Relic of St. Jude, one of the Twelve Apostles, will be venerated at the Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul in Lewiston
A relic of St. Jude, one of the Catholic Church’s most beloved saints, will be displayed and available for public veneration on November 15 at the Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul in Lewiston, part of Prince of Peace Parish.
The relic, the arm of the apostle, has been venerated in Rome since ancient times, but it is currently on an eight-month pilgrimage in the United States. The basilica is the only stop planned in Maine.
Known as the patron of lost causes, St. Jude is the saint to whom many people turn when they are facing seemingly impossible challenges, something that Father Patrick Finn, parochial vicar of Prince of Peace Parish, said makes the basilica opportunity particularly poignant, since the community is still trying to heal following the October 25 mass shootings.
“I see it as so incredibly providential that the uncorrupted earthly remains of one of Jesus’ best friends would be coming to visit the spiritual heart and home of our city so soon after this tragedy visited us. Not just that, but we’ll be celebrating the Mass of St. Jude the Apostle in the basilica three weeks to the hour after the tragedy began,” Father Finn said. “Every time we go to Mass, we lay our burdens and anxieties—as well as our triumphs and joys, spiritually speaking—on the altar, along with the bread and wine that become the body and blood of Jesus. So, it’s really awesome that we’ll be able to do this in such a special way three weeks after this heartbreak.”
A votive Mass of St. Jude will be celebrated at the basilica, located at 122 Ash Street in Lewiston, at 6:30 p.m. on November 15. That will be preceded by public veneration beginning at 2 p.m. and the opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation at 5 p.m. Following the Mass, public veneration will resume at 7:30 p.m., concluding with night prayer at 9 p.m.
The pilgrimage of the relic of St. Jude is being coordinated by Father Carlos Martins, C.C., the director of the Treasures of the Church, a ministry of evangelization dedicated to giving people an experience of the living God through encounters with the relics of the saints. Relics are physical items directly associated with the saints or with Jesus. First-class relics are fragments of the body of a saint. Second-class relics are something a saint personally owned, and third-class relics are items that have been touched by a first- or second-class relic. To Learn more about the tour of the relics of St. Jude the Apostle, visit https://apostleoftheimpossible.com.
