An 11-month national tour of a relic of St. Jude the Apostle concluding this month included 14 stops in the Diocese during June and July.
The St. Jude relic, a fragment of the Apostle’s arm, toured the following local parishes:
Our Lady of the Desert Church, Apple Valley on June 10
St. Christopher Parish, Moreno Valley on June 26
Sacred Heart Church, Palm Desert on June 28
St. Anthony Catholic Church, Upland on June 29
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Chino on July 1
St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Chino Hills on July 2
St. Joseph Catholic Church, Upland on July 3
Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, Corona on July 5
The Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, Redlands on July 8
St. Edward Catholic Church, Corona on July 17
San Secondo d’Asti Catholic Church, Guasti on July 20
St. Andrew Newman Center, Riverside, on July 27
St. James the Less Catholic Church, Perris on July 29
St. Adelaide Catholic Church, Highland, on July 30
“With so many things to pray for in our lives, and so many miracles we’re hoping for in the world, it was such a blessing to offer these things to the relic of St. Jude, his actual hand, which held, at several times, the hand of Jesus Christ, in humble prayer,” said Chris Estrella, Rezek Center Coordinator at Aquinas High School, San Bernardino.
Each visit included time for public veneration, a way to honor and draw near to the saint and to petition for their prayers, and a special Mass celebrated in St. Jude’s honor. Parishioners were welcomed to take personal items, such as a rosary, and touch it to the relic of St. Jude.
“My wife being the absolutely pious and faithful mother, wife and soul that she is, could not let this opportunity go by without us seeing and praying to the relic as a family, while he was so close to home, in Redlands,” Estrella said.
The St. Jude relic is a first class relic, which is classified as the body or fragments of the body of a saint, such as pieces of bone. When parishioners use an item to touch a first class relic, that item becomes a third class relic, which are items that a saint touched or have been touched to a first, second, or another third class relic of a saint.
The tour, “Apostle of the Impossible: the Tour of the Relics of St. Jude the Apostle,” marked the first time the relic has left Italy. Father Carlos Martins, CC, a Custos Reliquiarum (ecclesiastically-appointed curate of relics) and director of Treasures of the Church, led the relic tour nationwide.