“The bodily remains are a source of grace for those who remain united in the love of Christ and who approach these places, these remains, with faith. Not in the way of magic, but in the way of Christian faith, as they once approached Jesus with faith and wanted to touch him,” responds to the objections of priest Juraj Vittek. 

He recalls the words of St. Thomas Aquinas that even after death, there is a certain spiritual “tension” (tensio) between the glorified souls of saints and their bodily remains, as they await a future resurrection. “Relics are thus a material aspect of our communication with the saints who are glorified in the beatific vision of God,” says the parish priest at the Holy Family Parish in Petržalka.

Many Catholics, including priests, experience embarrassment or even resistance towards reverence for relics. “Sometimes it is just a matter of justified caution and critical distance, of healthy piety and common sense, other times it is a matter of deep ignorance or cultural and religious superficiality, often a real crisis of faith. Often it is just ordinary superficiality of the type: I reject everything that I do not understand,” says Vittek, who also serves at various other levels of life in the Bratislava Archdiocese.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims head to Assisi. The remains of Saint Francis have been made available to the public for the first time in history (+ photo)

The news about the current display of the remains of Saint Francis of Assisi has aroused great interest among readers in Postojna. However, the discussion under the article also showed that some people perceive such steps by the church as controversial. Some say it’s undignified to view the dead’s remains when their soul is with the Lord. After all, it is only a matter; don’t we believe in spirituality? There is also an opinion that a saint should be honored primarily by following his pious life and not by touching the physical remains. So what is the church’s view of the remains of saints? 

 Into the mystery of God.’
Through these physical reminders, we are shown that Christian hope is not purely spiritual and only concerned with the salvation of the soul, but encompasses the salvation of the whole person, including the body.
This pre-spirituality was rejected from the outset as Gnosticism, inspired by the dualism of Platonic philosophy, which views the soul as ‘imprisoned in the body.’ Christianity has always recognized an essential unity of body and soul in man.

In Peter’s letter, we read: ‘For we did not follow cleverly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; we were eyewitnesses of his magnificence.’ John’s letter says: ‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life — this we proclaim to you.’
The Gospels contain testimonies of such contact with the reality of the incarnate Word and incarnate religion. Jesus healed through touch; people wanted to touch him, and this gesture of faith allowed them to experience God’s touch. For example, a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his garment. For she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus praises these expressions of faith. After the resurrection, Thomas asks to touch his wounds and acknowledges his divinity.

The divinity of Jesus is bound to history, to place, and to time. It is not a fable, a mythology, or a dream. So the Empress Helena sets out to the Holy Land and sets out to search and find. She brings to Rome the relics of the cross on which Jesus was crucified; she brings nails, parts of the crown of thorns, and all objects that the church probably preserved in the Holy Land as valuable relics of its master and teacher, who died and rose from the dead. 

Let us remember with what reverence and love the women approached the tomb on Easter morning to honor the dead body of their Master. They must have approached the other remains, including the linen cloths found in the empty tomb, with reverence. These relics are still kept in Rome, especially in the Basilica of the Holy Cross, or the Shroud of Turin in Turin, etc.

Some of the Church Fathers felt an inner need to go to the Holy Land and even live there, in places touched by Jesus’ physical presence. Examples include Saint Jerome, who translated the Holy Scriptures in Bethlehem, or Saint John of Damascus, who delivered his famous homilies in Jerusalem. 

And finally, Saint Francis of Assisi himself, upon returning from the Holy Land, will create the first “nativity scene” to “physically” experience, so to speak, the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God and his birth in Bethlehem. 

But worshiping Jesus, whose body is the fullness of the deity, is different from worshiping the saints, who are human.

Yes and no. This question also troubled first the Protestant, then the priest of the Anglican Church, now canonized in the Catholic Church, Saint John Henry Newman, who was even declared a doctor of the church. He found this answer:

“As Christ,” says St. Athanasius, “died and was exalted as man, so it is said of him as man that he receives what he always had as God, so that this enormous gift of grace may reach us. The Word did not suffer any loss by taking on human flesh, so he did not need to seek any grace for himself; instead, he deified what he assumed and generously gave it to the human race… For it is the glory of the Father that man, created and then lost, should be found again; and when he is given over to death, he should be revived and become the temple of God. And while the heavenly powers, angels and archangels, have always worshipped the Lord—as they do now in the name of Jesus—this is our grace and our highest exaltation: that even though he became man, the Son of God is worshipped, and the heavenly powers do not hesitate to see that we, who are one body with him, are brought into their presence. dwellings.” 

