What, exactly, are relics and whats their place in Catholic doctrine?
The word itself comes from the Latin for “remains” and, these days, relics fall into three categories. • First class: A part of the body of a saint or blessed. Or, as in the case of Father McGivney, of a candidate for sainthood. There are no first-class relics of Father McGivney. • Second class: An item or piece of an item worn or used by a holy person during his or her lifetime. A pair of sandals, rosary or pencil, for example. The Father McGivney Gallery at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven displays the cassock in which Father McGivney was buried. When his remains were moved from the family plot in Waterbury, Conn., to St. Mary’s Church in 1982, the cassock was removed and restored, and his body was clothed in new vestments. A prayer card distributed by the Father McGivney Guild includes a small thread from Father McGivney’s burial cassock. • Third class: An item that has been touched to a first-class relic. Usually, a third-class relic is a bit of cloth.
