- Feb 5, 2002
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MINNEAPOLIS (OSV News) — Recently, a visitor to a Wisconsin monastery entered a dimly lit chapel to pray. He noticed near the altar a mysterious, folded parchment in a brass reliquary with a faded wax seal.
The monks seemed unsure of the reliquary’s contents or origin. The visitor’s curiosity was piqued, and the abbot gave him permission to temporarily remove and investigate the packet.
Back at his office, the visitor carefully opened the packet and discovered a minute relic. He spent hours researching this puzzling treasure and was able to decipher the wax seal as that of a patriarch of Venice. He also found the relic likely dated back to the Catholic Church’s earliest days.
In the end, he came to an astounding conclusion: The relic was a tiny fragment of the body of St. John of Damascus (676-749 A.D.), the last-named Father of the Church, who was known for his strong defense of relics. The visitor cleaned and sealed the relic, set it in a new gold reliquary, and documented its millennium’s worth of history. It now sits, more visible and adorned, in the Wisconsin monastery chapel.
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
The monks seemed unsure of the reliquary’s contents or origin. The visitor’s curiosity was piqued, and the abbot gave him permission to temporarily remove and investigate the packet.
Back at his office, the visitor carefully opened the packet and discovered a minute relic. He spent hours researching this puzzling treasure and was able to decipher the wax seal as that of a patriarch of Venice. He also found the relic likely dated back to the Catholic Church’s earliest days.
In the end, he came to an astounding conclusion: The relic was a tiny fragment of the body of St. John of Damascus (676-749 A.D.), the last-named Father of the Church, who was known for his strong defense of relics. The visitor cleaned and sealed the relic, set it in a new gold reliquary, and documented its millennium’s worth of history. It now sits, more visible and adorned, in the Wisconsin monastery chapel.
Continued below.
Specialist researches, authenticates, restores relics
Relics specialist, Sean Pilcher, responds to requests from parishes, religious orders and individuals from around the world to authenticate relics, return them to places of honor, and ensure their reverential treatment.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
