On a Mission to Make Relics and Saints Known

I believe that every Catholic Christian is responsible for evangelization. What started as a passion initially, has now become my mission. Yes, I am on a mission to make saints known to Catholics and non-Catholics through their relics! I want to help the younger generation especially, to witness to Christ by sharing with them stories about the saints and the miracles attributed to them.

Growing up, I couldn’t help admiring the saints and their statues when I went to church. I was interested to know how the saints devoted their lives to serving God and people in need, so I began reading and studying about them. I was 26 years old when I first knew about the existence of relics. Relics are parts of the body, or some personal memorial of a saint, kept for veneration. Parts of the body like bones and hair are known as first-class relics, while items like clothes, books or rosaries are second-class relics. Items that came into contact with the first- or second-class relics are categorized as third-class relics.

Using relics for the purpose of spiritual talks and public veneration is not a new idea. In fact, it started way back in the 11th century itself. The veneration reflects a belief that the saints in heaven act as mediators for those on Earth. Several cures and miracles are attributed to relics, not because of their own power but because of the holiness of the saints they represent. So, I began a private collection of relics on my own initiative in the year 2007. At first, I was skeptical about the idea of possessing relics as a layman. But, little did I know that many people like me collect relics all around the world.

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​So, I too began a quest to own as many relics as I could. I started by sending an email to a friend in the Philippines on the procedures of collecting relics. I found that relics can be obtained by making a request to a postulator (the person responsible for promoting the cause of a proposed saint). With encouragement from my family members, I sent in my first written request for a relic accompanied with some donations to someone in Mexico. The donation is to cover postage fees and courier services. I waited anxiously in prayer and months later I obtained my first relic of Bl. Miguel Pro. I was thrilled and felt blessed. I kept the relic cautiously in a reliquary for my devotion and displayed it in a nicely crafted frame with some documentation. It is stored as such to protect the holiness and purity of the relic. 

When I obtained my second relic in the year 2007, my parish priest encouraged me to continue God’s work. Since then I have started having exhibitions. The first exhibition and veneration was during the Year of Faith, 2013 at St. Joseph’s Chapel, Bidor. When news about it spread, Fr. Mark Michael invited me to join the PDCC where a relic team was later formed with the approval of Bishop Sebastian Francis. The team was formed with some of my closest friends who were with me since young. We were determined to approach as many people as possible to tell them about the relics.

To date, I have collected a total of 75 relics consisting of all three classes and they have been exhibited in over 20 churches in Peninsular Malaysia. My aim is to educate people about the saints through relics as many are not aware of it. I hope that more Catholics in Malaysia will come forward to gain knowledge about the saints and experience wonder through their relics. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parish priest Fr. Robert Daniel and Fr. Simon Anand (now serving in Kampar) who encouraged me not to stop spreading God’s good news. Not forgetting all those who showed their continuous support directly or indirectly, invited me to their churches to hold exhibitions, called me for more information, helped me in delivering the message, and were there during my ups and downs – THANK YOU!

Johnson Louis is a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes, Ipoh, Perak. He can be contacted at [email protected].