Relics have always played an important role in religion. It's more than just a decaying body part or a stained piece of cloth. The objects became the physical embodiment of God's presence on earth.
Veronica's Plath
In Christianity, a miraculous image of Jesus Christ, which, according to legend, appeared on a handkerchief that Saint Veronica gave to Jesus Christ when he carried his cross to Golgotha so that he could wipe his face. The original has been lost, only copies have survived.
Virgin Mary's breast milk
Holy breast milk was a very popular relic in the Middle Ages. An entire church was built near Bethlehem on a stone that miraculously turned white after Mary's milk fell on it. According to another legend, St. Bernard was praying in front of the statue of the Madonna when milk poured directly from her breast into his mouth. Bottles of the wonderful liquid have been distributed throughout Europe.
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Buddha Tooth
After the Buddha was cremated, his left canine tooth was found among the ashes by his disciple Khema, who gave the tooth to King Brahmadatta. Legends began to appear. The most popular was that whoever possessed a tooth had the divine right to rule the kingdom of Brahmadatta. Much blood was shed to take possession of the relic. Now the tooth is kept inside several gold boxes and is only opened for special ceremonies.
The blood of St. Januaria
St. Januarius was beheaded near the crater of the Solfatar volcano in 305. His blood was collected by a woman named Eusebia and brought to Naples. Clotted blood is said to liquefy like a clock. She is taken out of the tomb 3 times a year, thousands of people gather to watch this miracle, how the blood turns into liquid, and to pray for the safety of the city. There are cases when a miracle was not performed on a fixed day; such an event is considered an omen of social disaster. So in the XX century, the miracle did not happen three times: in 1939 - before the outbreak of World War II, in 1944 - before the eruption of Vesuvius, in 1980 - before a strong earthquake.
Cloak of the Prophet Muhammad
Since the 18th century, a unique Muslim shrine, the cloak of the Prophet Muhammad, has been kept in the Kandahar sanctuary.
Tomb of the Three Wise Men
The remains of the Three Wise Men arrived in Cologne in 1164, after they were collected in Jerusalem by St. Elena. The tomb is a triple sarcophagus decorated with gold plates. This is the largest tomb in the western world.
The hand of St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa played an amazing role in the Spanish Civil War and Franco's dictatorship. Catholicism was an important aspect of the Franco regime, and St. Teresa became a symbol of propaganda for his violent ideology. In February 1937, Franco acquired the hand of St. Teresa. He took her with him everywhere and even slept with her under the pillow. Franco died in 1975, clutching the relic in his hand.
Hand of Mary Magdalene
In 1191 St. Hugo visited the Fekam monastery. When he was shown the relic of Mary Magdalene, he tried to take a piece. In the end, to the horror of the monks, he simply bit off 2 fingers.
Head of Catherine of Siena
St. Catherine of Siena had a vision that Jesus gave her the ring finger, made from his own foreskin. Catherine died of starvation at the age of 33 in Rome. However, the people of Siena wanted to take her body for veneration. Realizing that it would not be possible to take the whole body, they cut off the head and put it in a sack. When the guards stopped the thieves, they found only hundreds of rose petals in the sack. The head is in Siena, along with the thumb of St. Catherine.
Holy flesh
The earliest appearance of the holy flesh of Jesus was in 800 AD, when Charlemagne presented it to Pope Leo II. Interestingly, most of the visions involving the foreskin of Christ were attended by female saints. St. Brigitte claimed to have had an orgasm when an angel dropped a piece of holy flesh on her tongue. The relic was stolen in Calcutta in 1983.