A mysterious item found by Enviro Waste some months ago has turned out to be a relic of Pope St Clement. Discovered by company owner James Rubin during a routine walk around the company warehouse, it was among items recovered from house clearances.
Intrigued, James wrote about it on his company blog, generating a lot of interest and hundreds of responses from many wishing to claim the relic. ‘It is probably the most remarkable story coming out of the waste industry right now,’ he said.
One of the responses was from historian Sophie Andraea of the Bishops’ Conference Patrimony Committee, who explains: ‘We were in touch very quickly with James and his company to say that this was of extreme importance from the Catholic perspective and that we would like to find an appropriate home for it. For Catholics relics do have very great significance and this is of course a relic of St Clement the third Pope, ordained by St Peter himself in Rome so it is a very remarkable artefact.’
James formally returned the relic to Archbishop George Stack, Chair of the Patrimony Committee, on 19th June in Westminster Cathedral. It will be housed in the Treasures of the Cathedral exhibition.
‘Relics are a tremendous living connection with our forefathers and mothers, going back to the days of St Clement, and an inspiration to people today as we try to follow, the witness that they gave,’ stated Archbishop George.
