the Cathedral of Valencia the title of “Jubilee in Perpetuity every five years”, thus reaching the third place within the Jubilee cities just behind Jerusalem and Rome. Cities that, by the way, are also part of the Way of the Holy Grail.