It is fitting that the tradition of the Roman liturgy of placing relics of martyrs or other saints beneath the altar should be preserved. 

Beneath the altar are the relics of St. Bernardine of Siena., 15th century. Franciscan preacher, scholar, and patron of the parish. St Candidus, a 3rd century soldier put to death by his superiors for not renouncing Christ. St. Edith Stein, a 20th century Carmelite nun, philosopher, and convert executed at Auschwitz. St. Maximilian Kolbe, a 20th century Franciscan priest who volunteered to take the place of a young father condemned for execution at Auschwitz; and Forty Egyptian Martyrs. These saints and martyrs offered in their own bodies an example of the dying and rising of Jesus. This rite recalls that in the ancient church that the Eucharist was often celebrated over the tombs of martyrs.