We had a call from a lady who was wondering how to dispose of religious articles.

And I gave her some creative ways to do that.

Like if Father will permit to have a little basket in the vestibule of the church

where some of these crucifixes that might have come from rosaries and things

could be put in a basket with a sign free.

And families with children often like to have those things. And because free is good,

that would be, I think, an easy way to dispose of them in a way that keeps them significant in the

lives of others. But I did find a kind of a more systematic explanation of this from the Diocese of

Superior in Wisconsin. Here's what they say.

As Catholics, we are accustomed to having religious objects blessed, which signifies the

permanent sanctification and dedication of an object for some sacred purpose. Once a religious

object is blessed and dedicated for divine worship or veneration, it must be treated with reverence and

must not be used in either in an improper or profane way. What happens when the rosary

or your statue breaks and is irreparable? Or when the palm dries out in the following Palm Sunday

provides us with new palms? The basic rule for the disposition of these items is to burn or bury them.

Therefore, the normal rule of thumb is that anything that has been blessed should be burned

and then the ashes buried, or they could simply be buried. A second option. As a Catholic,

collecting sacramentals such as votive candles, religious pictures, rosaries, which sometimes

break, metals, palm branches, and other miscellaneous religious items is fairly common.

What do you do if you're not sure if they're blessed?

One option, if they're still usable, is to give them away to other people who could use them.

If you can't find any takers,

...