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Relics

Thousands of Catholic pilgrims are converging on Goa in west India to see the relics of Saint Francis Xavier. The remains of the 16th Century Spanish missionary are usually kept in a casket at the Basilica of Bom Jesus.

Once every 10 years they are put on public display, and on Saturday the casket was brought out in procession and taken to the nearby Se Cathedral.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to travel to Goa to see the relics in the coming weeks. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30160195
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Elbows, skulls and holy hands: Venerating England's saintly relics

More than 800 years after he was murdered at Canterbury Cathedral, a small piece of elbow bone thought to belong to St Thomas Becket has been the centrepiece of a week-long pilgrimage in London and Kent. Venerating saintly relics has long been a tradition of the faithful, with some of the more unusual attracting the most attention.

(Relics of St Thomas Becket
Holy Hand of St Edmund Arrowsmith
Skull of St Ambrose Barlow
The cranium of St Simon Stock
Severed hand of St Margaret Clitherow
Blessed John Henry Newman
Relics of St Cuthbert and St Oswald
Thigh bone of St Alban)

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36398287
 
Bones attributed to St Peter found by chance in 1,000-year-old church in Rome

Bones attributed to St Peter have been found by chance in a church in Rome during routine restoration work, 2,000 years after the apostle’s death.

The relics of the saint, who is regarded as the first Pope, were found in clay pots in the 1,000-year-old Church of Santa Maria in Cappella in the district of Trastevere, a medieval warren of cobbled lanes on the banks of the Tiber River.

The bones were discovered when a worker lifted up a large marble slab near the medieval altar of the church, which has been closed to the public for 35 years because of structural problems.

He came across two Roman-era pots with inscriptions on their lids indicating that inside were not only bone fragments from St Peter but also three early popes – Cornelius, Callixtus and Felix – as well as four early Christian martyrs.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...d-st-peter-found-chance-1000-year-old-church/

The church is "only" a thousand years old - that means the relics were already another thousand years old when they were put there. The chances of being authentic are pretty slim in that case, I would think.

 
^^A friend who works at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) was involved in getting this relic cleared through customs.
 
A good heart is hard to find.


Jubilation would best describe the atmosphere in Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral on Thursday evening as Asst Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy handed over the formerly missing heart of St Laurence O’Toole.

It was accepted by Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough Michael Jackson, who then warmly shook Asst Commissioner Leahy’s hand in gratitude as the Cathedral choir sang Haydn’s Te Deum at a special evensong service to mark the heart’s return.

Greeting the congregation, Archbishop Jackson said: “Welcome to this homecoming to the heart of Laurence, to the heart of Dublin.”

The 800-year-old relic had been stolen in March 2012 and was recently recovered by gardaí in the Phoenix Park. An investigation is ongoing. It had been kept in a wooden heart-shaped container sealed within a small iron-barred cage in St Laud’s chapel at the cathedral. The bars of the cage had been cut and it is believed the thief or thieves hid in the building overnight before taking the heart. ...

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/soc...-returns-to-christ-church-in-dublin-1.3475771

 
How on earth did that end up in the garbage in London?

Relic claimed to be bone from St Clement rescued from the bin

A small leather case containing a fragment of bone claimed to be a relic of St Clement, a pope who was martyred almost 2,000 years ago, has been found in rubbish collected from central London.

The waste disposal firm is now appealing for suggestions from the public for a more suitable final resting place for a saint than a bin.

The box, originally sealed with red wax and tied with crimson cords, contained a scrap of bone under a glass dome, with a faded strip of paper labelling it “Oss. S Clementis” – bone of St Clement.

St Clement is a somewhat obscure figure, and details of his life are hazy and contradictory. However, he is said to have been martyred around the year 100 – just short of his own centenary – by the Roman emperor Trajan, by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea off the Crimea: his fate made him a patron saint of mariners.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...-be-bone-from-st-clement-rescued-from-the-bin
 
Yes, there's a new book:

Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs

Catholic churches throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are hiding dazzling secrets. Now long-forgotten relics, elaborately bejeweled skeletons rest in back rooms and run-down rural chapels. They’re holy relics from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the bones belong to anonymous martyrs that have been lovingly decorated by hand to reflect the splendor of heaven.

In 1578, vineyard workers in Rome discovered a huge catacomb beneath the Via Salaria, one of Italy’s main roads. As they explored the catacomb, the workers were amazed to find that it contained between 500,000 and 750,000 bodies. The graves dated back to the fourth century and included the bodies of Christians as well as some pagans and Jews.

Northern Europe had experienced heavy anti-Catholic sentiment. Many churches were ransacked during the Protestant Reformation and had their holy relics stolen. Now, some Catholics saw the newly discovered skeletons in the catacombs as a way to “restock the shelves,” so to speak, and give the churches new sacred items to display as a way to boost morale.
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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/hist...ons-of-catholicisms-forgotten-martyrs-284882/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/skeletons-waldsassen-basillica
 
New scanning and printing technology being used on a relic of Scotland's St Margaret (as opposed to Antioch's etc etc etc).

Interesting to me will be the insights into the things that happened to it after she had no further use for it - preservation, pilgrimage, politics and so on. If you aren't familiar with Catholic teaching on relics then you might find that bit interesting too!

It's from the Courier.
 
If you calculate the number of breaths in a lifetime of 40 years (from the time of the Nova spotted by Chinese Astronomers in July 7BCE to the dates Pontius Pilate was in charge), you get enough air, when blown around the earth by the odd storm, to mean that there's a reasonable chance the next breath you take might contain an atom which was breathed by Jesus. Which makes you a relic.
 
