Relics of St. Francis Xavier to go on tour in….

As I write… US HERE – UK HERE – It seemed appropriate.

In Rome, one visits the Gesù, the great church of the Jesuits (of yore) in the heart of the Centro.  There one venerates the relics of mighty saints, Ignatius and the missionary Francis Xavier.

What an amazing saint is Francis Xavier.  Who can tell how many he preached to with the intention of converting them from their pagan ways to Christianity (=  proselytize), and then baptized and instructed?

The arm that did that preaching and instructing and baptizing will soon be brought to Canada.  There’s good article about this at the CBC HERE.

Check out the itinerary below to find out when and where you can see the relic for yourself:

  • Jan. 3: Quebec City.
  • Jan. 5: St John’s.
  • Jan. 7: Halifax.
  • Jan. 8: Antigonish, N.S.
  • Jan. 10: Kingston, Ont.
  • Jan. 12-14: Toronto.
  • Jan. 16: Winnipeg.
  • Jan. 18: Saskatoon.
  • Jan. 20: Regina.
  • Jan. 21-22: Calgary.
  • Jan. 24-25: Vancouver.
  • Jan. 27: Victoria.
  • Jan. 29-30: Montreal.
  • Feb. 2: Ottawa.

Let us ask God to raise up a holy people, sorely need.

However, let us also ask Him to raise up mighty saints, visible game changing saints.

Holy Church has bequeathed two special gifts to the whole of humanity: art and saints.

One of them reflects goodness, truth and beauty – God – in matter, the other reflects them in persons.

The greatest forge of both art and saints that human history has known must be the Holy Mass of the Catholic Church.

To produce great art and saints we need again the foundry of the Holy Mass to be restored and fired again.  This is why Summorum Pontificum is so important for our future.  Through the expanded use of the traditional Roman Rite – which forged saints like Ignatius and Francis Xavier – we will see the impurities of the newer Rite fall away like slag, as tradition corrects it.  As our sacred liturgical worship is purified and raised up, the whole of the life of the Church in every sphere will, too, be purified and raised up.  For art and saints to bloom, we need to rekindle the sacred liturgical bloomery.

(I think my old friend Archbp. Sample – with his degree in metallurgy – meta-liturgy? – would like that analogy!)

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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4 Comments

  1. APX says:

    Yes, they will also be taking his relics to the Basilica on Sussex Drive in Ottawa, which is where are “catholic” prime minister lives. Hopefully this will result in his conversion.

    I can only imagine the conversation with Air Canada…

  2. very cool..Can we get him to come on tour in the US next? Saint Francis Xavier holds a special place in my list of favorite saints since he brought the faith to Japan (after getting into Japanese animation, I have gained an appreciation of some parts of Japanese culture).

  3. ejcmartin says:

    Please pray for Angèle Regnier and her group Catholic Christian Outreach. They are doing some great work in Canada’s universities bringing many lost young adults back to Christ. I look forward to the relic coming to my neighbourhood early January.

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