Our Relic Shrine
Experience awe and wonder at the country’s second largest Relic Shrine, where over 1,250 sacred relics of saints, blesseds, and venerables illuminate the path to holiness and inspire the soul.
Welcome to Saint John Gualbert’s Relic Shrine!
Home to over 1,250 relics of Saints, Blesseds, and Venerables, St. John Gualbert has proudly displayed this collection for pilgrims to visit since 2011. Over 91% of the relics are 1st class and is the second largest relic shrine in the United States.
Our Relic History.
After helping another local parish with the verification of one of their relics, Reverend Michael Burszynski, a native of Cheekatowaga, began the process of collecting, validating, and displaying relics from all over the world. After years of being put in situations where he would find himself housing relics of Saints, Blesseds, and Venerables, he brought his collection to it’s final resting place - St. John Gualbert. Reverend Burszynski donated his collection to the Diocese of Buffalo in 2011, with the caveat of the collection having it’s permanent resting place at St. John Gualbert. To this day, pilgrims from across the country and Canada travel to see the special relic collection.
Special and Unique Relics.
While our collection is home to hundreds of different saints, we are blessed to have several unique relics that are treasured here at the shrine. Some of our special relics include a piece of the true cross, part of Mary’s veil, a relic of the Shroud, and relics from Jesus’s life in the Holy Land.
Some of our treasured relics from Jesus’s life include:
The manger and cave of Jesus’s birth, pieces of the crown of thorns, the column of scourging, nails that were touched to Jesus’s nails on the cross, wood from the Cross, a rock from Mount Olivet, a fragment of the room of the Last Supper, the table from the last supper, the Shroud, and the Tomb where Jesus was laid
Other Notable Relics:
A thread from Blessed Mother’s veil and dress, A piece of the Fatima bush which Mary appeared on, Mary’s house, a fragment from the Annunciation site, Blood from St. Padre Pio’s stigmata, a relic of St. Peter; and pieces of the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs) and the Sacri Vultis (the Holy Face).
Interested in Visiting?
We’d love to have you visit our beautiful Church! Our reliquary is open for viewing during our all our Masses.
Interested in taking an official tour of our Church to receive an in-depth look at the relics, our unique stained glass windows, organ, murals, and architecture? Join one of Explore Buffalo Sacred Sites Tours .
Looking to visit at a specific time? Contact our trustee, David Killian to set up a time to visit.