The St. John Bosco Center at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg received a special visit from the relics of Christ’s Passion March 16. More than 250 students and visitors came to venerate the relics, which are part of a collection at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. It was the first time the relics have been available for veneration outside the shrine.
According to a booklet provided to pilgrims, “relic” is from the Latin “reliquiae” meaning “remains” or “remnants.” In the early church, venerating the relics of Our Lord’s suffering and death was central to Holy Week observances in Jerusalem and the practice of pilgrimage. The relics of the Passion, death and burial of Jesus are the “first” relics of the church and are considered first-class relics.
Archivist and curator Geraldine Rohling first organized the relics into a temporary public display at the shrine for Good Friday in 2016.
“The first year, we had more than 5,000 people come to venerate the relics,” said Rohling. “We have two volunteers who are tasked with praying with everyone who comes, and they have commented that the thing that is the most moving is seeing the faith of the people.”
One of the pilgrims to the shrine was Bobby Murphy, a campus minister at Mary Washington.
“I was really taken aback by it,” he said. “They were very small particles, but I was very impressed.”
The experience stayed with Murphy and motivated him to reach out to Rohling about bringing the relics to the St. John Bosco Center, the campus ministry building at Mary Washington.
The exhibit includes 34 individual reliquaries mounted on a burgundy display. The relics contain what are believed to be particles from the table of the Last Supper, the scourging pillar, the crown of thorns, the True Cross, and the Holy Sepulchre, and stone from the Garden of Gethsemane. The relics were put out for veneration in the center’s main hall in the afternoon. During that time, students were joined by families from nearby parishes who came to venerate the relics.
“It’s been a really amazing experience seeing the impact it has on those venerating,” said Andrew Gannon, a sophomore at Germanna Community College, which has a campus in Fredericksburg. “Being able to see their faces and see how in awe they were — you could tell they were closer to God in that moment.”
During the March 16 campus ministry supper social, Rohling spoke with students, while pilgrims continued to visit the relics in the chapel. Veneration continued with a steady stream of pilgrims until the evening.
“If people are open to the Holy Spirit, it is amazing what can happen,” said Murphy. “Being in contact with the relics can help to draw us closer to Our Lord, especially his Passion.”
Kassock is a freelancer in Fredericksburg.
