Catholic Dictionary
Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
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RELIQUARY
Any repository in which a relic is sealed and kept. Reliquaries vary in size, according to the relic, from very small ones that can be easily carried to larger caskets for whole parts of a saint's body. Relics are never exposed for public veneration unless enclosed in a reliquary. Some reliquaries are famous for their exquisite design and value.
