Relics

In the Christian sense, the term « relics » primarily means the remains (in latin « reliquiae ») of the body of a saint or a blessed, and secondarily objects that have a direct bearing on the life of Christ (for example the cross) or of the saints, or even objects that have touched their bodies. Christians have venerated the remains of saints since the early centuries, in a manner consistent with faith in the incarnation and in the resurrection of the flesh. The Church recognises in the relics a link between heaven, where the saint now lives with God, and the earth, where the believer can venerate this « remain » of the saint. Using the relic in prayer, the believer is led to God by a visible link. Challenged by the Protestant Reformation, in the sixteenth century, the legitimacy of the relic cults was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent (1545-1563) although not without acknowledging the abuses. Consequently, the Catholic Church needs to ensure the authenticity of relics and to teach the faithful the distinction between a cult of adoration, reserved to God alone, and a cult of veneration (cult of dulia), allowed for saints and for everything that concerns them.