This work depicts an episode from the life of Rodolfo I (1218-1291), founder of the Hapsburg Dynasty. While hunting with his page, Regulo de Kyburg, Rodolfo met a priest and a sexton who were taking the eucharist to a dying man but found their way blocked by a swift-flowing river. In order to help them cross the river, and as a demonstration of their respect for the Holy Sacraments, Rodolfo and his page ceded their horses to the two holy men.

The landscape was painted by Wildens and the figures by Rubens. In 1630, this work was listed in the inventory of the property of the First Marquis of Legan