We visited Old St. Ferdinand Shrine on a sunny Saturday morning as part of a parish field trip of sorts. We had mass in the church, followed by donuts and coffee in the quaint old school building and tours of the property. Now I’ve been on a six week tour of Spain and seen first hand (literally) how the Spaniards love to display their saintly relics. Europe has an embarrassment of riches in this regard, and I saw body parts, fully-preserved incorrupt corpses, and every degree of personal items on our many visits to cathedrals, monasteries and religious sites. So, you can imagine my surprise when I experienced a stash of saintly treasure that would make an old-world monarch take notice, located just a few miles from my dad’s house in north St. Louis. I wasn’t prepared to take in all of the history and sanctity that makes Old St. Ferdinand Shrine a true treasure for our city and our global church. Just a few of the many highlights were: - the actual home of St. Rose Philippine Du