Hey everyone! We had some Catholic religious relics hammer with high prices in our last Fine & Decorative Art Auction, so it really got me thinking about why people collect them and how they would’ve traditionally gone about doing it.
First things first, if you aren’t Catholic and aren’t familiar with what relics are how relics work, you should know that until 2017, they are separated into three classes. That year the Catholic church changed how it categorized relics and introduced a two class system; Instead of First, Second, Third they became Significant or Non-Significant.
Significant (First class) relics are the physical bodily remains of a saint, Non-Significant (Second class) relics are comprised personal items used by the saint, and the Third class relics were usually objects that had been in contact with First class relics – but they lost their status in the post 2017 classification system.
For the most part, Significant First class relics are not for distribution, at least not anymore. Unsurprisingly, the Vatican owns the largest collection of these relics. To obtain one, you could apply to the Vatican for one specifically; however, a letter of permission from your bishop is required first and there are some caveats to that too. These relics are only to be used for a church altar or other public purpose, not for a personal collection.
For Non-Significant and formerly Third class relics you could contact the religious order or shrine of a specific saint, but that does not guarantee you’ll receive a relic. If they can’t give you one, then the institute you applied to may send over devotional materials for the specified saint instead.
All this doesn’t mean that you can’t acquire relics elsewhere – but don’t realistically expect to get anything Significant or Non-Significant. Third class relics are the most common and are often seen as little fabric squares attached to prayer cards. Of course, you can also go through the auction route as auctions for relics do spring up here and there, but just know that these relics are most likely from the relic trade and not necessarily directly from the Vatican or a religious order.
So now that you know all about religious relics, you might be wondering why people seek them out and are even willing to pay top dollar for them. Aside from being rare pieces of antiquity with religious significance, many consider them sacred, with protective and healing powers.
Well, there we have it! If you want to have a relic of your own, consider checking out auctions, you never know what you might find!
