The Shrine of All Saints is home to the second-largest collection of Christian relics outside the Vatican.
What are relics?
A relic can be anything from the past that has survived to the present. In some branches of the Christian Church, relics more specifically refer to the bodily remains of the saints, their clothing or the items they used, objects they touched or which were touched to their remains, or things associated with the life of Christ or of his blessed mother.

Why venerate relics?
Throughout history, many people have venerated holy relics because the saints' bodies were temples of the Holy Spirit, through which each of them, in their own individual ways, channeled the presence of Christ to their contemporaries. 

In the early Christian era and in the Middle Ages, people believed that the aura and the energy of the saints continued to exude from their remains, even after their deaths. People who knew the saints personally during their lifetimes often experienced them as radiating Christ's presence through the many ways they were a blessing to others. Honoring their remains and their images were considered valid ways of honoring them and of imploring their assistance.  ​
The relics at Shrine of All Saints
We are home to more than 3,200 unique saints, which is the second-largest collection outside the Vatican (See a A - Z list). Schedule a guided tour to experience the Shrine first hand.

Curator of the Shrine, Fr. Dennis O'Neill, has also written numerous articles and a book on how the relics came to be at the Shrine. 
Video by digital missionary Jim Maceda

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