Relics of St. Bernadette Part 1

06-26-2022Letter from the PastorFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are blessed to welcome to our diocese and our parish for the first time, the relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous from Lourdes, France (other than her relics that are currently in our altar). St. Bernadette’s relics will tour the United States and be made available for veneration at more than 30 churches and shrines from the East to West coast.

On this U.S. pilgrimage, St. Bernadette’s relics, which include part of her rib, are contained in a large reliquary crafted by master craftsmen of religious artistry at Maison Granda workshop in Spain in 2019. I will provide pictures of the beautiful reliquary (the display case) in future bulletins.

“Our Lady told Bernadette, go and tell the priests to build a chapel here, and that people should come here in procession and wash and clean,” said Msgr. Kenneth Schwanger, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Miami and chairman of the parish-based Hospitalité de Miami. “That was her mission to Lourdes — eventually to the world. After she finished that, Bernadette said, ‘I’m like a broom; put me in the closet.’ Now, Our Lady says: Go to America to bring the same message to the people there. Bring the grace of Lourdes to people across the country.”

The tour of Bernadette’s relics began on April 7th at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Miami, which also has a grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. The tour will continue with cross-country stops through August 4th, with the last stop at St. Bernadette Church in Los Angeles. Specifics about the events planned for our diocese and our parish will be in the following pastor’s notes. The relics of St. Bernadette will be arriving at our parish on July 29th just in time for the 6:30am Mass and will remain with us throughout the day. Stay tuned for more specifics in the weeks ahead.

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