In a discovery that has lit a spark of faith and wonder across a North Dublin community, students at St. Vincent’s Secondary School in Glasnevin stumbled upon something truly extraordinary: a first-class relic believed to date back to the 2nd or 3rd century — the blood of a little-known martyr, Saint Hilarii, according to RTE News.
This Hilarii is thought to have been the second bishop of Aquileia in northeastern Italy, who was martyred in 284.
As fifth-year students prepared for the school’s sixth-year graduation ceremony last week, they were tasked with moving the school altar from an upstairs room to the main hall. A slight change in their usual path meant they had to tilt the heavy structure to maneuver it through a stairwell. What happened next was nothing short of providential.
“One of the lads noticed something inside of it and we just thought it was wood. But it was kind of darker and then it fell through,” shared student Conor Brogan Carr.
The altar, which has had a lengthy quiet presence in the school, turned out to be guarding a sacred treasure — wrapped carefully in paper, labeled in Latin, and dated 1787. The parcel bore a mysterious air of reverence, and the boys — Colin Sheridan, Conor Brogan Carr, Munasar Omar, Jonathan Taite, and Ethan Byrne — immediately brought it to the attention of school principal, Máire Quinn.
“The school has just been buzzing the past couple of days, everyone’s been really excited to find out what it is,” said Colin, reflecting the contagious awe felt by students and staff alike.
Relics are placed inside of altars used for the Catholic Mass, a practice dating all the way back to the catacombs, when Mass was celebrated on saints' tombs.
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Discovering the authenticity
Ms. Quinn, a former history teacher, instinctively knew this was no ordinary artifact. She reached out to experts at the National Museum of Ireland, Glasnevin Cemetery, and the Edmund Rice Trust, which oversees the former Christian Brothers school. The consensus was clear: This relic was likely authentic.
Enter Fr. William Purcell — archivist, relic expert, and affectionately known as “The Bone Collector” and “Indiana Jones” by friends. Traveling from Kilkenny with his toolkit of magnifying glasses and ecclesiastical expertise, Fr. Purcell arrived to examine the find. With a gentle reverence, he oversaw the careful unwrapping of the parcel.
“Wow. I’m really excited about this because I can already see the wax seal,” he said, the emotion in his voice as clear as the relic’s glass window. “The authenticity of a relic is the wax seal.”
Inside was an ornate green and red box, stamped with red wax and adorned with another envelope. It held a printed certificate dated 1878, bearing the name Reverend John Augustine Grace and confirming: “authentication of the body of St Hilary martyr, 1878 from Rome.”
“This is the guaranteed proof,” Fr. Purcell affirmed with a smile. “This is a first-class genuine relic of the martyr Hilarii.”
A little-known saint
Although little is known about St. Hilarii, Fr. Purcell explained that he is what is called a “pre-congregation saint” — venerated by the early Christian community before formal canonization processes were established.
“So the people acclaimed him,” he explained. “Which was very beautiful, because it was the people who saw in the life of this person, and saw in his death that he was a man who gave his life for Christ, and in doing so, then they acclaimed him as a martyr and a saint.”
The relic’s journey likely began in the Roman catacombs and may have made its way to Dublin at the behest of the Christian Brothers in the 1700s. It was likely transferred to St. Vincent’s from O’Connell’s School more than three decades ago, hidden within the altar ever since.
For Principal Quinn, the experience has been deeply moving. “It feels like we’ve been given a puzzle and we’ve spent the last few days just trying to figure it all out,” she said. “There’s still more to find out — why was that specific martyr picked for this particular school?”
There's another St. Hilary, much more well known, who is a Doctor of the Church. This Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, is not a martyr.
Finding grace
What began as a routine task has become a profound spiritual and historical journey. In accordance with tradition, the relic remains in the school’s care, and its future includes careful preservation and, perhaps, public veneration.
For the students, the find has opened hearts and sparked imaginations. And for the faithful, it’s a gentle reminder that even in the most ordinary corners of our lives — behind old altar wood, under layers of dust and time — grace waits to be found.
