Preserving the sacred and precious

Relics of St Dominic and others at Dominican reliquary

By Lara Pickford-Gordon

Email: snrwriter.camsel@catholictt.org

Theca Reliquary is the title of a booklet recently published by The Incorporated Trustees of the Dominican Fathers in Trinidad and Tobago. It contains the photos and listing of sacred relics, kept in the reliquary at the House of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Diego Martin.

The booklet cataloging 100 sacred relics accumulated over decades is part of the conservation and archival project undertaken by Dr Kwynn Johnson on behalf of the Trustees. On August 26, the Catholic News had the opportunity to see the relics first-hand and find out about the project.

Holding on to faith

Catholic News’ Editor Raymond Syms and I arrive at the House after 9 a.m. and are greeted by Fr Thomas Lawson OP. We are shown to a room with the reliquary—container where the relics are kept.

Having perused the booklet, it was awesome to get close to these treasures connected to the saints and even Christ Himself.  Many are quite minute and required a magnifying glass for clearer viewing.

There are relics of: St Catherine of Siena, St Thomas Aquinas, St Vincent de Paul, St Columba of Rieti. “What is nice about the archive is we have Martin de Porres, Rose of Lima, saints of what you would call the New World or formerly colonised countries,” said Dr Johnson.

The French Dominican Religious Sisters came to Trinidad as missionaries in the 19th century, and with them came personal items including the relics. Fr Lawson said the Sisters would have faced dangers coming to unfamiliar territory.

“Many of those holy Sisters would have relics on them they could hold on to for protection and guidance; that was back in 1868 and they came specifically for the leprosarium.”

The booklet gives a brief history of the Sisters, stating the first five arrived March 26, 1868, resided at Marine Square, and moved to the Cocorite Leprosarium, November 8, 1868. They also moved when the facility was relocated to Chacachacare, which lacked potable water.

“You can well imagine when they were assigned to the mission here in Trinidad, their families [would ask] ‘what can I get you, can I get you a gold ring earring, make a little necklace? …for them [the Sisters] what would be most valuable is a sacred object. A relic is a sacred object,” Fr Lawson said.

Dr Johnson, Archivist and guest Curator agreed. “These are very sacred, personal things that they gave to each other or received as a gift.”

The reliquary contains 58 thecas from Sr Marie Thérèse Rétout OP, the archivist for the Dominican Sisters in Trinidad and Tobago.

A ‘theca’ is a round or oval container made of metal with a crystal cover that allows the relic to be seen (p 31). She presented them to Fr Lawson when he was the Regional Prior of the Dominican Fathers (1998–2006). He took custodial responsibility as representative of the then Master of the Order, Fr Timothy Radcliff OP. “She felt this could be a good place as it is Dominican property. She wanted it for the Order,” Fr Lawson said.

Two theca relics of St Dominic OP and St Thomas Aquinas OP came from Fr Lawson. They were given to him by friends in Dublin, Ireland before he embarked on his mission to T&T. “Anything of spiritual support would be appreciated,” he said.

A group of relics are in sachets. Among the collection are: particles from the Sacred crypt of Gethsemane, particles from a Mt Calvary stone, particles from the place of Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and pieces of the Judicial Door Column at Herod’s Court.

The names and stories of a few are yet to be revealed such as the hair and bone relic of an archbishop contained in a French-styled reliquary of the late 19th century. There are four red wax seals at the back validating its authenticity.

Reminders of God’s presence

“It is a remarkable collection”, said Dr Johnson. The protocols for handling forbid her opening any of the thecas. If they must be cleaned or repaired, permission must be obtained from the Master of the Order based at Santa Sabina, Rome. She did a “light surface wiping” of the thecas.

The relic is placed inside the theca, along with the saint’s name on a handwritten label. It is secured in the back with threads and a red wax seal with the insignia of the religious authority. They are usually accompanied by a certificate. The collection has 32 certificates of authentication. The oldest found, with a relic of St Columba of Rieti is dated 1829.

There could be different reasons why some certificates were missing.

Fr Lawson said the Sisters would have carried the relics on their person and left the certificates in their rooms, and after their death, these could have been inadvertently thrown out. “A lack of appreciation causes a lot of destruction,” Fr Lawson said.

Each theca in the exhibit was photographed and given a catalogue number.  Many are of Dominican saints. There are three of St Dominic and six of St Catherine of Siena. “A Dominican Sister would be drawn to a St Catherine of Siena relic,” Dr Johnson said. Many female martyrs were represented.

Cataloguing involved writing descriptions of the relics, the theca they were contained in, the material and size of the theca. The relic of French visitation nun, Dr Mary Margaret Mary Alacoque OP is contained in a silver theca with a neo-Gothic design.

In the booklet, Dr Johnson singles out the design of nine thecas, suggesting they could have been gifts “for and from important persons” (27, Theca Reliquary).

She notes that the Sisters would have been very mobile, from their trip across the Atlantic via schooner, arriving at the Port of Spain wharf then going to different locations: Belmont, Chacachacare, St James.

“Many of these Thecas in the Dominican Collection were designed with portability in mind. They might be designed to be worn around an individual’s neck as a necklace or locket” (44).

There is a theca labelled ‘Wood of the True Cross of Jesus’. I had to ask, from Calvary? “Yes!” said Dr Johnson. Fr Lawson provides a possible explanation. “Someone in the convent went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Remember in the community of holy women, the only security they had was their faith: there were no bodyguards; there were no electric fences; they were very vulnerable to the wildness of life. For them, what was sacred was their security, and a relic would give them a sense of security.”

A citation in the booklet provides a historical context. “Most of the very small relics of the True Cross in Europe came from Constantinople after the city was captured and sacked in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade” (43).

Dr Johnson obviously enjoyed doing this project. “Someone has entrusted you with their precious things, be it photos, love letters, artefacts; there is a certain regard, respect, that you then assume the responsibility and handling of it, and I think anyone will feel that way.”

Cataloguing the relics also prompted her to read about the lives of the saints and martyrs they came from. She marvelled at the poverty, illness and suffering experienced by St Columba of Rieti, an Italian religious sister of the Third Order of St Dominic and mystic. She died at 34 years.

Fr Lawson said religious objects remind us of the presence of God. “People purchase religious objects, and they want them blessed, it gives them a good sense of personal security that God is present.”

He states in Theca Reliquary, “We the faithful, mere servants of God will come and go but these relics which have stood the test of time, will remain a source of spiritual support for God’s people.”

An exhibit of the relics and book launch could not take place because of the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions. An announcement will be made when this can happen.

About relics…

• Relics are classified as First Class—body parts of the saint e.g., bits of bones, hair, blood, and ash if their bodies were burnt; Second Class—authentic contact relics i.e., objects the saint has touched e.g. garments, burial shrouds; Third Class—objects that had contact with relics of the First Class.
• Canon Law forbids the selling of relics and cannot be transferred permanently without permission of the Holy See.
• Relics for public veneration are to be authenticated. This is shown by a certificate of authentication signed and sealed by someone from the Congregation of the Saints or local bishop where the saint lived.
• The Congregation is the authority to verify relics in which documents are lost or missing.