Reliqvia Filippo Sorcinelli

Reliquia derives from the Latin verb “relinquo” which means “I leave”. The Latin term “reliquiae” and in Greek “λείψανα”, is generally understood as “what remains”, referring to the human body or part of it. In the Christian context with this word we speak of a part of the body or an object that belonged to Christ, to the Holy Virgin or to the mortal remains of those who are recognized as martyrs and saints and, more generally, to other objects that have been in contact with their body. Reliqvia is the nail of the Passion, layered and peaty incense from the solemn and sacred years. There is no sacred, if men do not recognize the sacred, and exalt it in perfect rites. Reliqvia is the perfect sacred space. Touching the relics, touching something that has been in contact with them is a grace and a guarantee: for this reason the Romans tore the veils that had covered the holy martyrs and in which the corpses of the popes were wrapped. This is why the popes were precisely wrapped in those veils. In front of the relics the fools are healed, the possessed and the obsessed liberated, the blind find their sight, the lame start walking again …