Among the many religious aspects that attract pilgrims and devotees to Rome, especially during a Jubilee, the veneration of the Holy Relics undoubtedly holds a prominent place. These relics, kept in various churches in the holy city, represent tangible testimonies to the Catholic faith and its thousand-year-old tradition.
Relics have always played a crucial role in the spread of Christianity. The first Christian relics came from the catacombs, containing the remains of martyrs venerated since the 2nd century. The cult of relics intensified from 326 AD, when St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine I, brought numerous holy remains and fragments to Rome from Jerusalem.
In the 4th century, with the end of persecution against Christians, basilicas and churches began to spring up in which the Holy Relics were kept and venerated. These places became pilgrimage destinations, and some festivals were dedicated to the veneration of specific relics, evolving over time into major popular celebrations.
Sacred Relics are traditionally divided into three categories: relics of Christ’s Passion, relics of the Apostles, and relics of Saints and Martyrs. The following is a non-exhaustive list of the main Holy Relics preserved in Rome, with details of where they are kept.
Relics of the Passion of Christ
- Holy Staircase: Located at the Pontifical Shrine of the Holy Staircase near the Basilica of St. John Lateran, this 28-step staircase made of white marble and covered with wood is identified as the one Jesus climbed during Pontius Pilate’s interrogation. According to tradition, it was transported to Rome by St. Helena.
- Column of the Flagellation: Preserved in the Basilica of St. Praxedes, this is the column to which Jesus was bound during the scourging.
- Holy Nails and Thorns of the Crown: The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem holds one of the nails used in Jesus’ crucifixion and some thorns from his Crown.
- Holy Lance: Part of the lance with which centurion Longinus pierced Christ’s side is preserved in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It was brought to Rome by Saint Louis IX of France.
- Holy Towel: Preserved in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, it is the linen cloth with which Jesus washed the disciples’ feet during the Last Supper.
Relics of Saints, Apostles and Martyrs
- St. Joseph: Some fragments of St. Joseph’s tomb are preserved in the Church of Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli. Fragments of his miraculous staff are found in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Trastevere and the Basilica of St. Anastasia on the Palatine.
- St. Peter: Buried near the site of his martyrdom, near Nero’s Circus, his bones were found in 1964 during archaeological excavations and are now preserved under the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The chains that imprisoned him are kept in the Basilica of St. Peter in Chains.
- St. Jude Thaddeus and St. Simon the Apostle: Their bodies are venerated in St. Peter’s Basilica, near the altar of St. Joseph and to the left of the Bernini Altar.
- St. Gregory of Nazianzus: His remains are preserved in St. Peter’s Basilica;
- St. James Minor and St. Philip the Apostle: Their bodies are kept in the Basilica of the Holy Twelfth Apostles.
- St. John the Apostle: Some of his relics are preserved in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
- St. John the Baptist: The saint’s head is displayed in the Church of St. Sylvester in Capite.
- St. Matthias and St. Jerome: their remains are enshrined in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where the Holy Cradle of the Child Jesus, or the manger where Jesus was laid after his birth, is also venerated.
