Looking to purchase a relic of a Saint or True Cross?

Read this first!

Definitions:

First Class Relics:  Bones of Saints, pieces of hair/body part or anything regarding the Passion of Our Lord

Second Class Relics:: Anything that the Saint wore or used frequently.

Third Class Relics: Anything that touched a First or Second class relic. Such as cloth or a Saint card, etc.

Theca: A medal locket that is used to hold a relic of any kind, i.e., First, Second or Third

Reliquary: This is generally a box, a shadow box type; that holds a relic.

Terra: Latin word for soil

Blessing: A prayer a priest will give you or in this case an item.

Sorry to say, that throughout my very limited time on Ebay I have found misrepresentation or outright fraud. It is rare, thankfully but it's still here even after Ebay Company changed the way Relics can be sold. This is for those who are just starting out on looking for relics for private veneration.

First Class relics are NOT RARE!!!

Don't believe me? Go to ANY Catholic church and within the Altars there are entombed a First Class relic. Usually of the name of the Church (but not always). Such as "St. Peter Catholic Church of Anywhere USA" has a First Class relic of S. Peter himself. Ask the priest that is there. He will know.

Thousands upon thousands of First Class relics have been distributed by Rome to all the churches in the world. To priests after special permission for public veneration and to many private citizens who simply asked (which appropriate donation to cover expenses).

What IS rare is the fact that relics are being sold at all! This is a brand spanking new enterprise.

One of the things that leads to misrepresentation is simply the lack of knowledge from the Seller about exactly what it is it they are selling. A relic itself can never be sold, it is against Canon Law (1190).  There is also the Biblical passage that states to sell relics is a sacrilege. This is called simony, the sale of spiritual goods (Acts 8:18-24).

It concerns me of the offer of the True Cross. Everyone wants a piece of the Passion of Our Lord. However if there is no authentication; how can you be sure that it is indeed the True Cross at all?  I could go outside cure a piece of wood from my tree and put it in an aged box with pretty gold looking metals and say it's the True Cross, how would you know?

Authentication

The authentication papers are generally a contract in Latin from the Monastary or the Abbey or the Bishop to the receiver of the relic. It is a gift, always with a donation.  Remember this is a contract. And whoever owns this relic must abide by it even if it's old and in Latin. Most Sellers do not know Latin thus they state it's authentication papers. True, they may show where it came from, who it is, what it is but it is also a valid, legally binding contract. Within this contract it states this is to never be sold for profit, EVER.   So if you DO purchase a relic, it's yours forever you MAY gift it to someone else or the other person can offer to pay postage to offset the expense of transfer.

If you wish to own the relic and to avoid simony; purchase only if you believe that it is in danger of desecration. And speaking of purchase--most First Class relics CAN be found directly from the sources. If you wish to find a First Class relic (that which is the the bones of a Saint or the True Cross) go directly to your Bishops office or contact the Victorate of Rome. However due to the abuses of the relics it is very difficult to obtain now. Furthermore, do not be swayed by emotion. Most if not all the relics within Ebay or by dealers were bought by them very cheaply. ALL relics that  were obtained prior to the advent of the Internet via donations to cover the cost of materials to create the reliquary  or a theca  and that's it.

Second Class relics

This is one that I find most disturbing. It is here that misrepresentation is at it's greatest. Just because it's has a piece of cloth within the theca or the reliquary does NOT mean it's an item of clothing that the Saint wore. It very well could be a piece of cloth that someone in 2007 put against the First or Second Class relic thus making a Third Class relic (which is very acceptable way to obtain a relic--this has been done since the 2nd Century at least, very old tradition!...thus this is only as expensive as the item that touched the relic). But either the Seller does not know this or they do and hope you don't! If you find yourself at a Shrine, simply ask the gift store located there if there are any Second Class (or even First Class) relics for purchase. You may just be totally surprised and get a yes 85% of the time!

Third Class Relics

As stated above these are items that touched a First or Second Class relic. Usually these are purchased directly from the Shrine, Abbey, etc for VERY INEXPENSIVE prices! Most can be purchased for a buck! However if you have tried my above suggestion of asking the source and not available or  you wish to have it now, go ahead. But don't break your bank unnecessarily. $5-10 dollars with postage only (not some of these outrageous "shipping and handling" fees) is the max to purchase ANY Third Class relic.

The Seal

If you wish to purchase a relic and do not have the authentication papers; you can look on the back of the relic and it should have a RED wax seal of the Bishop of the area or the religious order. It will always be tied with string, and alot of it! This is to assure that the relic is safe and to note to other if it is broken or no longer there that something happened in it's past. Just because a wax seal is not there does not mean that it not a true relic--these can be very old, common sense says that things DO happen in the course of time. Just be careful with those purchases. Contact the Seller ask questions of it's origin most will be very happy to share all they know as most will admit they know very little and love to hear from a potential buyer.  I have seen a few that say "Papal Seal". Be very wary of these. One that I saw the other day selling for 700 bucks described the seal in such detail I knew that it wasn't a Papal Seal. To have a document sealed by the Pope for a relic is to have the Pope literally seal it! Does he have time for mundane tasks such as that? I think running a large Church is enough and that is why religious orders/Bishopics DO this to delegate.

"Relic/Reliquary with XYZ Saint....Terra/Aqueous

The above is one that sounds great, has some Latin in it and a Saint and the word "Relic/reliquary" and thus something to obtain. Right? Not always in fact I would use extreme caution here. Just because the pendant LOOKS aged doesn't mean it's old, vintage, antique, rare or even unique!!

What the above "ad" says is completely different that what is being sold. All that is being sold is a (usually) a pendant with what is soil (terra) or water from Lourdes, LaSalette, Fatima, Guadalupe, etc. These can be obtained directly from the source there will be a Shrine, Abbey etc. Go to them first, and sometimes it IS cheaper to purchase on Ebay these items.

Blessings:

Now, on these relics there have been many blessings by priests, and surely a Pope throughout it's history. However here do know that if you do purchase an item that was blessed by let's say John Paul II, you buy it you LOSE the blessing attached that JPII put on that item. Why? See above, you can NOT sell a relic or a blessing those are free and when anything is done in profit the blessing is removed from that priest/Pope permanently. That doesn't mean you can't have it re-blessed, however! But the 'value' of the piece if you are looking for the blessing--it does not exist.

I had one seller of a piece that described their item as "blessed', when I kindly reminded him/her of what a blessing is he/she replied:  "Well, I'm Catholic and I believe that the blessing is from God and it remains".
I fail to follow the logic. You can not nor should you describe an item as 'attached with all the blessings'....because as we say in Wisconsin 'dat ain't there'.

Write me here if you have any questions/comments.

drmomof3_2003