The Relics of Rome

The Incorrupt Hand of Saint Francis Xavier

If there is one thing there is no shortage of in Rome, it’s relics. Before we left on our pilgrimage, someone was telling me the story of a group that had made a trip much like ours. As they were touring a Church, the sacristan started explaining all the artifacts and relics in the Church. Among them he reported, was the head of John the Baptist. Later that day the group stopped into another Church further up the road. As they were talking to the sacristan there, he too began pointing out the artifacts and relics in the Church. He also claimed that one was the head of John the Baptist. One of the pilgrims said, “But we just saw the head of John the Baptist at the last Church.” The sacristan replied without missing a beat, “oh that was from when he was young, ours is from when he was an adult.”

Relics are a part of our Catholic faith that both captivates and confuses not only non-Catholics, but members of the faithful as well. Whether a particular relic is "real" or not is sometimes a topic of debate. Some are very historic and certain: the tombs of saints, etc. What about some of the more ancient ones though? I have heard it said that if you gathered all the relics of the true cross in the world you could rebuild Jerusalem. I think that part of our experience in Rome this last week and a half may be useful in this regard.

The Foot of Mary Magdalene

We stopped in at the beautiful Church of San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini (John the Baptist of the Florentines) just across the Tiber River from the Vatican. Housed in this beautiful 15th Century Church is what is claimed to be the foot of Saint Mary Magdalene. Next to the shrine dedicated to it is a sign that points out how it was this very foot that stepped into the empty tomb of Easter morning, leading to the discovery of the Resurrection. Although this was not my first time in Rome, it was my first time visiting with this particular relic, and it really struck me.

After we had left the Church we got to talking about the relic, and relics in general. Was this really the foot that had stepped into the very spot where sin and death was forever conquered? More than that: did it matter if it was or not? The shrine drove home a point that was far deeper and more profound than the truth of whose foot we’d seen. That truth was simple: a human foot stepped into that empty tomb: a sinner just like you and I. Standing at that relic made the truth of the Resurrection far more personal. As the week unfolded, this notion really stayed with me as we visited the bones and bodies of more Saints then you can imagine!

These notions hit me the hardest on the last day that we were there. We visited the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (the Holy Cross in Jerusalem). This Church is dedicated to the Passion. Don’t let the name fool you: the Church I am talking about it is in Rome. Housed in this Church is a small chapel that contains what is reportedly the relics of the passion: some of which were the crossbeam from the cross of the good thief, sizeable pieces of Jesus’ cross, a nail from the crucifixion, thorns from the crown of thorns, and the sign that Pilate hung over Jesus’ head. As I visited this shrine, I was blessed to be the only one in the room. Something struck me about the moment, and as I knelt in prayer there was one sentence that boomed in my heart: I did this all for you.

Never in my life did the Passion of Jesus seem quite so personal.

The Relic of the Crib from Bethlehem

This powerful moment was not about whether or not this was the very nail that secured Jesus’ hand to the cross, or if that was really a thorn that had pierced his sacred head. The power of the moment was about the truth that Jesus did all that for me. That he suffered and died, and rose from the dead, so that I could have life: so that my brokenness could be healed, so that my suffering could have worth, and so that I could one day rise like he did and live forever in God’s glory. He did this for me, and how many times in life have I squandered that great gift.

You see, that experience that we have with relics- that movement in our heart- is not simply wonder and awe of being in the presence of something so sacred. It’s more than that. It’s a whisper of Jesus in our hearts inviting us to accept his personal invitation to move deeper into love with him. It’s the truths of our faith coming alive for us in a personal and intimate way. Relics help transform the giants of our faith from being statues and paintings that could easily become mere characters – to living and real people, who were just like you and I. It ties us to the humanity of Jesus himself, and the truth of the life that is to come.

Relics are not the center of our faith. However, with an open heart, they can help move us deeper into the personal and intimate relationship Jesus calls each and every one of us to. I don’t know about you, but I know I will happily take all the help I can get in that department!

The Skull of Saint Valentine