A reliquary is called a kind of box or case intended to preserve a relic, that object that belonged to a holy person or that was related to it when he was alive. The main mission of these is to preserve the object in question, in addition to preventing the parishioners who gather for worship from maintaining physical contact with it. In the most remote beginnings of the Catholic Church, the reliquaries, which at that time were better known as encólpium, were carried as medals, which contained charms with inscriptions or the shape of little boxes; Therefore, it follows that, in its beginnings, this practice had a more intimate character.
This word comes from the Latin "reliquiae", a word that also gives rise to the word "relic", which can be translated as "the remains of a dead person". There are a great number of people sanctified by the Catholic Church, since in life they made important contributions to the theological and historical foundations for the church or, well, they practice altruism with admirable nobility. As they are considered holy, their belongings, then equally holy, will receive delicate treatment; There are also so-called contact relics, those objects that were in contact, at least, with the saint, and that are considered sacred.
The reliquaries are intended to protect all these objects, preventing a person from daring to perform profane acts with it, in addition to conserving it in general. These, towards the Middle Ages, began to be manufactured as pieces of great and impressive beauty, so they would be appreciated as a work of art.