Rahere said:
If you calculate the number of breaths in a lifetime of 40 years (from the time of the Nova spotted by Chinese Astronomers in July 7BCE to the dates Pontius Pilate was in charge), you get enough air, when blown around the earth by the odd storm, to mean that there's a reasonable chance the next breath you take might contain an atom which was breathed by Jesus. Which makes you a relic.
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*Gasp*
 
When I was in Italy I was at a museum about Galileo, which also had some of his finger bones as relics. Apparently they would not let him go.
This also means it would be possible to bring the bones to Rome, and arrange them so Galileo would be giving the finger at the Vatican. If one was so inclined.
 
Rahere said:
If you calculate the number of breaths in a lifetime of 40 years (from the time of the Nova spotted by Chinese Astronomers in July 7BCE to the dates Pontius Pilate was in charge), you get enough air, when blown around the earth by the odd storm, to mean that there's a reasonable chance the next breath you take might contain an atom which was breathed by Jesus. Which makes you a relic.
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Only a third class relic though. Having handled some first and second class relics I'm a multiple thrid class relic!
 
Bones of Medieval Saint and Princess Found Hidden in Church Wall

Source: ancient-origins.net
Date: 7 March, 2020

Scientists have finally managed to solve a centuries-old mystery. They have been able to show with a high degree of probability that some bones located in a church wall belonged to a medieval saint and princess who played a very important role in the development of Christianity in England. The team of experts believe they have found the remains of St Eanswythe, who lived in the 7th century AD.

In 1885 a number of human bones were found in in the wall of the Church of St Mary & St Eanswythe, on Church Street, Folkestone. Folkestone is a historic town in the County of Kent on the south coast of England. The bones were something of a mystery - no one was sure of their origin or who they belonged to.

Recently a group of archaeologists used radiocarbon dating technology to study the remains. A team comprised of local archaeologists and experts from Kent along with scientists from Queen’s University Belfast collaborated on the project.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/medieval-saint-0013387
 
Relic of Pope John Paul II's blood stolen from Italian cathedral

A gold and crystal casing holding drops of the blood of Saint Pope John Paul II was stolen from the cathedral of the central Italian city of Spoleto, its bishop said on Thursday.

https---prod.static9.net.au-fs-8961d8b7-4134-42ce-8e09-29e38ce37ca1.jpeg

(Image originally posted has gone MIA. This substitute photo is from a different news account of the theft.)

The casing, known as a reliquary, was snatched on Wednesday from an altar dedicated to the Polish pope, who died in 2005 after a 27-year reign.

A sacristan who was closing the cathedral for the night discovered the theft of the reliquary, which encased a vial holding a few drops of blood.

Archbishop Renato Boccardo said it was not clear if the reliquary had been stolen for ransom, which has happened in the past with other relics in Italy.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/0...-paul-iis-blood-stolen-from-italian-cathedral

maximus otter
 
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Xanatic* said:
When I was in Italy I was at a museum about Galileo, which also had some of his finger bones as relics. Apparently they would not let him go.
This also means it would be possible to bring the bones to Rome, and arrange them so Galileo would be giving the finger at the Vatican. If one was so inclined.
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In Florence I saw a monument to Galileo in the cathedral. They are proud of him now!

It was beautiful to see the video of the astronaut David Scott the Moon dropping a hammer and feather, which both fell at the same speed, and saying 'This is for you, Galileo!'
Got me a bit choked, y'know. Science is awesome.
 
A rare scientific examination of remains at Rome's Santi Apostoli church failed to validate them as relics of Saint Philip and Saint James the Younger.
Scientific investigations of believed remains of two apostles

In Rome lies the Santi Apostoli church, cared for by Franciscan brothers for more than 500 years. For more than 1500 years, this site has held the believed remains of two of the earliest Christians and Jesu apostles: St. Philip and St. James the Younger - relics of the Holy Catholic Church. ...

Shortly after the churches were erected, remains of worshipped Christian martyrs were moved from their graves to designated worship churches in the towns. This also applied for the remains of the two apostles, St. Philip and St. James. Such movements of remains were called translations. ...

It is unknown who translated the believed remains of St. Philip and St. James and where from, but it is a fact, that they came to glorify the current church of Santi Apostoli in Rome, constructed in their honor. It is also a fact that the remains have been kept in the church since the sixth century.

So, are the relics really the remains of St. James and St. Philip? And what else can we learn from the bones? ...

The researchers considered the remains of St. Philip too difficult to de-contaminate and radiocarbon date, and their age thus remains unknown so far. But the femur, believed to belong to St. James, underwent several analyses. Most importantly, it was radiocarbon dated to AD 214-340.

Thus, the preserved relic, the femur, is not that of St. James. It originates from an individual some 160-240 years younger than St. James ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/uosd-sio020121.php
 
I just saw this article about St.Nicholas
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
It describes him as being the patron saint of pawnbrokers and has the three balls/coins attributed to him, which is the symbol of pawnbrokers, was just wondering if there are any other professions that take their symbols from their patron saints?
 
Souleater said:
I just saw this article about St.Nicholas
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
It describes him as being the patron saint of pawnbrokers and has the three balls/coins attributed to him, which is the symbol of pawnbrokers, was just wondering if there are any other professions that take their symbols from their patron saints?
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Saint Genesius is the patron saint of actors and his symbol is a theatre mask
theatre mask.jpg

So something that is definitely used in theatres and is used in the logo of Equity, the actors union.
 
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