Jesus, Holy Family Relics Go On Display At Chicago Church

Relics of the Holy Family that include a fragment of the manger where Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem went on display at a Roman Catholic church in Chicago on Sunday, December 30.

Jesus relics at church in Chicago

Holy Family Church, Chicago’s second oldest church, displayed the said relics, which also include a fragment from the veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a fragment of a thread from the cloak of St. Joseph, in celebration of its 155th anniversary.

The relics, authenticated by Vatican documents, are a gift from the nearby Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, which acquired them from the Vatican in 1972.

According to Rev. Richard Fragomeni, pastor of the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, it is only fitting that these rare relics associated with Christ’s birthplace should reside permanently in Chicago’s original Jesuit church that is dedicated to the Holy Family.

The fragments were originally venerated, beginning in the 5th century, in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.

"These relics of the Holy Family are obvious objects of devotion," Rev. Jeremiah Boland, administrator of Holy Family Chicago parish, saidn. "One could argue how real the relics of Mary or Joseph are but there were all sorts of objects over the centuries that have been venerated and are based on faith rather that scientific explanation."

Father Boland added: "The manger fragment, now in Holy Family’s custody, has more authenticity because of the historical reality that St. Helena of the Cross, the mother of Constantine, brought many sacred objects from Jerusalem to Rome in the 5th century. During that same century, pilgrims also brought fragments of the original crib to Rome and Pope Sixtus had them preserved."

In addition to the Holy Family relics, the church also exhibited several crèches of the Nativity scene from around the world been including a traditional Nativity scene that is more than a century old; another set from Kenya made of stone; a ceramic tile of the Nativity and the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt is a replica of an 18th century piece that is in the Cathedral of St. James, Jerusalem.

Others include a hand- carved gourd of the Nativity from Peru; a piece from Mexico; another from Hungary; one from Germany; a triptych from Poland; ll Bambino Jesu from Perugia, Umbria, Italy; and a gold minted Nativity scene from the Vatican.