From the earliest times, Christians have honored the relics – the physical remains and personal effects – of early Christians who were martyred or lived especially holy lives. In many places their graves became sites of pilgrimage where the faithful journeyed to be inspired by their example and to ask for their help in the struggles of life and in leading holy lives themselves. Over time, shrines dedicated to these holy people were built to create a proper place for pilgrims to honor or venerate these saints, to attend Mass, and to receive the sacraments.
Traditionally, pilgrims venerate relics by touching or kissing the reliquary in which the fragment of the holy person’s physical remains or personal item is kept. Veneration is an expression of reverence for the holiness of the saint, and pilgrims often ask for the saint to intercede on their behalf before God for spiritual assistance, physical healing, or other particular graces.
“The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics…” (Universal Catechism, 1674)
