Relics are parts of, or objects linked with the bodies of saints. Throughout Christian history, several relics have been associated with Jesus and his saints.
Some people believe in the authenticity of these Christian relics, while some doubt their validity.
Christian relics were extremely sought after by churches, with the saint’s remains said to possess miraculous healing powers.
Thousands of faithful believers travel to see the relics of Jesus and the saints every year. The relics date back to about two thousand years and are revered and housed across Christendom, from Rome to the holy land.
Let’s take a look at the history of 5 Christian relics.
The Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is often identified as a plate, dish, or cup that was used by Jesus during the last supper.
The last supper was held at St. Mark house and the holy grail handed to the apostles. It’s said that Joseph of Arimathea took the grail and put some of Jesus’ blood in it after he was crucified.
St. Peter then took the holy grail to Rome where it was used as a Papal Chalice according to the legend.
In 713, it was brought to Spain where the King of Aragon possessed it. The Holy Grail was preserved in Huesca, Jaca until 1437 when it was taken to Valencia cathedral, where it is purported to reside today.
The Chalice is seven-inch-high and is curved from violet-green chalcedony. Its inverted cup base has emeralds and pearls with gold handles that are asserted to have been applied after being used by Jesus.
The Head of St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ who was beheaded by King Herod. As stated in the Holy Bible, Salome asked Herod for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
This most famous decapitated head had an extended afterlife as a Christian relic.
The Amiens Cathedral was built as a shrine for the head in the middle ages. Rome’s San Sylvestro in Capite displays his crowned head on an altar, made by Michelangelo within a silver and gold bejeweled reliquary.
However, the original head is said to have been stolen in the nineteenth century, but a replica of it is still preserved there. Other churches still dispute the authenticity of the head and claim the real head of Saint John The Baptist had not been stolen.
The Crown of Thorns
According to the biblical accounts, Roman soldiers mocked Jesus by putting a crown of thorns on his head before he died.
Today, the Crown of Thorns is alleged to be housed at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The officials of Notre Dame say that the crown is still revered though it cannot be authenticated. The crown is built with canes bound with gold threads that held the thorns together at that time.
The Crown of Thorns is displayed on the first Friday of every month and every Friday during the period of Lent.
The Holy Foreskin
Many churches in Europe claim to have a part of the penis of Jesus Christ. His circumcised foreskin also referred to as the holy foreskin is the only part of him that did not ascend to heaven.
This Relic is treasured and is believed to possess fertility aid.
There is at least one prepuce in Jerusalem and about thirteen in Europe.
The Holy Foreskin at the Abbey church in Chartres has been ascribed with causing lots of pregnancies in infertile women.
With as many as eighteen foreskins circulating in Europe in the middle ages, the Catholic Church was fed up with the controversy. In 1900, the church stated that anyone who would talk about the Holy Foreskin would be excommunicated. Since then, its where about are unknown.
The body of St Francis Xavier, Goa
The body and arm of St. Xavier has been presented worldwide. He was a Roman Catholic missionary in Goa, India, during the 16th century.
A pious Portuguese noble woman Dona Isabel Carom, bit off the toe of the saint in Goa at his resting place.
His toe is now on display as a relic in a silver reliquary in a cathedral in Goa.
There’s a diamond-encrusted fingernail on display in a different village in Goa, part of an arm was sent to Rome, and one of his hands is in Japan.
There are many more Christian relics available throughout the world, and thousands more reports of miracles that have happened to those who have visited them.
You can even visit the incorrupt bodies of Saints. Why not buy this book and read about them here?
