From my local fishwrap, today:
John Paul II’s ski jacket, displayed at local high school, will become a holy relic
[...]
A ski jacket once owned by the former pontiff was donated to the school by the Vatican years ago and is prominently displayed at the school. It’s a reminder of John Paul II’s human side, Weber said, and a sign that an ordinary person can change the world.
“His consistent message was to have the courage to aspire to greatness and not be weighed down by mediocrity,” Weber said, “and to make Christ known in the world.”
John Paul II’s ski jacket will become what’s known as a second-class relic once he becomes a saint. First-class relics are usually things such as a piece of bone or hair from a saint. A second-class relic is something that a saint once owned, said Robert O’Gorman, a Nashville resident and professor emeritus of the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University in Chicago.
Praying near a relic brings a person closer to a saint on both a physical and a spiritual level, he said.
Sorry, Catholics, no disrespect intended, but a sacred ski jacket just smacks of the ridiculous to this Presbyterian. But y’know, whatever floats y’all’s boats.
Here it is:
Once Worn By A Skiing Saint
