Short Answer: Why are there Churches Made of Bones?

Dear Apologist, why do Catholics collect the bones, hair, and fingers of Saints?



One of the most seemingly bizarre elements of Catholic culture, historically, has been the veneration of the bodies of the Saints.  This includes the collection and display of bones, hair, and body parts for our veneration.  One can even find churches decorated entirely with bones.  This can be off putting for most people, who see it as an unChristian obsession with the macabre.

The truth is this practice comes from a very vivid use of the Christian imagination.  In Acts 9:4, Paul encounters Christ on the road to Damascus.  Jesus demands of Paul:

“Why are you persecuting me?”  

Paul was obviously not putting Jesus to death, and yet Jesus identified Paul as persecuting Himself.  This led Paul to the insight that the Church is the “body of Christ”.  This is a concept he explores in principally 1Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 5.

In 1Corinthians 6:15, he gives a very physical interpretation of this teaching.  He suggests that the men in Corinth are implicating the body of Christ when they visit prostitutes, saying:

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!" -1Corinthians 6:15

This very physical implication of the teaching led Christians to view their bodies in a new light.  The bones of their dead brethren were, in a very real sense, the bones of Christ.  And if that was true for Christians generally, that impulse was even stronger for the Saints, who were even more intimately connected with Christ.

In fact, the New Testament gives us an example of the belief in the power of physical relics.  In Acts 19:11-12 we see handkerchiefs being touched to Paul and then becoming occasions for miracles:

"Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them."

You can also see this practice (of collecting and venerating human remains) on display very early in Christian history, such as after the execution of bishop Polycarp:

"The centurion then, seeing the strife excited by the Jews, placed the body in the midst of the fire, and consumed it. Accordingly, we afterwards took up his bones, as being more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more purified than gold, and deposited them in a fitting place, whither, being gathered together, as opportunity is allowed us, with joy and rejoicing, the Lord shall grant us to celebrate the anniversary of his martyrdom, both in memory of those who have already finished their course, and for the exercising and preparation of those yet to walk in their steps." - Martyrdom of Polycarp, 18 (~170AD)

So while it may seem bizarre and creepy to us, the practice of collecting and venerating the relics and remains of the Saints springs from a very Christian impulse.