In Catholicism, relics refer to “what remains of a person honored as a saint or blessed”, referring to body fragments and personal effects that once belonged to them.
Ever since the martyrs of the first centuries, the cult of relics has developed into a great fervor. In those days, the faithful gathered near the tombs to pray and celebrate mass.
They respected saints, perceiving them as effective intercessors with God. It’s worth pointing out that, according to the clergy, their remains still contain their “virtues”, a divine and miraculous force.
In addition to healing powers, the relics were also said to protect the faithful from fire and floods, to provide good harvests, and so on. In his book Art roman : Histoire et manifestations d’un art sacré – XIe et XIIe siècles, historian and archaeologist André Bonnery mentions that “when approaching the saint’s relics, the faithful believed they could capture a little of this power, and obtain more easily what they were imploring. The miracles that occurred near certain tombs reinforced this belief, attributing thaumaturgical (healing) virtues to the relics”.
During exceptional situations, such as an epidemic, the clergy nurtured this fervor by organizing a procession of relics through their town in the hope of warding off evil.
