Father Ernst Discusses His Collection Of Relics
For the next feature in this series about relics in our diocese, Father Tony Ernst, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Haubstadt, Holy Cross Parish in Fort Branch and St. Bernard Parish in Snake Run, shared the stories behind some of the relics in his personal collection.
Father Ernst is blessed to have received eight relics from friends and mentors over the years; many of these relics hold special, personal significance for him. For example, while he was performing a consecration to Mary and Jesus, Father Ernst received two relics from a friend who traveled to Rome: one of St. Simon Stock, who received the scapular from Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom the Sacred Heart of Jesus appeared.
The same friend who gave Father Ernst these two relics also gave him a relic of St. John Vianney, the patron of parish priests, as well as a relic of the True Cross, a relic that Father Ernst particularly reveres. The True Cross relic is housed in a reliquary that is also a crucifix with a shining pearlescent finish.
Other relics that comprise Father Ernst’s collection include relics of St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Paul of the Cross, which were gifts from the late Father Raymond Schoering, a close friend and mentor who also served the Diocese of Evansville. Additionally, Father Ernst is blessed to have relics of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Anthony of Padua, who is his patron saint. Finally, a relic of St. Maria Goretti, housed in a reliquary made by a parishioner, stays in the parish’s youth room. St. Maria Goretti’s presence there is particularly meaningful, as she is the youth group’s patron saint.
While Father Ernst keeps the relics in his room and notes that they greatly enrich personal prayer, he likes to integrate the veneration of these relics into his role as a pastor as much as possible. “When I go and bless homes, I’ll take these with me and make that part of the blessing,” he said. He also puts the relics on the altar during feast days and invites parishioners to venerate them with a kiss or a touch.
Speaking of the power of relics in our spiritual lives, Father Ernst emphasizes the physical connection that relics provide to the Communion of Saints. “Relics give us a closer connection to them, [so] that we can experience their presence on earth,” he said. “We know we have that connection spiritually at the altar, we hear that all the time. I think we probably take that for granted – or I do. These concrete things can put us in touch with eternal reality.”
For Father Ernst, the physicality of relics reflects the character of the sacraments – visible signs of invisible grace. He said, “Our Catholic ethos is that way – we have these physical realities that speak to eternal realities, like the rich signs and symbols in the Church. These [relics] are sacramentals – they lead us to the sacraments, as everything ultimately does.”
