A deep dive into the (slightly creepy) world of Catholic relics

Jesuitical

America Media

Spirituality, Christianity, News, News Commentary, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 949 Ratings

🗓️ 28 March 2025

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Joining Zac and Ashley on this episode of “Jesuitical” recorded in Douglaston, N.Y., is Msgr. Robert Sarno, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and a former official of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. With 38 years of experience in overseeing the process of canonization and beatification of saints, Monsignor Sarno offers a deep dive into the world of Catholic relics, including their history, hierarchy and controversy. Zac, Ashley and Monsignor Sarno discuss: - How the devotion to relics began in the early Catholic Church and evolved over time - The distinction between first-class, second-class and third-class relics - Contemporary issues with the misuse and trafficking of relics Links for further reading: Why every Catholic church altar has a relic inside it How are saints made in the Catholic Church? Inside the long, complicated and expensive process St. Thomas Aquinas’ skull went on tour. Here’s what the medieval saint would have said about its veneration I’ve always loved relics. After my cancer diagnosis, they mean even more to me. I wear a third-degree relic every day. It reminds me that all things are possible through God. What to make of holy relics You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical. Please consider supporting Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media at americamagazine.org/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:45.0	Hello and welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast from America Media for Saints and Sinners.
0:51.3	You can join us each week for honest conversations about the Catholic Church in our world today, sometimes over drinks.
0:55.2	I'm Ashley McInnes, and I'm joined by Zach Davis. It's great to be with you, Ashley. Good to be with you, Zach. And I'm feeling quite saintly. Are you? No, but we have a
1:01.6	great show about saints and relics and all the weird stuff that happens with that with someone who
1:06.4	really knows what they're talking about. We sure do. We are talking to Monsignor Robert Sarno.
1:12.1	Monsignor Sarno is a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and a former official at the
1:17.5	Dicastery for the causes of saints. So he was at the top place for saint making. He knows
1:23.9	this stuff. He's been involved in several causes for canonizations. He's an expert on relics.
1:30.0	And so if you've ever had any questions about relics or how saints are made, he's such a great resource.
1:35.6	And he was so gracious to welcome us to the Immaculate Conception Center. So we took a little field trip from our offices in Manhattan out to Queens to have a great conversation with him.
1:44.6	Yeah. So we wanted to give some space for this conversation. So it will be a interview-only
1:49.9	episode. So without further ado, our conversation with Monsignor Robert Sarno.
2:18.1	Monsignor Sarno is a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn and a former official of the
2:22.5	Dicastry for the causes of the saints.
2:25.3	Welcome to Jesuitical Monsignor.
2:27.3	Thank you.
2:27.8	Nice to be with you.
2:28.6	And thank you for welcoming us into your home.
2:30.8	It's always more fun when we can do these podcasts in person. So, and even,
2:38.5	yeah, it's always, it's more relaxed and easygoing, you know, you just kind of let, let go and talk. Exactly. We're going to do some of that today. The reason we wanted to talk to you is because
	...

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