Buried Relics at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

In February of 2011, an earthquake hit Christchurch, and a statue of the Virgin Mary inside the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament spun 180 degrees to face the ruined city. The statue became a symbol of survival, but the cathedral itself, a neo-classical structure standing for over a century, is now being demolished. Its Oamaru stone masonry is being broken into rubble.

But the earthquake also revealed something. Under an inch of concrete in the floor of the cathedral is a metal box. It’s believed to contain hundreds of holy relics, a collection that was once described as the richest and most varied in the Southern Hemisphere. An old document from the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch Archives says there are nearly 300 relics, with the most precious being a large piece of the True Cross. It also mentions relics of apostles, martyrs, confessors, and virgins from centuries of the church.

These relics, which include bone fragments, a scrap of a letter between saints, and bits of material worn by holy figures, were displayed in ornate containers called reliquaries when a side chapel opened in the cathedral in 1906. They were later moved around the building until the 1970s, when many of these holy items were buried under the floor.

Bishop John Joseph Grimes, the first Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, acquired many of these relics during his travels in Europe. He also initiated and oversaw the construction of the cathedral, which was designed by architect Francis Petre. The foundation stone was laid in 1901, and the building was finished in 1905. Bishop Grimes died in 1915 and was buried in his cathedral.

The diocese plans to disinter Bishop Grimes and two other bishops during the demolition. The collection of relics is also expected to be recovered. A spokesperson for the diocese said the main cathedral structure should be removed by mid-March, which is when the relics could be safely accessed. The decision on what to do with them will be made by the new Bishop of Christchurch, who replaces Paul Martin. In 2019, Bishop Martin announced the demolition of the cathedral, a heritage building, due to the $149 million restoration cost. The diocese is building a new cathedral in a more central location. The spokesperson mentioned that the new bishop will decide if the relics will be entombed beneath the altar of the new cathedral.

A University of Canterbury associate professor of history, Dr. Chris Jones, called the variety of these relics striking, saying it's like an attempt to summarize the entire Church in one collection. He also said that some of our best connections to Medieval Europe could be in that box. Relics were seen as repositories of spiritual power, offering believers a way to connect to the holy. In the 13th century, a Church council decreed that newly discovered relics had to be authenticated. By the late Medieval period, the trade in relics became very extensive. For example, King Louis IX of France paid more than half his annual income in the 1230s to acquire what was said to be the Crown of Thorns.