On Sunday 23 November 2025, St Charles Borromeo Church in Hull received a remarkable and deeply significant gift—one that connects the parish directly with its patron saint in a way few communities ever experience. During his visit to celebrate his Ruby Jubilee of priesthood, Canon Michael Loughlin presented a beautifully preserved framed relic and certificate, which he formally gifted to the parish. The frame contains a sealed theca holding a relic of St Charles Borromeo, together with its original papal authentication certificate dated 1853 and issued in Rome under the authority of Cardinal Costantino Patrizi.

The document itself is a striking example of the formal certificates produced in the nineteenth century by the Sacred Congregation of Relics. These certificates were issued only after careful verification by the Roman Curia. Each attested that a relic—usually a small, sealed fragment taken from an officially recognised reliquary—had been examined and authenticated, sealed in a theca with red silk thread, and approved for public veneration in churches or oratories. The signature and seal of Cardinal Patrizi, who at the time was Vicar General of the Pope and Cardinal Priest of San Silvestro in Capite, confirm its authenticity beyond doubt.

What makes this particular certificate extraordinary is the saint it concerns. Relics of St Charles Borromeo, the great Archbishop of Milan and one of the leading figures of the Catholic Reformation, have always been exceptionally rare. His remains lie beneath the Milan Cathedral in a heavily guarded crypt, and only a small number of authenticated relics were ever released from Rome. For a parish to possess the original Roman certificate of such a relic is, in itself, unusual. For it to be the parish that bears his name is profoundly meaningful.

The rediscovery and presentation of this document carry immense historical and spiritual weight for St Charles’ parish in Hull. It links the parish community directly with its patron, not simply through prayer or tradition, but through a tangible piece of its heritage. It also reflects the depth of continuity that exists between the universal Church and local communities; a document issued in Rome in 1853, entrusted to clergy over generations, has now found a lasting home in the parish dedicated to the very saint it authenticates.

The congregation received the news with great warmth, aware that this was a moment of genuine significance for the church.

The certificate now stands as a treasured link to St Charles Borromeo, a saint whose life of reform, charity and pastoral commitment continues to inspire the parish that bears his name. Its arrival on the feast of Christ the King, during the celebration of a priest’s forty years of ministry, has ensured that 23 November 2025 will be remembered as a moment of blessing in the life of St Charles, Hull.

Story and Image: John Maffin

23 November 2025