St Bernadette Relics tour.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Anyone going? It's coming to my Cathedral which is my parting church. But also booked in elsewhere as their program of events looks good. Ours hasn't even been announced yet!

That's so interesting as I felt drawn to read about her this week. I was thinking about how she was treated by so many people who disbelieved her and bullied her, and yet she never wavered.

She is a patron Saint of those persecuted for their faith.

Hope you don't mind me jumping in, but what sort of relics are they? Is this a Catholic Cathedral?

I believe it's a piece of her arm bone. Her body was exhumed in the 1920's for a post mortem for he Canonisation.(why that is ndedded I've no idea) But she was found to be incorrupt. And relics were taken at that time. They are usually kept in Lourdes in A reliquary. They are touring the country next month. They will visit most catholic cathedral's and Liverpool Anglican cathedral. (Bizarrely)

Thank you Toddlerteaplease, I'm not a Catholic, so unfamiliar with Canonisation etc. Once saw the relic in Bruges (Holy blood) and really wanted to believe it was real, but the cynic in me thought it was probably a money making exercise.

@Vincitveritas hmm yes I'm a bit skeptical about most of them. But as a Lourdes regular I have a soft spot for Bernadette.

Some of the older relics may be a bit questionable in terms of authenticity, but I like to visit them anyway because I like the feeling of connecting with hundreds of years of people who have prayed and venerated them whether or not they come from the purported source. St. Bernadette died in the late 19th century though, so there's not much doubt that her relics are the real deal.

I'll be going when they come to a church down the road from me.

@Fink I know what you mean about the history. Do people pray to the relics and/or saints? I'm not sure why they're collected.

They're a bit like photographs of someone you love. It's not the same as having the real person there but it's a reminder. People pray to the saints (strictly speaking we pray 'through' rather than 'to' saints, as in we don't worship the saints, we ask them to pray for us, but Catholics often speak about praying 'to' saints, taken loosely) rather than to the relics directly, but you will see people kiss the relics as a sign of respect.

They're collected because people want to have a physical link to the saint they admire, like we want to keep reminders of family members who have died. Catholics are very hot on the idea of the human person being a soul and a body combined, so there's a whole strand of theology about the dignity of the human body. We believe the body is really part of what makes the person human, not just a shell to house the 'real' person (the soul). So even though the relics are only dead body parts, they were stil once part of the person and are a way to bring them to mind.

Thank you Fink, that makes sense. It's nice to be able to ask a Catholic these things as I don't know any personally.

@Fink I really have to bite my tongue when my parish gets their 'piece of the true cross' out to venerate. Don't believe in that one for a minute! Our precious bishop once let me go through his safe and try on all the old rings. There was also a box of ground up bone in it. Wonder who that was?!!

I don't know how to like videos but the video introducing the tour is on the tours website. It's rather nice.

Relics will be at The Friars, Aylesford, Kent , hope to be able to go.

Toddlerteaplease- I really take exception to you utilising the word ‘bizarrely’ with reference to the relics initial location - please read Anthony O’Brien’s (Dean Liverpool Catholic Cathedral) statement re St Bernadette’s relics being hosted by the Anglican Cathedral - I hope you feel suitably mortified at your lack of appreciation re the ties ( ecumenical) between the Anglican and Catholic communities in Liverpool. 🙏🏽

A word of warning though re St Bernadette Tour -I’m just making plans to attend both Cathedrals but it looks as though you may be required to register on line in order to attend - I may be wrong

@eveoha I'm
An ex Anglican, I know it's going there because of the ecumenical movement there, but most Anglican's I know don't 'get' the whole relics thing. I've booked a slot for Liverpool. No idea what my own cathedral parish is doing, as yet but I'll serve the mass probably. If I'm not working. They could do with making it clearer that you need to register.

I'd love to attend the torchlight procession, but hotels in Liverpool on a Saturday night are too expensive.

Apparently they were hoping to have a procession along Hope street between the two cathedrals but it was too expensive to close the road. Shame as that would have been wonderful.

@eveoha apparently the Archbishop of York is going to be at the Anglican cathedral. He's always worth listening too. But the cathedral have absolutely nothing on their website at all.

I want to go but I am really struggling to open the registration document.

I don't think registration is going to be particularly adhered to, to be honerst. I think Liverpool may have to shorten the duration of the visit due to the Queens funeral on Monday morning. The Archbishop was thinking they might have to do the farewell Sunday night instead.

They are in Swansea this week I believe.

It's Salford Tues/Weds

Has anyone been yet? The relics had a presence that I really didn't expect. I did t feel anything when we had St Teresa of Lizeux. So it was a surprise this time!

I was sadly very underwhelmed by whole thing - plus Cathedral virtually empty ☹️☘️ So left and went to St Patrick’s Liverpool and given a lovely tour by a truly Christian man - was an absolute pleasure

That's a shame, they think around 15000 people came. Would have been more but the Queens funeral meant the schools didn't visit as planned. The Dean if the Anglican cathedral thinks they got about 1000 people. But I couldn't see any evidence of it on their events calendar.