What Should a Catholic Do if They See a Relic for Sale?

Selling relics is strictly forbidden by Canon Law, and yet they are being sold online. What should you do if you see them, to buy or not to buy?

From Aleteia

By Christine Rousselle

Selling a relic is strictly forbidden, but there are pages and pages of purported relics on websites like eBay and Etsy. What's a Catholic to do?

While perusing websites like eBay or Etsy, or even a local thrift or antique store, it is possible to find something unexpected for sale: relics.

There are pages and pages of purported relics, with official-seeming certificates, for sale on eBay. Some have asking prices of thousands of dollars.

(Aleteia reached out to a man with hundreds of relics listed for sale on his eBay account but did not hear a response.)

While it is illicit to sell relics, what should a Catholic do if they encounter them in the wild? Is there an obligation or recommendation to buy them?

Why have a relic?

"The Catholic Church honors the relics of saints and blesseds as objects of devotion intended to foster the spiritual life of the faithful," Monsignor Jason Gray, J.C.D. told Aleteia. Monsignor Gray is a canon lawyer and a priest of the Diocese of Peoria.

Relics, said the monsignor, "are intended to be displayed in a church or a sacred space for prayer, or placed into an altar as a sign of the closeness of the faithful to that saint when they gather at Mass."

Selling them — online or in person — is absolutely not allowed.

"The Church condemns any commercialization of relics. Canon 1190 §1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states, 'It is absolutely forbidden to sell sacred relics.' The Code uses the strongest possible language to prohibit this practice," he said.

The phrase, "It is absolutely forbidden — or 'nefas est' — is only used in a few places," said Monsignor Gray. "One is here regarding relics, and another is the violation of the seal of confession by a confessor."

Further, "Article 25 of the 2017 norms of the Dicastery of the Causes of Saints on 'Relics in the Church: Authenticity and Preservation' states, 'The commerce (that is, the exchange of a relic for something else or for money) and the sale of relics (that is, the cessation of ownership of a relic for a corresponding price), as well as their display in profane or unauthorized places, are absolutely prohibited.'"

But what to do?

That being said, it is a statement of fact that sometimes people, either ignorantly or not, do not follow these rules. So what should someone do? Is it okay to buy a relic for sale?

It is a somewhat complicated situation, said Monsignor Gray.

"Some people may want to 'rescue' these relics by buying them back so they can be treated reverently," he said. "There is nothing to prohibit someone from doing this provided the relics are treated with appropriate dignity."

But, a person should be wary of the unintended consequences of purchasing a relic from a distributor.

"However, for my part, I would discourage people from buying relics," he said. "Giving the seller money would probably have the effect of encouraging them to find and sell more relics.  I suggest that this scandalous activity should not be supported financially in any way."