Relics
What They Are and Why They Matter
Joan Carroll Cruz
9780895558503
476 pages
St. Benedict Press LLC
Overview
Scripture speaks of miracles wrought through relics: a dead man was raised when Elisha’s bones touched him, and the clothing of Jesus and His apostles healed the sick. In the early Church, Masses were celebrated over the bones of the martyrs, and phials of their blood have effected countless miracles. Direct successors of the Apostles themselves speak of venerating relics; Church Fathers encourage it; throughout the ages of Catholic legacy, relics of the saints are always present. The Church takes diligent care in preserving and documenting the authenticity of her relics. Best-selling author Joan Carroll Cruz takes full advantage of these resources. With painstaking research, she exposes the details behind hundreds of the Church’s most famous and beloved relics. She covers 38 second-class relicsof our Lord and Lady, such as the Holy Grail and Our Lady’s Veil, and relics of all sorts from 75 favorite saints, such as St. Mary Magdalene, St. Agnes, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Maria Goretti, and many more! Relics is a unique collection of years of dedicated research about the lives of the saints and the mementos they left behind, to remind us of their presence and intercession for us.
Author Bio
Joan Carroll Cruz was a native of New Orleans and was the educational product of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She attended grade school, high school and college under their tutelage. Mrs. Cruz was a tertiary in the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order (Third Order) since 1968; for eight years she served as Mistress of Formation (Novice Mistress). For her non-fiction books, Joan Carroll Cruz depended heavily on information received from foreign shrines, churches, convents and monasteries. Her books include The Incorruptibles, published in 1977; Desires of Thy Heart, a strongly Catholic-themed novel, also in 1977; Relics, published in 1983; Eucharistic Miracles in 1987; Secular Saints in 1989; Prayers and Heavenly Promises in 1990; Miraculous Images of Our Lady in 1993; Miraculous Images of Our Lord in 1995; Mysteries, Marvels, Miracles: In the Lives of the Saints in 1997; Angels & Devils in 1999; and Saints for the Sick in 2010.