This passage suggests that the glorified saints will share in the reverence that the angels pay to Christ, who is the true object of all adoration. At least, we are given a hint here as to why the angel in the Book of Revelation is reluctant to accept the homage of St John the Evangelist.
However, St Athanasius is even more explicit: ‘Since the Lord came in human flesh and was called Jesus, and since they worshipped him and believed that he was the Son of God and that through him they knew the Father, it is evident that it was not the Word who received this great grace, but us.’ For, through our connection to his flesh, we too have become temples of God, and consequently, sons of God. Therefore, the Lord is now worshipped in us, and observers can testify, as the apostle says, that ‘God is truly in them.'”

This text clearly states that those officially recognised as God’s adopted sons in Christ are worthy of veneration for His sake; a doctrine that justifies the invocation of saints, the veneration of relics, and religious veneration given to the living, who were distinguished as saints by extraordinary gifts.
Therefore, worship is the necessary companion of glory, and created beings may share in the incommunicable glory of the Creator. In the same sense, they are also permitted to share in the honour that is the exclusive property of God alone (An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, 4, 1, 2).

What is a relic? Why does the Catholic Church encourage veneration of relics?
The word is of Latin origin and literally means ‘remains’. Although the term can be used in the broadest sense to refer to the remains of all deceased people, here we are referring specifically to the remains of martyrs or saints.
Relics can include any part of the body, internal or external, clothing, or anything that came into contact with the deceased. We also consider items used by the deceased, including the tools that killed them, to be relics.

The Church distinguishes between three types of relic: first-degree (parts of the saint’s body), second-degree (clothing, objects used by the saint, instruments of martyrdom, etc.) and third-degree (“from contact with first-degree relics”).
However, from the beginning, the veneration of relics was closely and specifically connected with the veneration of saints in the Church. Under the influence of several ideologies, it was thought that the veneration of relics emerged in the Middle Ages as a manifestation of ignorance and obscurantism. This is not true.
Interestingly, after the death of the first martyr, Stephen, the Church gathered around his grave, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles: ‘God-fearing men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him.’ This was the first instance of the burial of a martyr’s remains and veneration of their tomb. Thus, from the very beginning, we see evidence of the veneration of martyrs’ tombs, as attested by the Apostolic Fathers.
Saint Cyprian recommended recording the exact date of the martyrs’ deaths so that they could be commemorated. The veneration of martyrs in the Roman catacombs, especially those of Saint Sebastian, is also worth mentioning. These places are filled with expressions of living faith. Later, the remains of holy monks were also venerated as a sign of love, respect, and devotion.

To grasp the profound theology behind the veneration of relics, rooted in the concept of the Incarnation, I would like to share an excerpt from a homily by Saint John of Damascus from the early 8th century. This homily was delivered by Saint John of Damascus at the place where the tomb of the Virgin Mary was venerated, and is about the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. According to Eastern tradition, the Virgin Mary died, and three days later, Jesus took her to heaven.
Contemplating this place, Saint John imagines the burial of the Virgin Mary: ‘Just as a precious oil, when spilled on a garment or elsewhere and then removed, leaves a fragrant residue even after the oil has been wiped away, so this sacred and incorrupt divine body, full of divine fragrance and an abundant source of grace, when laid in the tomb and then taken up to a better place, did not leave the tomb empty, but made it a partaker in divine fragrance and grace. It leaves this monument as a source of healing and all good things for those who approach it with faith.’

In the healthy Christian piety of the Church Fathers, there was a conviction that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that the soul sanctified by God’s grace dwells in it. These remains serve as a source of grace for those who remain united in Christ’s love and approach these places with faith. 

They approached Jesus with faith and a desire to touch him, not through magic, but through their Christian faith. St. John imagines the burial of the Virgin Mary and states: “And what about those who stood by the most holy body? With fear and love and with tears of joy they surrounded that holy and blessed tabernacle, they embraced and kissed every limb, they approached the body and every touch filled them with holiness and blessing.” 

But he is aware that God’s grace is not limited to these special places: “And what shall we say about the question of the tomb? Your grace is inexhaustible and unfailing, but the divine power and the benefits of the Mother of God reach everywhere. For if they were limited to the tomb itself, few would be able to invoke that gift. But now it is abundantly spread throughout the world.”

Pilgrims venerate the relics of St. Francis during their first public display at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi on Sunday, February 22, 2026. Photo: AP Photo Gregorio Borgia

Many are fixated on miraculous healings through relics. What is a healthy attitude toward these issues? 

Unfortunately, the superficiality and externalism that Jesus warns against in the Gospel threaten every aspect of Christian life, including the veneration of relics. In the Middle Ages, relics became a very prestigious item, which led to many disorders, to the falsification of relics, to the trade in relics (incidentally, today church law strictly prohibits the sale of relics, can. 1190 CIC). 

