You may remember that we had two relics in one of the display cases in the parish hall. Someone recently asked me whose relics we had, and I had forgotten. We got them out and discovered that one of them is of St. Francis of Assisi. The verification papers were also found, and we discovered that it is a first-class relic. A first-class relic is a piece of the saint. A second-class relic is something that the saint wore or owned or handled. A third-class relic is something that has been touched to a second-class relic. Our relic is a tiny piece of bone from St. Francis, that, after 800 years since he died, has deteriorated to just dust. But it is still Francis. How it came to us, and what kind of journey it has been on since Francis died, we have no idea. I will put it on the altar this weekend.
    
The other relic is of St. Arnold, a German who is the patron saint of brewers. More on him later.