Justin Bieber's hair clippings.
The bloodstained gloves that Mary Todd Lincoln carried to Ford's Theatre.
What do they have in common?
They are relics -- prized keepsakes, preserved because of their association with significant people and events.
Bieber fans who line up for hours to peer at a lock of the teen idol's hair inside its autographed glass case share a common desire -- on a deeper level -- with tourists who stop to see Mary Lincoln's gloves at a museum in Springfield, Ill., and religious pilgrims who make the journey to Dublin to venerate St. Patrick's tooth.
They're all seeking a physical connection to greatness.
"It is that same longing to connect on a physical and not just spiritual level that draws the faithful to the tombs of the saints, the houses where they lived, the altars before which they prayed, even the prisons where they were tortured," author Thomas Craughwell writes in his fascinating and surprisingly entertaining new book, "Saints Preserved: An Encyclopedia of Relics."
Craughwell, the author of several books, including 2006's delightful "Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshipers Who Became Saints," writes a monthly column on patron saints that runs in Catholic newspapers around the country.
His years of research led to his latest book, which catalogs 350 of the most famous, interesting or just plain odd relics on display at Catholic institutions around the globe.
Make no mistake, though, "Saints Preserved" is not a stuffy historical account or pious index of which relics are where. Craughwell has a marvelous sense of humor that shines in his breezy -- and fascinating -- descriptions of the relics, their provenance and the relic-enthusiast subculture, if you will.
"Anyone who thinks that the cult of relics of the saints is itself a relic of the Middle Ages should log on to eBay," Craughwell writes. "On any day of the week the online shopper will find a thriving business in the sale of relics, ranging from dust from the tomb of Christ to splinters of the True Cross to bone fragments of countless saints."
Among the relics Craughwell describes are:
- The relics of St. Bibiana, preserved inside an alabaster urn beneath the high altar of the little Basilica of St. Bibiana in Rome, near a column that is said to be the one to which executioners bound her before scourging her to death. St. Bibiana is invoked against hangovers. Yes, hangovers.
- The Holy Prepuce (a.k.a foreskin) of Jesus, which, according to legend, was given in 800 A.D. to Pope Leo III by the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. It was housed in Rome's Lateran Palace until 1527, when it was stolen by a German soldier during the sacking of Rome by German Lutherans and Spanish Catholics. The Holy Prepuce and its silver reliquary wound up in Calcata, Italy, where every Jan. 1 it is carried in procession during the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord and, as Craughwell writes, "exposed at the village church for public veneration."
The head of St. John the Baptist, which was one of the most coveted relics of the Middle Ages -- when relics were big business, not all of it on the up-and-up. That may explain why no fewer than nine different religious sites claim to house it today, including a church in Rome, a cathedral in France, a monastery in Armenia and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Boards from what is said to be the Holy Manger where Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, which are kept in a large gold, silver and crystal urn in a tiny chapel below the high altar in Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major. The body of little-known St. Zita, a 13th-century Italian saint, which lies in a glass casket in the Basilica of San Frediano, in Lucca, Italy, where she attended Mass every day. Deeply pious all her life, Zita was just 12 when she was hired as a servant for a wealthy family and would get up before sunrise to attend Mass next door to her master's house. One day she put bread in the oven before going to Mass and became so caught up in prayer that she lost track of time. It is said that when she rushed back to the kitchen, she found perfect loaves cooling on the table -- angels had tended to her baking while she prayed. She is the patron saint of housekeepers and waitresses.Visiting these relics, Craughwell explained, is akin to visiting the grave of a loved one, or cherishing a family heirloom.
"The shrine or relic is a physical link with someone who was faithful to God in this life," he said. "Bringing out Grandma's china for Christmas dinner stirs the emotions and makes us feel connected once again to someone we loved but who has since died. Relics work in the same way but more intensely, because ... the connection is not only to someone we love but to someone who was genuinely holy."
This column appears via the Religion News Service
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.