Veneration of St. Anthony Relics
A first-class relic of St. Anthony sits at the base of the statue
As you venerate St. Anthony and other saints remember these words:
“And that your saving mysteries may be fulfilled, their great example lends us courage, their fervent prayers sustain us in all we do” (Preface II of Saints, Roman Missal)
Here at the National Shrine of St. Anthony in Cincinnati, we have four first-class relics. Only one is exposed. It is visible at the base of the front of the St. Anthony statue in the back of the Chapel. The others are used for the general and individual blessing that take place every Tuesday and on the Feast Day of St. Anthony, June 13.
The word “relic” comes from the Latin relinquo, literally meaning “I leave,” or “I abandon.” There are three classes of sacred relics. The first-class is a part of the saint’s body. The second-class is a piece of the saint’s clothing or something used by the saint, while the third-class is an object which has been touched to a first-class relic.
The veneration of sacred relics has a long history in the Church. It is a profession of belief in several doctrines of the Catholic faith including:
- the first and foremost being the Incarnation of Jesus;
- the belief in everlasting life;
- the truth of the resurrection of the body on the last day;
- the sacredness of the human body and the respect which all should show toward the bodies of both the living and the deceased;
- the belief in the intercessory power which the saints enjoy in heaven because of their intimate relationship with Christ the King;
- and of our closeness to the saints because of our connection in the Communion of Saints.
The St. Anthony Shrine Chapel is open daily for morning Mass with Tuesday Novena at 2:30 pm and Novena Mass at 7 pm. Please join us.
May the intercession of St. Anthony of Padua
bring you great blessings from the Lord.
Posted in: Prayer, Saint Anthony
