The Value of a Catholic Relic? Priceless

Before you buy a Catholic relic, I hope you take a few minutes to consider this post.

After a Sunday Mass on May 31, a security guard at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto realized that a priceless first-class relic of Therese of Lisieux had been stolen. When staffers searched the cathedral to ensure that nothing else had been stolen, they also discovered that two screws were missing from the Plexiglas protecting their relic of St. Anthony. Fortunately, this relic remained.

This was not the first time a relics was stolen from St. Micheal’s. In 2000, a portion of the “true cross” was taken from the Cathedral’s pieta statue. The relic was never recovered.

Michael Busch, the cathedral’s rector, commented that without the certificate of authenticity, the priceless St. Theresa’s relic was worthless. However, he also noted that person could forge the necessary accompanying documents.

Mr. Busch claims that a first-class relic of the quality of that stolen can fetch anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 on the black market.

But who would purchase such a relic? Something is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it and no Catholic should be willing to pay anything for any relic, genuine or not.  To Catholics, a relic really ought to be priceless, not just figuratively, but literally.

Canon Law clearly forbids Catholics from selling relics:

§1190 §1 - “It is absolutely forbidden to sell sacred relics.”

§1190 §2 - “Relics of great significance and other relics honored with great reverence by the people cannot be alienated validly in any manner or transferred permanently without the permission of the Apostolic See.”

Therein lies the root cause of the disappearance. If Catholics followed this edict, in all likelihood St. Michael’s would still have its relic. Unfortunatey. a quick search of ebay makes it clear that the sale of relics is both prolific and lucrative. It’s also reasonable to speculate that most purchasers are probably genuine in their desire to obtain relics for personal devotion. Unfortunately, their piety and devotion do not excuse their ignorance.

SOURCES:

Jill Colvin, “Priceless relic swiped from Toronto cathedral” (Wednesday, Jun. 17, 2009)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/priceless-relic-swiped-from-toronto-cathedral/article1184823/