Bernat Racz graduated from the American University of Rome with a BA in Art History. He continued his studies in Rome at John Cabot University with an MA in Art History. He then pursued a 1-year MA in medieval studies at CEU, where he began researching the topic which is also a central part of his PhD research, the 12th-century Mosan reliquary of Pétermonostora. In 2023, he was a recipient of the Tanasa award and the CEU outstanding Academic Achievement Award. Bernat’s PhD research explores a broader group of 12th-century quatrefoil reliquaries known as phylacteries. He aims to examine the narrative function of reliquaries with these special shapes and their usage in the 12th century.
Bernat is interested in Latin Christian art in the period 800–1200, with a focus on the cult of relics and its relation to the arts. In addition, he also researches other types of church treasures and objects related to pilgrimages. He is a founding member of community archeology in Hungary and has been actively participating in the medieval settlement research project of the Katona József Museum of Kecskemét for over a decade. Currently he is also preparing a catalog of the medieval religious artworks of Bács-Kiskun County (Hungary).