Mags Gargan
Fairview Parish Church. Photo credit: Fairview Parish Large turnout expected to arrive to see St Anthony’s relics
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to turn out all across the country to venerate the relics of one of the most famous saints in the world, when the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (Greyfriars) bring the relics of St Anthony of Padua on a tour this week which includes Tipperary, Kerry, Mayo, Sligo, Dublin, Longford, Derry and Armagh.
St Anthony will be visiting in the form of two relics, one of which is the relic Pope Francis venerated 16 years ago in Argentina as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The relics will be accompanied in Ireland by Fr Mario Conte, editor of the Messenger of St Anthony, the magazine published by the Greyfriars in St Anthony’s Basilica in Padua, Italy, where the saint’s tomb is located.
The relics will remain exposed during the Eucharistic celebrations and at the conclusion of each Mass, all those attending will be invited to approach the relics and to receive an extraordinary blessing.
Incorrupt tongue
The last visit in 2013 was to mark the 750th anniversary of the discovery of St Anthony’s incorrupt tongue by St Bonaventure.
The tour included Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Limerick, Galway and Belfast. In Dublin’s Church of the Visitation (the only Greyfriar parish church in Ireland) Archbishop Diarmuid Martin welcomed the relics – along with the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown – saying “we gather here this evening to venerate a great saint. We come full of trust in a saint whose intercession has been invoked by men and women over centuries and in every corner of the world.
“This evening we turn to St Anthony of Padua with the intentions that are in the hearts of each of us and with the intentions of those who have asked us to pray for them. We do so with trust in the power of God which works through the intercession of this saint.”
In Cork, security guards were on hand to oversee the crowds while impromptu stalls had been set up around the Church of the Holy Trinity selling bouquets of lilies and an array of religious mementoes.
Bishop John Buckley presided over the ceremonies and he explained that the use of relics goes back to the time of the apostles when the Eucharist was celebrated at the burial places of holy people. The veneration, he said, is not paid to the relics themselves but to the holy people that they represent. Through the relics, we feel physically close to that person, Bishop Buckley said.
It was 10 years before in 2003 that the relics were last brought on a tour of Ireland, this time only taking in churches in Dublin and St Claire’s in Graiguecullen, Co. Carlow where about 50,000 people gathered from across the country. Lines of people at least four deep wound their way around Dublin’s streets outside each church where they queued for an opportunity to touch the reliquary and pray for their intentions.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic from St Anthony’s Church in Clontarf – the only church in Dublin named after the saint – the parish priest at the time, Msgr Patrick Devine, said it was “remarkable” how many young people were among the 12,000 that came to the church for veneration.
It was Cardinal Desmond Connell who welcomed the saint’s reliquary to Ireland, along with the papal nuncio at the time, Archbishop Guiseppe Lazzarotto – who was born near Padua. As a single trumpet sounded, Cardinal Connell addressed the reliquary, saying: “We welcome you St Anthony. Your relic is a sign of your presence among us. We want your visit to Ireland to be an opportunity for us to express our gratitude to God and to you.”
Relic tour programme
Thursday, June 9
St Mary’s Parish, Cahir, Co. Tipperary
Mass: 10am & 7.30 pm. Veneration all day.
Friday, June 10
St Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney, Co. Kerry
Mass: 10.30am & 6.15 pm. Veneration all day.
Saturday, June 11
Knock Basilica, Co. Mayo
Mass: 11am, 3pm (Polish) & 7.30 pm. Veneration all day.
Sunday, June 12
St Mary’s Cathedral, Sligo
Mass: 12pm & 7pm. Veneration all day after 12pm Mass.
Monday, June 13 (feast day)
St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin
Mass: 12.45pm & 5.45pm (with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin).
Veneration between Masses until 8pm.
Tuesday, June 14
St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford
Mass: 1pm & 6.30pm (with Bishop Francis Duffy). Veneration all day
Wednesday, June 15
St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry
Formal welcome:12pm. Veneration continues until 7.30pm Mass and then until 10pm.
Thursday, June 16
St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry
Mass: 8am & 10am. Veneration until 1pm.
Thursday, June 16
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh
Veneration from 4pm. Mass at 7.30pm with Archbishop Eamon Martin.
Friday, June 17
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh
Mass: 8am & 10am. Veneration continues until 1pm.