Reliquary Chapel

Author: Jane Morrow

Reliquary Relics of the manger, the Blessed Virgin, and the True Cross

To the right off the Lady Chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart is the Reliquary Chapel. Found here are the relics of each of the 12 Apostles, a piece of the manger at Bethlehem, pieces of the veil and belt of the Blessed Virgin and relics of all of the saints in the Church calendar. The large wood cross contains a relic of the True Cross.

The wax figure in the chapel is that of Saint Severa, a martyr in the third century; the cloth-covered lead boxes at the head and feet of the wax figure contain her bones.

Above the relic repository is a copy of a portion of Raphael’s fresco Disputa. On the opposite wall is an exact replica of the Miraculous Madonna of Czestochowa.