500+ Sacred relics from Jesus, Padre Pio, and more coming to Montclair

The relics will soon return.

Last year, 200 sacred relics were exhibited at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Oratory in Montclair, New Jersey. The event was a huge success as more than 3,500 people showed up to view and venerate these rare and holy objects.

On Saturday, April 5, Joseph Santoro, US regional delegate of the International Crusade for Holy Relics, will return to OLMC with even more relics.

More than 500 holy objects will be on display.

According to Santoro, among the artifacts will be a fragment of the sponge put to Christ’s lips on the cross, a piece of the Virgin Mary’s veil, and relics from saints including John Paul II, Mother Cabrini, and Padre Pio.

The latter relics mostly come from a special exhibit organized by the National Centre for Padre Pio and will include one of the gloves he wore to cover his stigmata, feathers from the pillow his head was resting on when he died, and part of his bloodstained shirt.

What is a relic?

For some people, the display and veneration of relics is one of the oddest aspects of Catholicism, but the practice has a long tradition in the Church.

The word relic comes from the Latin reliquere, meaning “to leave behind.”

Relics come in three classes:

First-class relics consist of the physical remains of saints, like particles of bone or strands of hair. An object used or worn by a saint, such as a pen or an article of clothing, would be a second-class relic. Finally, if you touch a rosary or piece of cloth to a first or second-class relic, that item becomes a third-class relic.

The Vatican has laid out careful instructions for authenticating, preserving, and treating relics.

For Father Giandomenico Flora, the rector of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, veneration of relics points to our common need for divine help and inspiration. “It’s a chance to ask the saints for their intercession, but it’s also an opportunity to feel inspired by their lives. The saints were ordinary people who did a lot of good for the world. Their relics remind us we can all follow their example. Everyone has the potential to be holy.”

A true pilgrimage of hope

This year’s event has special significance since Catholics in the 2025 Jubilee Year have been invited by Pope Francis to become “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Visitors came from across New Jersey and beyond for last year’s event, with at least one family traveling all the way from Maine to see the relics. “It was an actual, true pilgrimage,” Joseph Santoro says. Even more visitors are expected to come this year.

Santoro says he hopes the exhibit will help bring a “renewal of faith” to those attending, and emphasizes that the relic events he organizes also rejuvenate his own soul. He has spent close to $200,000 to accrue the hundreds of relics he brings on tour. Some items were purchased online to remove them from the marketplace (the Church prohibits the sale of sacred objects) and to prevent them from being misused. Most of the items in Santoro’s collection, however, were donated by priests, shrines, the Vatican, and others who wanted to share their relics with the faithful.

Santoro says that he is careful to authenticate every item in his collection.

A time of veneration, prayer, and Lenten preparation

Father Flora calls the upcoming relic event “a gift from God.” He and his parish have been preparing for the event for weeks. Volunteers will watch over the relics displayed in the church hall and outside in tents (to accommodate those with disabilities), while the church will be open for confessions, reflection, and prayer – including the recitation of the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet. The parish will also celebrate its regular 4:30 Mass where all are welcome.

The event is free of charge. There will be rosaries, candles, and other items available for a modest donation, which attendees can then touch to the reliquaries on display, transforming them into third-class relics which can be brought home and used for devotional purposes.

“People come, they cry, they walk on their knees, they pray,” Joseph Santoro says when asked to explain why events like the one coming to Montclair are so popular. “They are looking for a miracle, for hope. And what better time to look for hope than during the Pilgrimage of Hope this Jubilee Year?”

To learn more about Our Lady of Mount Carmel Oratory’s relic exhibit — including information regarding parking and handicap accommodations — visit the event website.

Featured image: Relics from Joseph Santoro’s collection. (Photo courtesy of Joseph Santoro)