With the canonization of Carlo Acutis and the jubilee of teenagers, the submerged market of relics explodes: sacred objects sold on eBay, between fetishism and spiritual scams
With the approach of the jubilee of teenagers and the canonization of Carlo Acutis, the young Milanese who died at 15 years of age and already proclaimed “patron of the internet”, the relic market also seems to have updated at the time. No longer just dusty or provincial altars: today the sacred sells itself online, with clicks. On online sales sites, a disturbing trade blooms that offers much more than the usual votive images: bones, hair, shreds of clothes, even fragments that are said to belong to saints and popes. A handful of euros is enough to grab – at least in theory – a hair of Benedict XVI or a bone fragment of St. Joseph Cottolengo. But behind this apparent devotion there is another reality: that of a borderline market, where faith turns into goods and the border between sacred and fraud becomes increasingly subtle. Because not only the Church expressly prohibits the sale of authentic relics, but most of those in circulation are well packaged false, destined more to deception than to veneration.
The law and canonical law speak clearly: authentic relics cannot be sold, much less buy from private individuals. Still, many online sellers manage to circumvent the ban with an escamotage as simple as it is fraudulent: in their announcements they explicitly declare that they only sell the relic, or the container of the sacred object, “with what it contains”, as if the content was an irrelevant detail. It is a way to camouflage the actual sale of the relic, and to escape the jerseys of the law and ecclesiastical regulations. A strategy that allows you to market pieces that should be preserved and revered, transforming them into collecting objects, rather than worship.
The announcements are clear: you can find ex OsSibus of San Cottolengo for 180 euros, bone fragments of San Nicola di Bari at 160, and even part of the dress of Santa Teresa del Bambin Gesù at similar figures. The alleged relics of Carlo Acutis, whose body is kept in the Sanctuary of locker in Assisi, are among the most requested. Recently, an announcement that offered locks of his hair was removed after the intervention of the bishop of Assisi, Domenico Sorrentino, who denounced the case as a possible sacrilege or a scam, asking for the seizure of the objects and opening an investigation against unknown persons. But despite the complaints, the market continues to thrive, with sellers who manage to maintain anonymity thanks to the use of pseudonyms, making the intervention of the police difficult.
Another relic that can be purchased for about 120 euros are Pope Benedict XVI’s hair. In this case, the seller does not even worry about providing a concrete proof of authenticity, but is limited to including a scanned copy of a certificate of origin.
And it doesn’t end here. For those looking for something more substantial, there is the relic “ex ossibus” of San Leone Pope Confessor, proposed for 850 euros. Once again, no concrete proof of the truthfulness of the object, only a copy of the certificate. And if the offer seems already incredible, a strand of hair and a blood sample of Saint Mother Teresa also appears, on sale for 193 dollars, accompanied by a 10 × 15 photo and by a certificate signed by a certain “Sister Y. Sandoval”, which would have worked closely with the Santa di Calcutta. No independent possible verification, only another offer that mixes devotion and doubt.
For the most demanding collectors, there is even a relic with hair from San Padre Pio, sold for 1,464 euros. No official documentation, only the copy of a certificate and a description that promises a “first -class sacred object”. Prices from art auction, but zero guarantees.
The problem, however, is not only the commodification of religious objects. The central node is that these sellers, aware or not, violate the rules of the Church and feed a circuit where the border between faith and farce is increasingly labile. If the relics sold were really authentic, nobody would have the right to put them on the market. If they are not, these are beautiful and good scams. In both cases, those who buy are deceived.
“To obtain authentic relics, you must contact the bishops or postulators, that is, the lawyers of the Vatican who follow the causes of beatification and canonization. The relics can be donated for free, but in some cases you can ask for an economic contribution to cover the costs related to the processing of the relic or the bureaucratic management of the request. The relics are distinguished in three types: Holy, such as bones, blood, hair; B, that is, objects or clothing that have been in direct contact with the body; recognized by the CEI.
What can you tell us about the relics for sale?
“The relic is not a magical object or a fetish, but a spiritual sign. It is something that has value for what it represents: the proximity of a saint, a point of contact with grace, the testimony of a life lived in faith. But for this reason it is essential that it is authentic. Since 2017, the authentic relics are sealed with wax and a progressive number, to counter the falsifications. Easy.