Of course, in the past and today, miracles of healing have occurred through relics, with the intercession of the saints to whom they belong. And it is natural that suffering people seek comfort and healing in them. But healings are only an external manifestation of spiritual healing and God’s grace, which Jesus brings. And the greatest healing to seek in reverence for relics and the intercession of saints is precisely God’s grace. 

Saint Philip Neri loved remote and desolate places in Rome, especially the catacombs or churches where martyrs and saints were buried. He used to go especially to the catacombs of St. Sebastian to pray on the graves sprinkled with the glorious blood of the first martyrs. 

He knew how to savor their glorious beauty hidden from the uninitiated eyes of the world. It was here that on Pentecost in 1544 he received the miracle of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which made him an apostle of Christ and the greatest representative of the Catholic Reformation of the 16th century. In the underground openings (canicles) of their graves, in the midst of deep darkness, in that mysterious silence, he experienced the fervor of God’s love. 

He also taught his followers about pilgrimages and the veneration of relics: ‘In times of suffering and spiritual dryness, a great remedy is to imagine being a beggar in the presence of God and the saints. This involves going from one saint to another and asking for spiritual alms with as much emotion and sincerity as the poor do. Sometimes it is also necessary to do this physically, going first to one church, then another, and asking for such alms.”
In this way, he highlights the important spiritual dimension of venerating relics: following, conversion, and zeal. One of the greatest experts in church history, as well as in the scientific historical approach to relics, was his spiritual son and successor, Cardinal Caesar Baronius, founder of modern church historiography.

Reliquien sind materielle Überreste, die auf diese spirituelle Kommunikation mit den Heiligen hinweisen, die heute genauso

To compare this morbid masquerade to the Christian veneration of relics betrays enormous ignorance. Many Catholics, including priests, are embarrassed by the veneration of relics and sometimes even resist it.
Sometimes it is simply justified caution and critical distance, born of healthy religiosity and common sense; at other times, it is a sign of profound ignorance, or of cultural and religious superficiality — often a real crisis of faith. Often, it is simply the superficiality of misunderstanding something. ‘I reject everything that I do not understand.’
Gunther von Hagens started corpse exhibitions under the names ‘Human Body Exhibition’ and ‘Body Worlds’ in 1995, and they have taken place in more than 60 cities with the participation of more than 30 million people. Several bioethical institutions have firmly opposed this disrespect for the human body. Several legal proceedings have been held due to violations of laws respecting the dead human body. Many doctors and medical faculty representatives have also objected.

Some German media outlets have pointed out that several of the corpses used in these exhibitions were the subject of business and commercialization. This even included the corpses of Chinese prisoners sentenced to death.
These exhibitions displayed real human bodies, or parts of them, which had been dissected. They were said to have a didactic and educational purpose, informing the public about the anatomy of the human body. However, there are several problems with such exhibitions. First of all, they violate the law on respect for the human body, which cannot be exhumed without permission. Even if this were legitimate, however, it would contradict the ethical principle of respect for the dead. It treats the body as a ‘thing.’ This denies the dignity of the human body, which is inalienable even after death.
The ‘exhibits’ of real human bodies are displayed in various amusing positions, with a ball in hand, in full nudity, and in various stages of decomposition so that interested people can see what they look like on the inside. I wonder if these people would find it amusing if their father, mother, or child were on display.

This exhibition aims to shock the viewer commercially; it serves as entertainment at the expense of real human bodies. The exhibitions in question are not about education, they are not about science, they are not about art, they are about commercial performance, and they are about morbid theater of death. 

On a superficial comparison, it may seem to some that this is the same as what Catholics do when they display relics. On a deeper look, it is quite the opposite. They are not an expression of disrespect for an anonymous body but of respect for the body of a specific person, a brother or sister in the faith, with whom I am connected by a deep bond of love and respect. 

Christians show respect for relics because they express a deep love and respect for those whose lives and souls are connected to them. These are not anonymous remains, but strictly authenticated. The Church does not drag them and display them in public spaces, but in the context of the liturgy and its spaces, marked by deep reverence. 

Respect for human remains is a fundamental anthropological expression of every culture. In Islam, for example, a shrine in Kashmir houses the beard of Muhammad. In Sri Lanka, there is a Buddhist temple that houses the tooth of Buddha. But even in a completely secular environment, we find the preservation of George Washington’s hair, sheets and pictures soaked in Lincoln’s blood, or Elvis Presley’s fingernail.,

Don’t we revere with love the graves of our relatives, their remains, the things that belonged to them that they used, don’t we keep them as family jewels, even though they may have no commercial value? 

