Gulf Pine Catholic

18 Gulf Pine Catholic • November 22, 2024 Ministries of the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi Ministries From page 17 The Relic Project Archivist: Deacon Karl Koberger When I became Chancellor and Archivist in May 2021, I was surprised to learn of the collection of relics that were housed in our archives. As I became more familiar with my new ministry, I was able to find out more about our col- lection. In 1981, the Diocese of Biloxi was bequeathed a collection of relics by Howard W. Johnson. During the years Johnson was employed at St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis (Divine Word Missionaries), he collected relics, and the missionaries based at the seminary would bring back relics to Johnson that they obtained on their missionary trips. Most of these relics came with docu- mentation of their authenticity. Bishop Kihneman was, at that time, having the relics of the Saints, rotating monthly, available when he celebrated daily Mass. I was providing the partic- ular relics and returning them to the collection in our vault. Many of the saints I had not heard of before, and being curious I began to research, but the mag- nitude of the collection was overwhelming! The certificates were very old and in Latin -- I wanted to learn more and thought that others would too. You may be wondering, “What is a Relic?” Relics have classifications: first, second, or third class. A first class relic is part of a saint’s body (e.g. bone, blood, flesh, hair, teeth). Second class relics are possessions that a saint owned such as clothing or something used by a saint. Third class relics are objects that have been touched to a first, second, or another third class relic of a saint. “Why do we venerate or honor Relics?” We are members of the Body of Christ, which includes the Communion of Saints. We can ask the saints for their intercession with God for ourselves, our loved ones, or concerns. St. Therese of Lisieux said before her death, “I will spend my heaven doing good on earth.” Scripture teaches that God acts through relics, especially in terms of heal- ing; 2 Kings 13:20-21, Matthew 9:20-22, Acts 5:12-15, Acts 19:11-12. In each of these instances God brought about a healing using a material object. The vehicle for the healing was the touching of that object. It is very important to note, however, that the cause of the healing is God; the relics are a means through which He acts. In other words, relics are not magic. They do not con- tain a power of their own; the power comes from God. By venerating or hon- oring the saints whom God has worked through in an extraordinary way, we adore and glorify God who worked so beautifully in their lives. Our veneration of relics also reminds us that we are part of the Communion of Saints, the great cloud of witnesses who have run the race before us (Heb. 12:1). Now back to our diocesan collection: When Bishop Kihneman returned from the Beatification Mass for Blessed Stanley Rother that was held on September 23, 2017, in Oklahoma City, he requested a first-class relic of Blessed Stanley Rother. That relic along with a relic of St. Faustina that was From the Archives Deacon Karl brought from Poland by Father Adam Urbaniak began to be dis- played in our parishes and schools for veneration and education. Part of my duties as Chancellor is to oversee the safe delivery and return of these relics, and I had an introduction to the importance of relics as I began my duties as Chancellor. The collection from Johnson, however, is vast! The list of the relics in the collection with the names of the saints was mostly in Latin. I began translating the names to figure out whose relic we had and what it was, and then researched to find out what I could about the person who is now a saint. I began to compile the biographies of many of the saints, but I was not able to get very far, as I did not have that much time with my essential duties as Chancellor. As word spread about the collection, along came a volunteer who wanted to help me with anything needed in the Archives, Lee Ann Dubaz. Lee Ann is a dynamic individual. When she found out she could help with the relic project I had started, she took the challenge and ran with it! She started trans- lating the certificates of documentation from Latin to English, and shared the news of the project to others. People began donating money for us to buy reliquaries that are used to display the relics, and an antique dealer donated some wooden display stands that were used for relics long ago. The relics were stored in boxes in the archive vault where they were very organized and climate controlled, but were not used for veneration in displays. Lee Ann said she would dream that the saints were telling her to get them out of the vault. The more Lee Ann shared with others about our collection, the more peo- ple wanted to help. Heidi Authement and Abby Crosby volunteered to help and began checking and re-labeling relics. A retired librarian and her husband, Jane and Ed Shambra, are now helping to preserve the certificates, some which are hundreds of years old. With Bishop Kihneman’s support we began to display relics of well-known saints in the Pastoral Center of the diocese for people to see, venerate and pray before, and pastors and principals began to request a particular relic to be displayed periodically in our schools and parishes. Discussions with Bishop Louis Kihneman and Father Godfrey Andoh, Rector of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, led to a desire of all to display many of the relics in the Marian Chapel at the Cathedral. Volunteers, Kim and Chris Kennedy were instrumental in having display cases built for use in the Marian Chapel, and our volunteers worked hard to accomplish this for Bishop Kihneman to bless the new reliquaries before the June 2024 Eucharistic Pilgrimage. We are still working on the “Relic Project,” but at this time close to 185 relics are on display in the Marian Chapel at Nativity BVM Cathedral Parish. Volunteer guides are being trained and plans are being made to have scheduled times the Chapel will be open to accept visitors for veneration at this pilgrim- age destination. I plan to continue to offer you information on our relics with a biography of the “saint of the week” or whatever we decide to call this series, but this article is long enough right now! The “Relic Project” is continuing and get- ting better organized and growing as we speak (or read this article). Thank you for your attention … I look forward to sharing more with you! “The real heroes, the real celebrities, are the saints. They’re the only ones worth imitating.” - Fr. John Riccardo (Acts XXIX) Deacon Karl Koberger is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Biloxi.