At the end of this year, the relics of Don Bosco will arrive to East Africa. This will be just one stop on a world-wide pilgrim journey to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Salesian Congregation (a Catholic order of priests and brothers present in 130 countries and working in the field of education, especially among the poor youth) — 1859–2009 and to prepare for the bicentennial of the birth of Don Bosco — 1815–2015. It is in this context, that we wish to deepen our understanding of this coming event by re-examining the biblical, theological and historical foundation of the veneration of the relics of the saints in the Catholic Church. In order to do so, we shall try to answer few relevant questions.

What are the relics?
Relics are the material remains of the saints which are venerated as signs of their continued presence in the world. The word relic comes from the Latinreliquiae, meaning “remains” or “something left behind”. They may be the physical remains of a saint (a bone, a hair, skull, a limb, etc.), an item that the saint wore (a shirt, a glove, etc.) or an item that the saint owned or frequently used (a crucifix, rosary, a prayer book etc.) or even e piece of cloth that is touched to the above.

Is the Veneration of the Relics peculiar to the Catholic Church?
The veneration of relics is to some extent a primitive instinct, and it is associated with many other religious systems besides that of Christianity. At ancient Athens the supposed remains of ancient heroes, Oedipus and Theseus enjoyed an honour which it is very difficult to distinguish from a religious cult. Miracles and healing were only rarely attributed to them; rather, their presence protected the city, as the tomb of Oedipus was said to protect Athens. The tomb of Theseus, instead, became a sanctuary and a place of refuge for runaway slaves and all men of low estate who were afraid of men in power.

As for the Far East, the famous story of the distribution of the relics of Buddha, an incident which is believed to have taken place immediately after his death, seems to have found remarkable confirmation in certain modern archaeological discoveries. In any case the extreme development of relic-worship amongst the Buddhists of every sect is a fact beyond dispute.

Has then the Catholic Church “baptized” and theologically justified those pagan or, we can say, purely human practices and even developed them? Or, as the great Reformer Martin Luther maintained, was the worship of relics a money-making invention of the worldly Church that deserved and deserves a condemnation?
We need to state this right away: the Church has not invented the veneration of the relics as she has not invented the Incarnation of Christ nor his Resurrection. As in the case of the Incarnation and Resurrection of Jesus, those who came to believe in him did so because of the overwhelming evidence of his supernatural power and presence even after his death. Similarly, in case of the relics, i.e., the material remains of the saints, the believers simply witnessed some extraordinary events associated with them.

Regarding Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection we read in 1 John 1:1-3: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life —  2 the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us —  3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you…. John clearly stresses the materiality of his experience of Christ. What the early Christians proclaimed was not a fruit of their imagination, reflection or prolonged studies but of an experience that could be verified by the senses.

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