Diocesan statement on relic of St. Gemma
Oct. 9, 2025
The Catholic Diocese of Lincoln was made aware on Wednesday, Oct. 8 of a report of a reliquary containing a relic of St. Gemma Galgani moving at St. Thomas Aquinas Church at the Newman Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Following the guidelines set forth by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the diocese investigated the incident.
Tests were conducted including moving the reliquary of St. Gemma from the hook it was on to a different hook. At that point, the reliquary stopped moving. When a different reliquary was placed on the hook that previously contained the St. Gemma reliquary, the other reliquary also moved. This and the entirety of our full investigation has led us to conclude this incident was not of supernatural origin.
God surrounds us with miracles every day, with the Lord’s Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament being preeminent of all. We hope this incident will prompt the faithful to look more closely at the inspiring life of St. Gemma, as well as the work our St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center is doing in leading young adults to Christ.