Until recently, it was customary to set aside a loved one’s hair, etc. All this is a manifestation of respect for a person, love for him, and an expression of the bond that connects us with him. Reverence for relics is best understood by those who are connected with specific saints by a deep spiritual community, respect, and love, and who are connected with them by a spiritual bond of inspiration of life, spiritual teaching. 

Of course, those who know nothing about the specific saint whose relics are being exhibited will remain cold and critical. And that is precisely why these relics are exhibited in consecrated places (exceptionally outdoors, e.g. during canonization, but always in a liturgical context and atmosphere). 

Usually, these bodies and relics are discreetly hidden from the eyes of the faithful and are only displayed for the veneration of the faithful very exceptionally, precisely in connection with extraordinary events that are intended to present to the faithful their especially inspiring Christian life (for example, during the solemn canonization, the declaration of a Doctor of the Church, or as now in the Jubilee Year of the 800th anniversary of the “birth for heaven” of Saint Francis). 

Journalists photograph the remains of St. Francis on the eve of their public display at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi on Saturday, February 21, 2026. Photo:AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

The body of Saint Francis of Assisi has been put on display for the first time in history. It is clear that his body is not intact. Is there a problem with that? Is the integrity of the body proof of holiness?

The incorruptibility of some saints’ bodies after death is a mysterious fact studied by science, and the church looks at it with amazement and respect. There are some saints whose bodies have been found intact after years, decades, or even centuries, and others partially intact. Elsewhere, a mysterious liquid or scent emanating from the remains is observed. These phenomena are also the subject of controversy, as some scientists and skeptics question their authenticity and consider incorruptible bodies to be the result of specific burial practices rather than divine miracles. 

Many scientific explanations have been put forward to explain the incorruptibility and other phenomena associated with the remains of saints, but none have been proven. Some hypotheses include the natural preservation of the bodies under specific conditions, such as dryness, cold, or exposure to salt. 

In some cases, this integrity remains a real mystery. If the church records an intact exhumation during the canonization process, it does not serve as proof of sainthood. The process of canonization is a strict canonical process that examines primarily the life and virtues of the deceased member of the church. Canonization usually also requires confirmation from heaven through some proven miracle. But the integrity of the body does not count. 

Similarly, the sign of Christ’s wounds during the lives of the saints (the so-called stigmata, which Saint Francis also had and whose supernatural origin was recognized by the Church), which are not proof of holiness, but rather an accompanying sign of their connection with the mystery of Christ’s suffering and their mysterious participation in it for the salvation of people. The Church accepts these signs with respect but also with critical judgment. 

Similar to the so-called “Eucharistic miracles,” where a sign of real human flesh (usually the heart muscle or blood) is present in connection with the Eucharist, which is a sign pointing to the reality of Christ’s body and blood, which are always present in the Eucharist, I would also see the sign of the incorruptibility of the bodies of some saints. As a sign pointing to the deep connection between the holy soul and the body destined for resurrection, according to the words of St. Paul:

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then the saying that is written will be brought to pass: “Death is swallowed up in victory.’” (1 Cor 15:53-54). 

But this does not mean that saints whose bodies were not found incorrupt are not saints or that they will not be resurrected. Some bodies’ incorruptibility, while not guaranteeing holiness or substituting for a fair canonical process, can be understood as a sign of the connection of glorified souls with their bodies after death, which are destined for resurrection. Although an incorrupt dead body is still a corruptible dead body, very different from the “glorified body” that Jesus has and that we will also have after the resurrection of the dead.

What does the Magisterium of the Church say after the Second Vatican Council about the veneration of relics?

The Second Vatican Council, in its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, entitled Sacrosanctum Concilium, confirms the tradition of the Church in relation to liturgical celebrations in the liturgical year: “According to tradition, the Church venerates the saints and also holds in reverence their authentic relics and images. For the feasts of the saints proclaim the admirable deeds of Christ in his servants and offer the faithful suitable examples to follow” (CCC, 111). 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of the veneration of relics in the context of the popular piety that surrounds the sacramental life of the Church. It emphasizes the connection of this piety with the liturgy, which by its nature greatly surpasses them. The Catechism highlights the need for pastoral prudence to prevent unhealthy elements from creeping into popular piety. And it encourages thorough catechesis in this area as well. 

However, the Catechism highly values ​​this popular piety and does not despise it. I quote the Catechism: “Catholic popular wisdom has the capacity for vital synthesis. Thus, it creatively unites the divine and the human, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, spirit and body, communion and institution, person and community, faith and homeland, and reason and emotion. This wisdom is a Christian humanism that radically testifies to the dignity of every person as a child of God.” (CCC, 1676)