St. Martha Relic installed at namesake parish in Murrieta

On June 15, St. Martha Parish in Murrieta celebrated the installation of a relic of its patroness with Bishop Alberto Rojas. The first-class relic, a bone fragment from St. Martha, came to the parish through the work of Deacon Christopher Ciraulo and a couple that served as sponsors in the parish Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program. Mimi and Tom Garvin possessed several relics of saints, including St. Martha and after praying about it, they told Dcn. Ciraulo that they wanted to offer the relic to the parish. The relics were passed down through a family friend, the late Father Aloysius Ellacuria, a prominent priest in Los Angeles. The parish worked closely with Arlene Gutierrez, Diocesan Archivist, to authenticate the relic with the Vatican. After receiving authentication from the Vatican, the Garvins signed over the relic to the parish and said, “In our prayers, we feel that Saint Martha has finally come home.” When Mass ended, holy cards that had been venerated by the relic, making them third-class relics, themselves, were passed out to each person in commemoration of the event.