‘Treasures of the Church’ exhibit’s relics and lives of the saints touches the faithful

VERNON  Janet Tussey walked into Boland Hall at St. Francis de Sales Parish in the McAfee section of the township last month determined to find a few female saints, but also one special male saint: Padre Pio. That Wednesday night, Tussey, a St. Francis de Sales parishioner, and 180 other faithful from the Diocese and beyond, navigated several long rows of tables in the hall, which displayed an overwhelming 150 relics of Jesus, the Bles­sed Mother, and numerous Saints. After searching, she found the relic of St. Padre Pio.

“I knelt down in front of the relic and prayed for healing for my neighbor’s mother,” said Tussey, who also took prayer cards, distributed at St. Francis de Sales, and touched them to the reliquary that housed the relic, during the visit of “Treasures of the Church,” the largest traveling display of relics in the world. Tussey mailed the neighbor’s mother a prayer card. “It was unbelievable and amazing. I did not know where to start with so many relics. The lives of the saints were not easy but they kept persevering. The exhibit reminded me that we also are called to become saints here on earth,” she said.

Like her fellow pilgrims, Tussey stopped at many of the relics to pick them up in their reliquaries, except for a few too fragile for them to be handled. Participants prayed before the relics; touched parts of them to their bodies or touched them to religious objects, such as rosaries, or photos of family and friends, as a form of intercessory prayer; and snapped photos of them. Some touched them as a source of healing. They also read the biographical sketches on placards next to the relics to help them find that particular saint, maybe as a new special spiritual “friend” — one of the aims of the exhibit.

The Houston-based Treasures of the Church ministry, which put together the display, also brought it to St. Mark the Evangelist Church in Long Valley for the faithful to view. This collection, which travels around the world, is designed to “give people an experience of the living God through an encounter with the relics of his saints in the form of an exposition,” according to its web site, www.treasuresofthechurch.com. These events included Expo­sition of the Blessed Sacrament and a multi-media presentation about the use of relics that was scriptural, catechetical, and devotional, leading to a renewal of the Catholic faith for many people.

On Oct. 13, Boland Hall was filled with relics that included a piece of wood from the Cross of Jesus and a fragment of a veil worn by the Blessed Mother. From fragments of hair, bones, and clothing, the collection also included relics of the Twelve Apostles and some of the most beloved saints, including St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Cecilia, and St. Faustina Kowalska. The event represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local faithful, especially for those who are unable to travel to places of pilgrimage. Tussey also wanted to venerate the relics of Jesus and of notable Catholic female saints, including the Blessed Mother, and Joan of Arc.

During his visits to the two parishes in the Diocese, Father Carlos Martins, a member of the Houston-based Companions of the Cross community, who accompanies the relics, led the visiting faithful in Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. He also told the congregation, “Tonight, a saint here is trying to befriend you.

“You can find a connection with a saint that is new and easy. Your job is to find out who that is. You can pray for that saint. Then [once you have found him or her], you can include that saint in your prayer life, so he or she can intercede for you,” said Father Martins, a former atheist, in his hour-long talks, before those in attendance headed to venerate the relics at St. Francis de Sales and St. Mark’s. He also spoke about healing miracles that have taken place before the relics. “I promise that if you give God your heart totally and freely, you will experience the presence and power of the living God tonight in a way that you’ve never experienced before,” the priest told the audience.

During his talk, which included a slide presentation, Father Martins also told congregants that the Vatican is offering them a plenary indulgence — the removal of all temporal punishment due for sins — for their participation at either St. Francis de Sales or St. Mark’s. To obtain it, they also need to pray for Pope Francis and his intentions, go to confession within 20 days, receive the Eucharist within 20 days and make the decision to eliminate all sin from their lives, the priest said.

“People were happy. I saw their faces as they moved from relic to relic. The most beautiful thing was to see and venerate the relics of the True Cross of the Lord and Blessed Virgin Mary,” said Father Marcin Michalowski, St. Mark’s pastor of the Oct. 14 event at his parish.

Impressed with “Treasures of the Church” collection, Father Christopher Barkhausen, St. Francis de Sales’ pastor, said, “It was as if the Catholic faithful walked into Boland Hall that night and stepped into heaven, surrounded by the saints.” He called the atmosphere in the hall “peaceful and reverent,” while they were walking around to venerate the relics and read the biographical sketches.

Some of Father Barkhausen’s favorite relics were from the Cross of Jesus; the Twelve Apostles; St. John Vianney; Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus; and Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, a former Sister of Charity in Convent Station, whose cause for sainthood is being investigated.

“These relics can give us a glimpse of the miraculous. They can give us an opportunity to grow in our faith and open our heart more fully to God. These relics help make these saints real and their stories real,” Father Barkhausen told The Beacon.