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Saints' Relics Give Catholics Connection to Church's Heroes
By Laura Kilgus
Source: Catholic News Service
Published: Sunday, November 01, 2009
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNS)—St. Francis of Assisi's tunic, St. Elizabeth of Hungary's skull and St. Anthony's tongue and lower jaw. All are relics, personal objects of religious importance thoughtfully cared for and venerated as a physical gateway to the saints and God.

Tracy Giliberto, co-creator of the Web site FishEaters, a comprehensive repository of information about the Catholic faith and instructions on the church's traditions, explained the place of relics in modern society.

"It's funny to me how a culture that is filled with autograph hounds and those who clamor to be around those glittered with stardust can consider the Catholic veneration of relics as a joke," Giliberto told the Rhode Island Catholic, newspaper of the Providence Diocese.

"A lovely dish is just a lovely dish, but one owned by your great-grandmother is a treasure. We pay $20,000 for a $200 jacket worn by Jacqueline Kennedy, faint at Beatles concerts, engage in riotous behavior to get our hands on one of Elvis' scarves, but when a relic of St. Catherine is mentioned, people snicker," she said.

Giliberto explained that she helped to create the FishEaters Web site not only to help lifelong Catholics deepen their understanding of the faith, but also to help converts and those curious understand how and why Catholics worship in ways they do.

"The traditional ways can be pretty daunting—when to stand, kneel, bow, cross yourself," said Giliberto. "What's a novena and how do you pray one or the deal with burying statues of St. Joseph when selling a house?

"There are so many nooks and crannies to all the sacramentals, rituals and customs, and it's all so beautiful and fascinating. They're precious and lovely because they're also rooted in truth," she added.

Father Jay Finelli, pastor at Holy Ghost Church in Tiverton, explained that relics are found in many world religions, not just Catholicism.

"The Greeks had relics; they held them in high esteem, so they kept their remains so they could go there and to honor them," said Father Finelli. "The Muslims have relics; they have the swords of the prophets David and Mohammed, and they have the staff of Moses."

Father Finelli explained the church requires that a wax seal be placed by a bishop on the back of any reliquary in which relics are kept to show that the relics are authentic.

There are three classifications of relics, Father Finelli said. A first-class relic is directly associated with the events of the life of Jesus himself, including the nails, crown of thorns or anything he came in contact with. A first-class relics also could be directly associated with a saint, such as a lock of hair, a bone fragment or a fingernail.

"If we come in contact with a relic, it reminds us that we are in contact with Christ," he said.

A second-class relic is something that has been touched or worn by a saint. This is not directly from the body of the saint and could include a crucifix used by a saint or his or her personal journal. A third-class relic is an object that has been touched to a first-class relic.

The church treats these relics with great dignity, Father Finelli said.

He added that there are other relics important to society that provide connections to people's heroes.

"We know that every president, after they finish their term, has a presidential library," said Father Finelli. "It is important for our culture. We as Americans treasure the Declaration of Independence; we hold it to be a very sacred document. We treasure these things because they are records of things that have happened in the past and of people who are an important part of our history.

"It's a connection to the people that they look up to, that they honor, a connection to a time and place," he said. "By these things we are able to become heroes or become more like them."

Relics are a way Christ reaches out to his people, he said.

"God works through his vessels," said Father Finelli. "Every time we venerate relics, we are not worshipping the saint, we are not praising the saint, we are thanking God for our brothers and sisters who have gone before us. Relics being us back to our roots; they bring us back to Christ."

Father Finelli added that relics help people touch the untouchable and stay connected to the people who are no longer with them.

"Relics help nourish faith," said Father Finelli. "They are also an external means of remembering that person, drawing us in deeper and inspiring that faith. Just like when we see a picture of a loved one who has passed away, it reminds us of how much we love them.

There are "a lot of great things that the church gives us to deepen our faith," he said, adding that relics are among them.

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