The Catholic customs of praying for the souls of the dead, praying to the saints who have gone before us in earthly life, and of venerating relics are based primarily in the church’s long-standing tradition and theology rather than explicit scriptural “prooftexts.” However, the Bible does indeed allude to these practices.
An internationally known specialist in the identification, restoration and authentication of Catholic relics works from his home in Minneapolis to authenticate relics, return them to places of honor and ensure their reverential treatment.
Each pilgrimage stop offered an opportunity for veneration of the relic, followed by Mass.
People waited in lines that stretched down the main aisle of the church and out the door to venerate the relics of St. Padre Pio at St. Mary’s Cathedral Sept. 25.
The veneration of relics is a fundamentally biblical practice; it is not some sort of innovation in the centuries after Christ. On the contrary, as Scripture reveals, the veneration of relics was widely practiced, in one form or another, by ancient Jews as well.
