Thousands Venerate St. Bernadette’s Relics In London

October 9, 2022255 views0

Thousands Venerate St. Bernadette’s Relics In London

2022-10-09T12:17:12+01:00

By Church News

Thousands of people have venerated the relics of St. Bernadette of Lourdes in London at the start of their two-month tour of Britain.Long queues formed outside Westminster Cathedral, the mother church of Catholics in England and Wales, as the visionary’s relics arrived from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.A spokesman for the St. Bernadette Relic Tour 2022 told the media that, although organizers did not have a final attendance figure, “it is estimated that over 50,000 came through the doors” of Westminster Cathedral.Preaching at a Solemn Mass of Welcome on Saturday morning, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: “From here, this great tour of the relics of St Bernadette sets off, around England, Scotland and Wales.”“We pray that all who gather to greet her, to reach out to her in whatever need, will learn the great lessons of her life and witness: that in God’s eyes we are precious, no matter our condition; that in the eyes of Mary, we are beloved sons and daughters, whom she gathers under her mantle of consolation and healing; that Mary never abandons us but is with us every step of our pilgrim way through this life; that Mary will always lead us to her Son, Jesus, in whom alone is our fullness and redemption.”Pilgrims streamed into the cathedral in the afternoon and throughout the night, attending Masses early on Sunday morning.The relics are expected to travel about 11,500 miles to every diocese in the U.K. The tour will end on Nov. 1 following stops at London’s Wormwood Scrubbs Prison and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic cathedral.The event follows the visit of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s relics to Britain in 2009, which drew vast crowds. In 2012, the relic of the heart of St. John Vianney toured dioceses in northern England.ALSO READ Vietnamese Catholics Honour Two Martyrs At A Special Mass