Holy relic in France

Purported to be the seamless garment that Jesus Christ wore before he hung on the cross, the Holy Tunic of Argenteuil will be displayed at the Basilica Saint-Denys d’Argenteuil (17 rue des Ouches, 95100 Argenteuil, France; phone +33 01 39 61 03 29, www.catholique95.com/basilargenteuil [in French only]), March 25-April 10, 2016, in honor of the Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis.

Usually displayed only once every 50 years (last in 1984), the tunic has been kept in Argenteuil since around 800.

The tunic is no longer seamless, as, during the French Revolution, a monk, hoping to prevent the garment from falling into revolutionary hands, cut it into multiple pieces, burying some and giving others away for safekeeping, some never to be recovered.

The basilica is open daily, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday Masses are held at 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Another seamless tunic, the Holy Tunic of Trier, housed in the Cathedral of Trier in Germany, is also claimed to be the garment Christ wore before hanging on the cross.