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‘Every catholic altar must contain a holy relic’. Were you aware of this? Why do you think there is this obsession with relics?

I am very aware of the relics of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church when it finds someone who has lived a virtuous life, had faith, and had the support and help of God to perform some type of miracle as saints (To become a saint, you have to have performed 3 miracles). When they die, the church will keep some part of the person's body or clothing and declare it a relic. I don't know why they do this but it has been done for years. The relics are treated the same way as a statue. Catholics pray to the statues and relics I suppose as a visible way to talk to God. Even though I went to Catholic school and was raised a Catholic I do not believe in some of the things the Church does.

I'm never surprised to hear about some of the weird stuff any religion does. I can't imagine why anyone would want to have vocal cords or a big toe hidden away in their altar.

nope. I was raised Protestant so a lot of this is a mystery (and seems over the top) to me

I had not been aware of this fact - who says reading fiction is a waste of time? I'm amazed by some of the stuff I've learned recently, :)
I personally would have thought the reverence of relics to be somewhat antiquated now, (big in the time of Brother Cadfael, for example), but as I'm not a Catholic, it isn't my place to question this.

>3 Olivermagnus: I guess it would depend on whose vocal chords or big toe it was:) I was raised Catholic (Irish...is there any other religion?) but I always questioned some of the things we were told and taught. Sister Mary Joseph said I was a "rebellious child".

>6 Carol420: My husband went to 12 years of Catholic school along with his brother and three sisters. None of them attend church now. He said they "gave up front".

>2 EadieB: Darn. i’m Only responsible for two miracles so far.

I was most definitely not aware of this, seems quite extraordinary but I agree with Sergei as it is not my religion it is not my place to question it. Do wonder about the validity of some of the relics.

I also agree with Sergei I love the facts and information we learn through reading fiction!

I don't know if anyone is interested but here is a nun that was canonized a saint in 2000. She is the 2nd person from the United States to become declared a saint:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Drexel

They seem to have class 1 class 2 and class 3 for relics. Forgot about that:

Relics
A second-class relic of St. Katharine Drexel can be found inside the altar of the Lady chapel at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in the Day Chapel of Saint Katharine Drexel Parish in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

The Catholic church divides relics into three classes:

First-Class Relics: items directly associated with the events of Christ's life (manger, cross, etc.) or the physical remains of a saint (a bone, a hair, skull, a limb, etc.). Traditionally, a martyr's relics are often more prized than the relics of other saints. Parts of the saint that were significant to that saint's life are more prized relics. For instance, King St. Stephen of Hungary's right forearm is especially important because of his status as a ruler. A famous theologian's head may be his most important relic. (The head of St. Thomas Aquinas was removed by the monks at the Cistercian abbey at Fossanova where he died.) If a saint did a lot of traveling, then the bones of his feet may be prized. Catholic teaching prohibits relics to be divided up into small, unrecognizable parts if they are to be used in liturgy (i.e., as in an altar; see the rubrics listed in Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar).

Second-Class Relics: items that the saint owned or frequently used, for example, a crucifix, rosary, book, etc. Again, an item more important in the saint's life is thus a more important relic. Sometimes a second-class relic is a part of an item that the saint wore (a shirt, a glove, etc.) and is known as ex indumentis ("from the clothing").

Third-Class Relics: any object that is touched to a first- or second-class relic.38 Most third-class relics are small pieces of cloth, though in the first millennium oil was popular; the Monza ampullae contained oil collected from lamps burning before the major sites of Christ's life, and some reliquaries had holes for oil to be poured in and out again. Many people call the cloth touched to the bones of saints "ex brandea". But ex brandea strictly refers to pieces of clothing that were touched to the body or tombs of the apostles. It is a term that is used only for such; it is not a synonym for a third-class relic.

The sale or disposal by other means of relics without the permission of the Apostolic See is nowadays strictly forbidden by canon 1190 of the Code of Canon Law.39 Relics may not be placed upon the altar for public veneration, as that is reserved for the display of the Blessed Sacrament (host or prosphora and Eucharistic wine after consecration in the sacrament of the Eucharist).40

>10 EadieB: She certainly lived to a ripe old age.

>10 EadieB: She gave up 7 million dollars from her rich family and became a nun.

>12 EadieB: Is that a miracle?

>10 EadieB: Regardless of the miracles, this lady did a lot of good in her lifetime.

>14 Sergeirocks: Yes she did. I remember reading about her in the newspapers.

>8 Andrew-theQM: No Andrew...you have your three. You're male and you realize that you hadn't performed a miracle that in itself is a miracle:) Just pulling your leg I hope you know.

>8 Andrew-theQM: Well we can definitely canonize you as St. Andrew of Group Reads since you spend all that time working for your school without proper sleep and then make up questions for our group read.

>17 EadieB: St. Andrew of Group Reads, I like the sound of that! Recently it has been a miracle that I have managed to read the books and produce questions even if sometimes not finished till 1 am 😂. This year is so insanely busy and far from easy. Now trying to sort out a budget for next year among yet more budget cuts and still achieve higher standards. Of course it is a budget cut hidden as a change in the budget formula to make things fairer, who are they kidding! 😡🤯

>16 Carol420: 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😹

>18 Andrew-theQM: Well, you will just have to create another miracle in order to balance the budget and get great results! Then you can become St. Andrew of the Higher Standards. Put up a statue of yourself with all of the hairs you lost as a relic and all the higher ups can come and pray at your statue that the other schools will also be able to get higher standards.