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For Catholics, relics are those items remaining of holy personages or places. Regarding saints, there are three classes of relics.

A first class relic is a piece of the actual saint themselves. This usually consists in either a piece of bone or hair. First class relics must be authenticated by the Church before they can be publicly venerated. First class relics used to be embedded in altar stones, which were inserted into a Catholic altar which would then be consecrated for use at Mass. These relics came from saints that died as martyrs, in keeping the concept of sacrifice.

A second class relic consists of something the saint touched or used during their life. This consists of clothing, tools, objects, etc. Second class relics also require authentication before they can be publicly veneration.

A third class relic is one that has been touched to a first class relic. It is kept mainly for private devotion and is not for use for public veneration.

A Catholic artifact following the definition of an artifact in general, i.e. "any object made by human work". This includes churches, holy vessels, vestments, books, etc. These artifacts may or may not be consecrated depending on their use.

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