CHRISTIANS should not to be taken in by expensive internet offers of relics of St Francis of Assisi, the Order of St Francis in Italy has said.
“Relics are not for sale — this is nothing but fraud,” the head of communications for the Franciscans in Assisi, Brother Giulio Cesareo, told Austria’s Kathpress news agency this week. “They are spiritual treasures for the Church and faithful that have no commercial value, and we’re deeply saddened that people are willing to cheat others this way in order to make a profit.”
He was reacting to reports that blood and bone traces of St Francis, who died in 1226 at the age of 44, were being offered for sale on eBay and Etsy, along with fragments of his clothing.
Brother Giulio was shocked that purchasers appeared to treat objects “like dish soap, T-shirts or handcream” as spiritual, and urged those who “believe they are buying relics online [to] recognise the deceptions” and file complaints.
Etsi is currently offering a medallion containing an “interesting and rare relic of St Francis of Assisi” for £707 “or best offer”, as well as a “rare antique reliquary” for £967.47.
The sale of alleged relics has been condemned as a violation of canon law by Roman Catholic authorities. The Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, warned in a 2017 Instruction that genuine relics must be kept sealed “in places guaranteeing their safety and respecting their sacredness”, with church certificates confirming their authenticity.
In a video message last week, the Franciscan custodian of the Sacro Convento, Assisi, Brother Marco Moroni, described the sale of relics as “disgusting and absurd”, and said that the spread of “an online market with extremely high prices” was “a trend the Church rejects”.
The bones of St Francis of Assisi are on display in the town’s Lower Basilica to mark the eighth centenary of his death. More than half a million people have so far viewed them in their bulletproof Plexiglass reliquary. They are on display for veneration until the end of March.