Give me a hand...

I have a friend named Andrea who is a youth minister at a parish in Colorado.  A few months ago, she told me that her middle school students were learning about the Saints.  Somehow, they got talking about relics, and she asked if I might be able to get some pictures of relics here in Rome.  I told her that I accepted her challenge, and it actually wasn't too difficult to accomplish.  It seems that almost everywhere you turn in Rome, you are bound to see an arm bone, a piece of cloth worn by a holy person, or some other remembrance of a saint (like St. Claire's ball of yarn).  And then, there is the Capuchin crypt, where chapels are decorated using only bones of dead Capuchin Friars.  (Sorry, but they didn't allow photographs.  And, you really just need to see it to believe it.)  I was once told that in the Middle Ages, relics were a big deal...economically.  If a city could boast that their cathedral had a relic, and if the relic was purported to have miraculous powers, then the city was guaranteed to have pilgrims!  It was like the original tourism promotion :)  Anyone who has read or seen the mini-series "Pillars of the Earth" will know what I mean.

Here's the arm of a Jesuit Martyr.  I don't know anything about him, other than his arm is located in the Church of St. Ignatius in central Rome.

It shouldn't have surprised me that Andrea would ask for some relic pictures.  A few years ago, we were headed to a retreat in Connecticut.  On our way, we decided to stop at St. Edmund's Retreat Center in Mystic, Ct.  (There's nothing like visiting a retreat center on your way to a retreat.)  We stopped because we were told that it is a beautiful setting - and it is, situated on a peninsula jutting out into the ocean.  As we were exploring the area, we came across the main chapel...and the arm of St. Edmund!  A little unexpected to say the least.  However, after being in Rome now, I don't seem to be caught off guard anymore by these things.

The arm of St. Edmund in Mystic, Ct.

 In all honesty, I'm not sure how I feel about all this relic business.  I find it difficult to pray before a body part of another person, even if they are quite holy.  And, there are many relics whose history is a bit obscure and even doubted.  And yet, when I have made retreats at Gethsemane Abbey in Kentucky, I always feel drawn to visit Thomas Merton's grave - a sort of relic and what always feels like a holy place for me, even if it is just a simple white cross planted in the ground above his grave. 

Thomas Merton's grave at Gethsemane Abbey in Kentucky.

I am reminded of a sign I saw at the Church Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (it has, perhaps, the mother of all Roman relics including parts of the True Cross, a thorn from the crown of Jesus, and Doubting Thomas' finger, among other things.)  It reminded me that it is the story of the person that is of most importance for us.  The lives of the saints remind us of our own path to holiness.  And there are many saints that were like many of us, maybe not the most holy of individuals at the start, but somehow learned to follow God in an exemplary way.  St. Paul persecuted the first Christians.  St. Francis of Assisi was a carouser in his early life.  Thomas Merton struggled with his vows of chastity and obedience.  If nothing else, their lives give me hope. 

And then, a few weeks ago, I was brought face to face with a special relic.  On the memorial of of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, Founder of the Marianist Family, our Archivist brought out a bit of Blessed Chaminade's hair that has been preserved in a reliquary.  At first I kind of chuckled, wondering who snipped off the hair.  But then, as I was looking at it, I have to admit that it was pretty "cool" to be this close to a part of our Founder.  So, maybe this whole relic business isn't as far fetched as I first thought it was. 

The picture is not the best, but here is some hair of Blessed Chaminade.

The link below will take you to my Picasa photo sharing site that gives pictures of the relics that I photographed for Andrea's catechism class:

Click Here to See More Pictures of Relics

Thank you, Andrea, for sending me on this little adventure.  In doing so, I came across some interesting stories and some parts of Rome that were new to me.  It was sort of like trying to find a geo-cache.  

This picture is a few years old, but it is a typical "Andrea" picture.  I'm trying to study and she is goofing off.

Ciao!