St. Louis Catholics Have Obtained St. Louis' Holy Toe (Yes, Really)

There's a new relic in town — and it may be the holiest digit to grace this city of sin.

The relic, now in the possession of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, is purportedly a piece of toe once belonging to St. Louis IX, the French king for whom St. Louis, Missouri, is named.

Yes, toe.

Tina Hogan, St. Ambrose's director of marketing and advancement, says the relic is "part of his toe bone." Parishioners at St. Ambrose were invited to a viewing of the appendage this past weekend.

The toe bone was recently gifted to the Archdiocese of St. Louis by the Cathedrale Monreale in Sicily. The Italian connection, Hogan says, is one reason St. Ambrose got to display it first.

Hogan says the Archdiocese has papers authenticating the alleged toe, and the Sicilian cathedral has good reason for its claims. After all, King Louis IX was on the shores of Tunisia in an ill-fated crusade when he died of dysentery in 1270. After that, Louis' body was dismembered (ever heard of mos Teutonicus? It was a thing) and his heart and entrails were interred at the Cathedrale Monreale. Easy to see how a bit of toe might have been left behind as well — even as the rest of his remains were sent on to the Saint-Denis Cathedral in Paris.

And now here the toe bone is in its possessor's namesake city. The Archdiocese hasn't made any plans for future toe showings public; those wishing for their own glimpse of the holy toe should keep an eye out in their local bulletins.

Editor's note: We updated this story after publication to reflect that the Archdiocese has been given authentication papers after all. We regret the error.

Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter