Can Third Class Relics Be Bought And Where To Get Them?

[KarenJoanna]

The Church catechism does not distinguish between class but says all selling of relics is not allowed. Can we buy from online stores third class relics and how can one obtain 1st and 2nd class relics?

[phatcatholic]

Relics cannot be bought, regardless of the class. This would be simony, which is a serious sin. But, if you buy a reliquary with a relic in it, or you by a holy card that has a relic attached to it, then this is not simony because you are paying for the reliquary or the card, not the relic that it contains. This is how most individuals "buy relics". Churches obtain relics typically by contacting the Vatican, or, if the church is ran by a particular religious order, the headquarters of that order.