Large crowds are expected to venerate the relic in Australia where the
saint is highly revered.
Rome, Italy - A relic of 16th
century Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier, has arrived in Australia ahead
of a 3-month tour of the country that is expected to draw tens of thousands of
pilgrims.
“St. Francis has always held a special place in
the hearts of Catholic Australians,” said Auxiliary Bishop Peter Comensoli as the
relic arrived in Sydney Sept. 16.
“I want to personally invite you and your
family and friends to take up this unique and unrepeatable opportunity to
experience the person of Christ – his grace, mercy and peace – through the
presence of this great saint’s relic.”
The relic is the baptizing right arm of the
Spanish saint who christened tens of thousands of people during his missionary
work in the Africa, India and the Far East. For 400 years it has been
kept in the mother-Church of the Jesuit order in Rome, the Gesu.
On Friday Sept. 14, though, Bishop Comensoli
took possession of it during a special ceremony in the Gesu, before making for
Rome’s main airport and a 23-hour flight to Sydney.
“When we were a missionary country, St. Francis
was – along with St. Therese of the Child Jesus – our co-patron,” explained
Bishop Comensoli.
“Many cathedrals, churches and schools are
named after him and he continues to inspire us as a tremendous example of a
missionary and evangelizer and he intercedes for our nation every day.”
Upon arrival in Australia, the relic was taken
to St. Mary’s Church in North Sydney where a special Mass was offered by
Cardinal George Pell of Sydney along with Fr. Steve Curtin, the Provincial of
the Society of Jesus in Australia. Following the Mass, hundreds of
people waited patiently to venerate the relic.
St. Francis Xavier was a student of St.
Ignatius of Loyola, the 16th century founder of the Society of Jesus or
“Jesuits”. One of the first seven Jesuits, St. Francis travelled traveled
extensively, mainly in the Portuguese Empire, making many converts in India,
Japan and the islands of South East Asia such as Borneo.
It had always been the ambition of St. Francis
to reach China. He died, however, on an island less than 10 miles from the
Chinese mainland in 1552. He was 46-years-old. His body is now buried in the
Indian state of Goa but his right arm was taken to Rome in the early 17th
century.
The relic of St. Francis has arrived in
Australia to assist the Church down under in marking a “Year of Grace” ahead of
Pope Benedict's universal “Year of Faith” which begins across the globe next
month.
The relic will now tour across the country in a specially made reliquary over the next three months.
The relic will now tour across the country in a specially made reliquary over the next three months.
For more information on where to visit the relic of St. Francis Xavier,
visit:
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