A relic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (left) and a relic of St. Vincent de Paul (right) from the collection of relics housed at Manhattan University. / Credit: Archives of the De La Salle Christian Brothers
CNA Staff, Dec 27, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
In a hilly section of the Bronx you will find Manhattan University, a private, Catholic university established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a lay order dedicated to education. The university has also become home to a large collection of holy relics.
Founded by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle in 1680, the Brothers of Christian Schools began to set up schools for poor boys to receive an education. The order quickly spread across France and other European countries and eventually spread around the world. The order is currently headquartered in Rome.
In recent decades, however, the order has been shrinking, with many of its schools and other institutions shutting down in North America. As a result, boxes of documents and objects — including an impressive collection of relics — from those facilities have made their way to Manhattan University.
Amy Surak, the archivist at the university, oversees this collection of relics on the college campus.
“I feel very blessed and incredibly fortunate to be around these honored, venerated objects that are so beloved and respected and hold so much power, really,” she told CNA in an email exchange.
While Surak doesn’t know the precise number of relics housed on the college campus, she said, “it’s easily in the hundreds.”
“I have photographed and inventoried at least over 200 thus far, but I am still opening boxes and finding them in our unprocessed collections,” she added.
One relic that particularly stood out to Surak is a relic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
“I’ve always been a bit infatuated by St. Thérèse, since I was a child,” she shared. “There’s something unique or attainable about performing small, pedestrian chores or acts in everyday life that can express one’s piety — it makes faith a bit more practical and within reach, at least it did for me when I was young.”
“When I came across her relics I kind of fan-girled out a bit. I felt like she was there as a reminder that small acts can have profound results,” she said.
Another relic held in high esteem is that of the order’s founder — a piece of the hip bone of La Salle, the popular saint who was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1900 and considered the patron saint of teachers.
Other valuable items in the collection include the vestments of a priest to be used for a canonization of a saint, papers with illustrations of seven La Salle Christian brothers martyred during the Spanish Civil War, and several thecas — small lockets containing little pieces of bone from the brothers.
At its peak in 1965, there were 16,000 Brothers of Christian Schools serving in 80 countries. Today, there are less than 3,000 in the order, though the number of countries they serve has not decreased. On the Manhattan University campus, there are 23 brothers, though many are now retired.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, following the final vote on the Respect for Marriage Act in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 2022. / Credit: PBS NewsHour screenshot via YouTube
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 8, 2022 / 09:45 am (CNA).
The U.S… […]
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 7, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Some Christian and conservative organizations are expressing optimism that President Donald Trump may rein in “debanking” — a practice in which financial institutions have allegedly cut ties with people or groups for their religious or political beliefs.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 5 that the White House drafted an executive order that would instruct regulators to investigate financial institutions accused of ending relationships with customers for political reasons.
According to the report, the draft would direct regulators to determine whether the institutions violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or consumer financial-protection laws and subsequently issue monetary penalties, consent decrees, or take other disciplinary action that would apply.
Jennifer Morse, a Catholic who leads The Ruth Institute, told CNA she is “glad to see the Trump administration addressing the debanking issue.”
The Ruth Institute, which combats the harms of the sexual revolution, states that it was targeted through debanking as early as 2017.
Ruth Institute President Jennifer Roback Morse, pictured here speaking on “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on June 13, 2019. Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo/EWTN News screenshot
“As one of the earliest victims of anti-Christian discrimination within the financial services sector, I am very relieved to see the Trump administration addressing this problem,” Morse said. “This particular sword of Damocles has been hanging over the heads of Christian organizations all over the geographic region formerly known as Christendom. I hope the Trump administration’s leadership on this issue has ripple effects around the world.”
Brownback told CNA that his organization opened an account in April 2022 and was unable to make a deposit in the account just four weeks later.
“They said the account had been closed and they told us it had been [decided] at the corporate level and they told us it was a non-revocable decision and they couldn’t say anything about it,” he said.
Brownback said he was later contacted by more than 10 organizations that reported similar experiences. Many organizations, he said, were “Christian or traditional values organizations” such as “groups that stand for traditional marriage.”
“It seems to be a tactic of the left to try to suffocate — in the marketplace — groups that back viewpoints they don’t agree with,” he added.
Sam Brownback, the former ambassador for international religious freedom who currently leads the National Committee for Religious Freedom. Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot
Brownback said federal action is “a necessary way” to address the problem, calling the possible executive action “a fabulous step forward.”
He also suggested there needs to be “a private route” as well with more conservatives joining large corporate boards.
“If you just had one conservative in the boardroom challenging some of these practices, that might [have an effect],” Brownback said.
Brian Knight, who serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) — a group that provides legal representation in defense of religious freedom — said in a statement to CNA that “everyone needs access to basic financial services.”
ADF represented Indigenous Advance Ministries, a Christian nonprofit that reported it was debanked by Bank of America, allegedly for its religious beliefs. The account cancellation forced the ministry to delay paychecks to its partners in Uganda.
“Shutting people out because of their political or religious beliefs? That’s not just wrong — it’s un-American,” he said. “No one should be locked out of the financial system for their views. Period. No American should have to worry that they could lose their bank account or have a payment declined because of their religious or political beliefs.”
Knight noted ADF worked with Tennessee and Idaho to combat debanking in their states and “worked diligently with federally elected officials to secure similar protections nationwide.” He said he appreciates Trump “taking this issue so seriously” and that ADF will analyze any executive order when it is published.
Others who have allegedly faced debanking include parental rights group Moms for Liberty, Christian ministry Timothy Two Project International, Christian preacher Lance Wallnau, evangelist Nick Vujicic, and British Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage.
In an Aug. 5 interview with CNBC, Trump did not confirm whether an executive order was coming but did discuss an instance in which JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America rejected deposits from the Trump organization and called out the trend.
“[Banks] discriminated against many conservatives,” the president said, claiming that he had “hundreds of millions” of dollars in accounts with JP Morgan Chase and was told he had “20 days to get out.”
“I said, ‘I can’t believe it,’” Trump added. “Well, I was never in this situation before. I’ve never had anything like it. And it’s not like, gee, you defaulted on a loan. You know, geez, I could understand that. That’s different. But there’s no default. I mean, there’s nothing but cash.”
Trump said he then reached out to Bank of America, which had “zero interest” in having him deposit the cash.
“I went to another one, another one, another one, another one,” he said. “I ended up going to small banks all over the place. I mean, I was putting $10 million here, $10 million there. Did $5 million, $10 million, $12 million. I have them all over the place, the craziest thing.”
Trump suggested that regulators reviewing the operations of financial institutions that engage in this practice could be a potential solution.
“The group they’re really afraid of is bank regulators,” the president said.
Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, speaks at Philadelphia’s Eucharistic Congress on Sept. 30, 2023. / Credit: Sarah Webb/Archdiocese of Philadelphia
My Alma Mater. Would they restore the fullness of Catholicism on campus.