Relics Tour
January 23 @ 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Relics of the Canadian Martyrs will be in St. Paul on Jan. 23 as part of a winter tour of Western Canada for the 2025 Jubilee Year. The relics include the skull of St. Jean de Brébeuf, and the bones of both St. Charles Garnier and St. Gabriel Lalemant.
According to Bishop Gary Franken, venerating relics is an ancient Catholic tradition which goes back to the Hebrew Scriptures. In 2 Kings, there is a story of “someone who died a soldier, and he was placed on the on the bones of the prophet Elisha, and that brought him back to life.”
He said the story reflects the pre-Christian understanding and recognition of the bones as a way to connect with the person and “more importantly, and especially with God’s work in that person.
The relics will be exposed in the Cathedral from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. People are invited to come and pray with them during the day. An evening mass which is open to all will follow.