On how to obtain relics

[Ioannes_L]

I said I would not come back to CAF after my goodbye, but I have a question concerning relics that I could not solve out.
How can a lay Catholic obtain a first class relic, or even a second, from a venerable, blessed, or saint nowadays?

PM me if you like.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Nowadays, lay people generally cannot obtain any first class relics through official sources, unless it is a case of the lay person personally obtaining such a relic from the saintly person while s/he was still alive, or maybe receiving it as a gift from some other person who got it while the saintly person was alive. (I’ve heard stories of people who got a fragment of a Padre Pio glove stained with his blood from somebody who knew Padre Pio.) You could possibly find a purported first class relic to buy either from eBay or from a dealer. In such a case, however, there would be a risk of committing simony from engaging in the buying and selling of holy relics.

You might decide to go ahead anyway, perhaps in order to rescue the relic from someone who wouldn’t treat it reverently. I understand this is sometimes an acceptable reason to buy them and at least one major US relic shrine has hundreds of such relics that a rich Catholic priest bought for just this reason. However, the first class relic you received might be a fake even if it had a certificate; the price would probably be very high for a first class relic; and Catholic lay people who have first class relics really aren’t supposed to keep them but instead are supposed to turn them over to the Church, such as give them to your priest.

Regarding second-class relics, they are a little easier to come by. If the person is going through the canonization process, often their cause will send out cards with second-class relics, usually a tiny piece of the person’s clothing. I got one for Fulton Sheen recently, by simply writing to his cause and requesting one and making the suggested donation. If the person is relatively recently deceased, you may be able to buy something like an autographed book of theirs. Also sometimes the saint’s shrines or other people will sell you a reliquary or something and include the relic, and the price for the whole thing is reasonable price for the reliquary, so it’s not simony. The Shrine of St. John Neumann recently was selling paperweights that contained a piece of his coffin, which is a second-class relic, and they were very inexpensive (cost of a normal paperweight), so I bought one.

You can also sometimes obtain second-class relics on eBay or from dealers; again you risk getting into simony if you pay too much so it’s up to your prudential judgment. You don’t have to turn them in to a priest like you do with first-class relics. But really best to obtain them straight from the saint’s shrine or from their official cause to make sure you are getting the real deal.

Edited to add, the St. John Neumann relic paperweight is still available in his shrine’s gift shop here. I would note that when mine was sent to me, whoever mailed it did not calculate the postage correctly so it arrived “Postage Due”.

https://stjohnneumann.org/shop/

Information on how to get the Archbishop Sheen relic card is here (My card had a purple vestment fragment):

http://www.archbishopsheencause.org/the-cause/request-materials

 

[giuseppeTO]

You may have to settle for a 3rd Class relic. While in Rome a few years ago, I laid my rosary on the crypts of St. Peter, St. John Bosco, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Sebastian. Needless to say, it is my favorite sacramental.

 

[Diaconia]

I laid my rosary on the crypts of St. Peter, St. John Bosco, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Sebastian. Needless to say, it is my favorite sacramental.

I did something very similar with my Breviary. I laid it upon Zechariah’s tomb while I prayed the Benedictus, and touched it to the remains of St. Mark (evangelist), St. Francis, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Sebastian and the arm of the Forerunner John.

I do have a first-class relic of St. Conrad of Parzham, a Capuchin from Bavaria who lived in the 19th century. It was given to me by another seminarian.

Deacon Christopher

 

[Ioannes_L]

You might decide to go ahead anyway, perhaps in order to rescue the relic from someone who wouldn’t treat it reverently.

Saint Louis IX did this, but I don’t believe the same principle applies to me, so I’ll simply avoid it.
I have zero to no dreams that I’ll get a relic from St. Roche, St. Anthony, or any other great saints, but I was under the impression that those working to have someone in the glory of the altars would be more “generous” with relics. Maybe I’m wrong.
I’ll try to reach some involved in other causes and try to obtain at least a 2nd class relic.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

They may be generous with second class relics if you ask them.
I know for Fr Solanus Casey they gave out second class relics for quite a while. As the saint approaches beatification they tend to run out and shift over to third class, as they did with him.

As someone else said, I like to make my own third class relics by touching a rosary or a medal or something to their tomb. In this way i made third class relics of Bl. Jerzy Popieluszcko, Bl. Solanus Casey, Mother Katherine Drexel, and Servant of God Rhoda Wise. I also got some dirt from Rhoda’s grave.
If you ever go to St Anthony’s tomb, you can touch things to it.

I would love to get a relic of Ven. Father Peyton but haven’t seen anything offerred by his guild so I may have to write to them. Or just go visit his grave and touch a medal to it, but I’m not sure if they took him out for next steps.

 

[Ioannes_L]

If you ever go to St Anthony’s tomb, you can touch things to it.

No need to say this.
I can’t remember how many objects became 3rd class relics that day.
Handkerchiefs, an image, medals, prayer cards… you name it.

The one i cherish the most is my Ex indumentis medal.
I bought it back in Lisbon, at the place where he was born, and later that year I had the honour of pressing it against his tomb.

I also made some 3rd class relics from Saint Francis of Assisi.

 

[to-whatever-end]

This is a topic that I’ve been interested in looking into. I actually was given a first class relic just over a year or so ago. The chaplaincy coordinator of my high school (graduated in 2015) had passed it on to me. She mentioned having sought out permission of sorts from the local archdiocese.
In my personal opinion, I would highly suggest that you avoid trying to obtain relics of any class from sources such as eBay. Even if they are legitimate relics, it doesn’t seem appropriate (at least in my opinion) to obtain a relic in a manner that involves any sort of monetary exchange. At the very least, purchasing a relic of any class is disrespectful to the Church and the saint. They aren’t really collectibles and shouldn’t be treated as such.
Maybe consider investing in going on a pilgrimage of sorts to various places where reliquaries are viewable/accessible to the laity to some degree? You’re likely to learn more about specific relics this way. There is traditionally a cleric that is charged with overseeing the reliquary at a certain place like a basilica/cathedral/etc. They often have information about the specific relic and saint that you would not be able to find elsewhere.

I personally collect and restore devotional medals that I find in antique/thrift markets and stores. It’s definitely not as expensive as it would be to try and purchase a relic. I find it to be a wonderful way to learn more about the saints.