Saint's Relics: How do these devotional objects still touch us?
The veneration of relics exists in different religions, dating back to Antiquity. Throughout time, people have found - through objects belonging to the deceased - a way to respect, care for, and venerate the memory of a person and their life. In the Catholic tradition, the relics of saints are the object of a popular devotion that has spanned centuries, even if the fervor has not always had the same intensity. These objects, bones, garments piously kept at the heart of churches were the object of veneration and prayers, and sometimes the site of beautiful miracles. But how can a relic nourish my life of faith? Can I pray a prayer for healing at the foot of a reliquary and expect a miracle without risking falling into superstition or idolatry?
What is a relic for Catholics?
The relics of saints in the Catholic tradition
The Robert dictionary defines a relic as "A fragment of a saint's body (or object associated with the life of Christ or a saint) to which veneration is paid."
The Catholic Church clarifies the nature of this veneration and explains where the veneration of relics comes from: "The veneration paid to relics, which is directed to the saints, is a veneration of respect and not adoration, reserved for God alone. This veneration dates back to the martyrs of the first centuries, on whose tombs people came to pray and celebrate Mass." (site edited by the Conference of Bishops of France)
The first Christian relics were notably the bodies of martyrs (what remained of them). While Masses are no longer celebrated on tombs, many church altars contain a relic of a saint to perpetuate this tradition of the first centuries.
To the relics of martyrs, considered thaumaturgic (sources of miracles), were added those of other Catholic saints who followed. Relics then became objects of pilgrimage notably for requests for healing or special protection.
The belief is that graces can also be transmitted through clothing or objects as shown in certain passages of the Bible, such as this one from the Acts of the Apostles: "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them." (Acts 19:11-12)
While these objects (bodily or material) are objects of devotion; throughout history, this devotion has varied in scale.
Abuses and distortions around relics - theft, trafficking and trade of relics, appearances of false relics - have existed over the centuries, as well as confusion with what more closely resembles superstition or magic, thereby diverting the faithful from God. This is what was denounced, among other times, during the Reformation. Among Protestants, there is neither veneration of saints nor veneration of relics. The Council of Trent, while authorizing it, regulated this practice to avoid deviations.
History thus teaches us that relics remain supports for a life of prayer, calls to conversion and to turn towards God, but should never be sought for themselves. Relics are above all signs of the presence of God.
Examples of relics
Here are some examples of relics:
The incorrupt bodies of saints like that of the Curé of Ars, Saint Catherine Labouré or, more recently, the intact body of Carlo Acutis, displayed in Assisi.
A part of a body: bone fragment, finger, heart, hair, tooth, blood...
A garment or piece of a garment, such as the Holy Tunic in Argenteuil which is said to have covered Christ during his passion.
An object like Saint Joseph's staff preserved in Naples or the Shroud of Turin.
Veneration of relics: Channel of grace or superstition?
Between debates about the authenticity of certain relics, abuses and the risk of falling into a form of superstition, can we really put faith in relics?
Relics, source of many miracles...
The miracles that have occurred around saints, even after their death, through their relics, are numerous.
While some cannot always be verified but are the subject of popular beliefs contributing to the history and aura of the saint, through hagiographical accounts (as illustrated by Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend), unexplained graces continue to appear around relics. This is the case, for example, of the miraculous healing of Pauline Jaricot on the relics of Saint Philomena, or of Abbé Charles Anne, healed after praying a novena to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux while wearing a small bag of her hair around his neck.
It is important to note that these miraculés did not just stand near the relics but prayed to the saint and asked for their intercession. They were healed by their faith, by the grace of God and with the intercession of a saint; the relics being supports for their prayers.
... and many deviations
The principle of relics is as old as the world, and the human tendency to seek reassurance through the material presence of an object plays a part. A relic - in the Catholic religion - is not a talisman, a good luck charm or a gris-gris.
To prevent any misconduct, it is no longer permitted for an individual alone - layperson or religious - to obtain a relic of a saint; these are only assigned to a community or a parish for the "public veneration of the faithful." And the trade in relics is strictly forbidden by the Church.
While relics should be the object of care, respect, and piety, it is important to guard against any fetishism or idolatry.
The necessity of seeking God above all
Therefore, it is important to clearly distinguish the veneration of a saint (through their relic) from the adoration that can only concern God Himself.
Saint Jerome reminds us clearly: "We do not worship relics, we do not adore them, lest we bow down to the creature rather than the Creator. But we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order to better adore Him of whom they are martyrs." (Ad Riparium, i, PL, XXII, 907).
It is not the object itself that is venerated, but the saint through it. And behind this saint, it is the figure of holiness and their likeness to Christ. The relic therefore helps us to contemplate Christ, the action of God on Earth, incarnated in a saint. It should not turn our gaze away from Christ to become an attachment to the object itself.
In this sense, the value of a relic lies primarily in its ability to nourish our faith, our capacity for abandonment to God's love and His action in our lives.
The Catholic Church, in its catechism, reaffirms its attachment to this form of popular piety: "Apart from the sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the sacramental life of the Church, such as the veneration of relics, visits to shrines, pilgrimages, processions, the way of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals, etc." (article 1674)
Today, how can relics nourish my faith?
As objects of testimony
Behind each relic, there is a story. The story of a life, the story of a spiritual battle, the story of a victory in faith. Discovering relics and all they convey to us about the saint from whom they come, but also about the faithful through the ages who have prayed around them, allows us to better understand the Christian faith. They are precious testimonies of the Church through the centuries. And for each Christian, being able to anchor oneself in a history, to remember that our battles have already been lived (and won!) by others is a strength.
As an invitation to embody my prayer
A relic invites one to set out on a journey. It can give meaning to our prayers, which can sometimes feel arid.
It can be the occasion for a pilgrimage to the site of the relic: taking time, changing my habits, setting out on a journey, discovering a new place... it's also about making room and availability for God in my life.
Behind the relic, it is a saint whose intercession I ask for. Discovering this saint, their charisms, understanding how their life, their example resonates in me, these are as many little lights that can illuminate my own path.
In front of a relic, I am carried by the fervor of other believers. Communal prayer carries us, and when I myself feel my prayer weakening, I can simply also be nourished by the faith of the brothers and sisters around me.
"The saints are our models of prayer and we also ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world before the Holy Trinity. Their intercession is their highest service of God's plan. Throughout the history of the Church, different types of spirituality, which teach us to live and practice prayer, have developed in the communion of saints." (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Where to see holy relics?
Where are relics located?
Relics, placed in reliquaries or shrines, are kept in churches. The first relics of martyrs were enshrined in the altar of the churches themselves. Now they are generally placed in a part of the church, in the crypt but sometimes the shrine or reliquary is visible, allowing the faithful to contemplate it.
Some (when size permits) are sometimes taken out and are the object of processions at certain times.
Pray to the Saints with Hozana
Discover many free proposals on the Hozana website or application to pray and be taught by these great witnesses of faith that are the saints. For example, you can
You can also entrust your prayers to great intercessors through novenas: like this or , that young saint of the 21st century whose incorrupt body is one of the most beautiful relics of our time.
