Those who like to see and venerate relics will want to mark their calendars for the month of October, when the relics of three family members will be at several churches over 12 days in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Father Leonard Andrie, pastor of St. Therese in Deephaven, joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to talk about the arrival of relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her parents, Sts. Louis and Zélie and Martin. His parish will be the last stop on the tour, which takes place from Oct. 4-15.
“(For) the first time ever this beautiful family will be visiting the local Church here,” said Father Andrie, who has been pastor of St. Therese since 1916. “So, we are very, very excited for this.”
The tour begins in Lake Elmo with a visit to the Carmelites Oct. 4, then on to St. Mary in Stillwater later that day through Oct. 5. On Oct. 6, the relics will arrive at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, where they will be part of the annual Candlelight Rosary Procession from the State Capitol to the Cathedral. After the procession will be a Cor Jesu event that is expected to fill the Cathedral, Father Andrie said.
“So, it’ll be Catholicism on steroids,” he said.
The last four days, the relics will be at St. Therese, he said, with several events planned. He is particularly excited about these relics because his devotion to St. Thérèse has grown over the years, starting when he served at St. Joseph in West St. Paul and read her autobiography, “Story of a Soul.”
“I’ll never forget being in the chapel reading10 pages a day or something like that,” he said. “And, it just hit me at a particular moment. I said, ‘This is a very, very beautiful saint.”
He realized she had a “radical love of Jesus” and that prompted him to start praying for her help.
“I said, ‘Help me to love Jesus the way you do, with your whole heart, mind, strength and soul,’” he said. “And, ever since then, she really has tried to help me to do that.”
To hear more about the relics tour, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Sept. 29 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats 1 p.m. Sept. 30 and 2 p.m. Oct. 1.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Tyler McCollum and Father Kevin Finnegan, who discuss a Young Professionals group at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, where Father Finnegan serves as pastor; and DeAnn Brandel, an employee of St. Patrick in Edina who has organized a retreat for women Oct. 14 that highlights four women doctors of the Church.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
