Catholic Holy Relics in the United States

 

The United States is home to numerous holy relics, primarily Catholic ones, including fragments of saints' bodies (first-class relics), items they owned or touched (second-class), and pieces associated with Jesus, such as fragments of the True Cross.

These relics are venerated in churches, shrines, and chapels across the country, with some sites housing vast collections authenticated by the Church.

St. Anthony's Chapel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds the largest collection of relics outside the Vatican, with over 5,000 items, including relics from more than 1,200 saints and multiple fragments of the True Cross.

Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics in Maria Stein, Ohio, is the second-largest collection in the U.S., featuring over 1,200 relics (mostly first-class, such as bones) from around 900 saints, plus several fragments of the True Cross.

Other notable sites include: Churches and shrines in places like Louisville, St. Louis, Tampa, and Sedona.

Fragments of the True Cross are particularly widespread, found in at least a dozen documented locations, including the Shrine of the True Cross in Dickinson, Texas.

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