In the Middle Ages, the devotion of Christians to relics, to which supernatural powers were attributed, led churches to acquire, and sometimes compete for, the remains of a saint. The presence of these relics aroused the interest of pilgrims. “Theologically-speaking, the tradition of relics is linked to the notion of the communion of saints. It is also linked to the evangelical idea that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, relics are closely linked to the idea of the miracle. God, through the relic, can work miracles. That’s why people come to venerate relics,” says Michel Dahan, who was in charge of the historical archives of the Archdiocese of Montreal at the time of the interview. (Interview by Yves Casgrain, April 2021, for Le Verbe magazine)
Although Christian pilgrimages began to take shape as early as the 3rd century, it was only during the Middle Ages that pilgrims began to enjoy a degree of legal protection. At the same time, the great Christian sanctuaries began to take on a religious, cultural and economic role.
The development of the cult of relics also led to the production of a wide range of containers for conserving and displaying them, including monstrances, statues, rosaries, medallions, reliquaries (shrines), etc. The latter were often sumptuous and varied in form. The commercialization of relics, however, forced the Church to regulate the practice and to specify the origin of the relics.
Over the centuries, relics have been greatly coveted, even leading to astonishing thefts. Among these was that of the Count of Anjou, Foulques Nerra, who, during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1011 (then under Muslim jurisdiction), managed to tear off a small piece of the Holy Sepulchre with his teeth, unbeknownst to the guards, to bring it back to France. More recently, the relics of Saint John Paul II were stolen in 2014 and again in 2017.
