As the month of all saints and all souls continues, I thought I’d share some cool photos of relics from some of my travels in recent months.

Relics, honored in the Catholic Church, are the bodies of the saints or objects connected with them or with Our Lord. God has often shown His approval of relics as sacramentals by working miracles through them. Relics deserve to be venerated. The bodies of saints were temples of the Holy Spirit and instruments through which God worked. However, no Catholic is required to believe in miracles [related to relics] any more than one is obliged to believe in private revelations such as those of Lourdes and Fatima. We honor relics by preserving them with reverence, visiting the places were they are enshrined, and praying before them.

The word relic comes from the Latin reliquirae, or “remains.” Relics are classified in three categories. First-class relics are parts of the bodies of saints, or instruments of the Passion (like fragments of the True Cross). Second class relics are objects that have been in close contact with the saints, such as articles of clothing or personal items. In the case of a martyr, the instruments of martyrdom are also considered in this category. Third-class relics are objects like Rosaries or cloths that have been touched to the body of the saint, or to either first or second class relics.

…

Most prized of all relics are the relics of Christ’s passion, particularly of the cross on which He died.

-Ann Ball, The How-to Book of Sacramentals_

In September, I was a guest at the Chiara Center retreat house, attached to St Francis of Assisi Church, the motherhouse of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis. (Here’s a cool PDF about all the highlights in the St Francis church.) St Francis of Assisi church is loaded with relics. Its sanctuary is pictured in the banner photo above. Besides praying before the Blessed Sacrament every day, I was privileged to view and pray before their collection of relics. Yes, I experienced Catholic geek overload. And it was wonderful.

I’m gonna supersize these photos so you can see the details… or as many details as my cameral phone can allow. (Note: if you are viewing on a phone, you might want to check back later on a larger screen to appreciate the larger frames. Some photos might be cut severely on a phone-sized screen. You can also click on the photos to view them.)

Reliquary of the True Cross

Close up of the splinter fragment of the True Cross.
(Here in Boston, our cathedral of the Holy Cross has a miniature fragment compared to this one.)

Documentation of the relic coming from Pope Pius IX.

Reliquary for St Francis of Assisi, the church patron and patron of the Hospital Sisters’ religious order.

St Francis of Assisi, relic.

Here’s a major relic of St Felicitas ( Oh yes, you know here — Felicity  — the martyr mentioned in the Roman Canon, Eucharistic Prayer I?)

“For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, (Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia) and all the saints.” (Roman Canon)

Documentation of how this first class relic got to Springfield, IL… (a virgin and martyr for the faith)

More here about the how the Mother Superior made this request to have this relic for the motherhouse.

The hallway in the Church basement where the relics are exposed in marble and glass displays.

Can you see all those little discs in the displays?  Many many relics to be venerated.

Here’s a few of my favorites…

Relics of the 12 Apostles plus the great apostle to the Gentiles, St Paul.

St John of the Cross, relic

St Gemma Galgani, relic

St Rose of Lima, relic

Top to Bottom: St Alphonse Liquori, St Bernard, St Louis de Montfort, relics

St Philomena, relic

St Teresa of Jesus (St Teresa of Avila), relic.

St Camillus, relic (ex ossibus = “from the bones”)

St Kateri Tekakwitha, relic

Top to Bottom: St Anthony of Padua, St Francis of Assisi, St Clare of Assisi, St Ludov, St Elizabeth of Hungary, relics.

St Maria Goretti, relic (V.M. = virgin, martyr)

St Anthony of Padua, relic

St Pius X, relic

St Catherine of Siena, relic

Finally, while I was away at spiritual direction school in June, I found a few more relics at Our Lady of Divine Providence, House of Prayer. Took a few photos of my favs.

Our Lady of Divine Providence, House of Prayer, Clearwater, FL

St Padre Pio, relic

Close – up, St Pio, first class relic

St Catherine of Siena, relic

St Teresa of Avila, relic

Kind of just makes you want to break out into a Litany of Saints don’t it?