On September 24, 2026, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was beatified in St. Louis, MO. During this momentous celebration, the first-class relic of his jawbone was presented for public veneration.
According to the National Catholic Register, his jawbone was chosen specifically because of Sheen’s preaching and his dynamic ability to preach the faith to millions of people through television. Upon seeing this relic, I was blown away by how “cool” it looked! See it HERE!
This only made me wonder whether there were other impressive relics throughout the Catholic church… turns out, there are quite a few!
Today, I’ve compiled a short list of the “coolest” ones and where you can visit them!
Before we begin: “What are relics?”
Relics are usually the remains or the possessions of the saints and are divided into 3 categories:
- First-class relics are the bodily remains of the saints. (For example, their incorrupt body, their hair, or a piece of a bone)
- Second-class relics are the personal belongings (such as their clothes or Bible)
- Third-class relics are any item that comes in contact with either one of the two above (For example, your rosary becomes a third-class relic if it were to come in contact with the jawbone of Blessed Fulton Sheen)
The veneration of relics is an ancient Church tradition, and time and time again the Church has made it clear that this practice is not equivalent to worship.
Worship is something only given to God; in contrast, veneration is a form of giving honor or “paying respects” to these holy people, a variation of how one would pay respect to a deceased person at a funeral. 2
To learn more about relics, check out our video, “Is That Really A Relic?”
Now on to our list of the coolest relics in the Catholic Church
The Head of St. Catherine of Siena
Image Credit: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro
The head of St. Catherine of Siena is on display in the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena, Italy, for public veneration.
What stands out about this specific relic is that it’s simply St. Catherine’s “floating head”.
Her body lies in Rome in the cemetery of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and it is said that in her death, her head was separated from her body. A year after her death, in 1381, Pope Urban VI decided that her head be returned to the Sienese people, and it has been there ever since. 3
The Heart of St. John Vianney
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/7692790264
This relic is a special one for me since I had the honor of seeing it when the Knights of Columbus sponsored a relic tour for the heart of St. John Vianney. 4
The relic was bigger than I imagined it to be, and it was both an intimidating and impressive sight. It was an unforgettable experience for me to see the heart of the priest who loved his flock till the end of his life. During his life, St. John Vianney would spend up to 16 hours a day in the confessional, serving the faithful with much care and discernment.
Today the relic is kept for veneration at the Shrine of Ars in France, where his fully incorrupt body is also laid to rest.
The Blood of St. Januarius
Image credit: Photo2023, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saint Januarius was the Bishop of Benevento, Italy, and was martyred during Christian persecution in the 4th century. Legend says that a woman named Eusebia collected his blood after his execution.
His blood is preserved in a reliquary at the Duomo di San Gennaro in the Naples Cathedral.
What sets this relic apart is its miraculous nature. Every year, the blood of St. Januarius miraculously liquefies on his feast day, September 19th (other dates are reported as well; however, that’s the most commonly recorded date).
Scientists still haven’t been able to explain why this happens, thus making this mystery a miracle.
The Brain of St. John Bosco
See it here –> https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/europe/stolen-relic-of-st-john-boscos-brain-recovered
The brain of this Italian saint is displayed in the Basilica of John Bosco in Asti, Italy.
In 2017, the relic went missing and was reported stolen. Finally, after two weeks, the Italian police arrested the thief who planned to sell the reliquary because of its golden exterior.
Thankfully, the relic was returned to its rightful place and is available for public veneration.
St. John Bosco, pray for us!
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