For the first time in 800 years, a sacred relic and treasure from Assisi has traveled to the United States. The Bandage Relic of the Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assis is currently on public display with other sacred relics at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, CA. At the end of November, the Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe will escort the Bandage Relic on a pilgrimage of Franciscan locations across country.
This first-of-its-kind American reliquary tour will invite the faithful to experience a tangible connection to St. Francis, a person who spent his life trying to get close to Christ and emulate his compassion for all creation.
All who visit and venerate this sacred relic will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contemplate the immeasurable love of Christ and the radical holiness of the saint who bore His wounds.
There is something wonderfully Franciscan about the sacred relic going on the road. Francis himself rarely stayed still. He walked from town to town. He entered places where people were poor or sick. He preached in churches and public squares. He crossed social, religious and geographic boundaries because he believed the Gospel had to be lived among people.
Eight hundred years later, something physically connected to his life became itinerate again. That makes this relic tour more than a historical exhibition. Of course, there is history here. These objects connect us to a man who lived eight centuries ago and to the extraordinary events surrounding the stigmata.
But relics are not museum pieces. They are invitations to encounter. People will come carrying their own lives. Someone will come grieving. Someone will be sick.
Someone will be worried about a child. Someone will be lonely. Someone may have stopped praying years ago and not entirely understand why they walked through the door. Someone else may simply be curious. Francis would probably understand all of them.
His own journey toward God was not neat. It involved war, imprisonment, sickness, disappointment, poverty, friendship and prayer. He discovered God not by escaping the messiness of being human but by entering it more completely.
So, the importance of bringing these relics from place to place is not simply that people get to see something associated with Francis. Francis again becomes an occasion for encounter.
For a few moments, eight centuries collapse. We stand near something tangible that connects us with a person who spent his life trying to get close to Christ. And Francis points beyond himself. Toward the crucified Christ. Toward the poor. Toward creation. Toward one another. A relic tour succeeds not merely when many people come to see the relics. It succeeds when we leave seeing differently.
All who visit and venerate this sacred relic will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contemplate the immeasurable love of Christ and the radical holiness of the saint who bore His wounds.
The Franciscan locations that will host the Bandage Relic of the Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi include:
- Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, San Francisco, CA
- Old Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
- Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA
- Our Lady of the Angels Church, Paradise Valley, AZ
- Peter’s in the Loop, Chicago, IL
- Anthony of Padua, St. Louis, MO
- Patrick Catholic Church, Indianapolis, IN
- Anthony Shrine, Cincinnati, OH
- Church of St. Francis of Assisi, New York, NY
- Mary’s Church, Pompton Lakes, NJ
- Anthony Shrine, Boston, MA
- Mount St. Sepulcher, Washington, D.C.
- Camillus Parish, Silver Spring, MD
- Mission San Francisco, San Antonio, TX
- Sacred Heart Church, Tampa, FL
- Catedral Metro. Basilica Menor San Juan Bautista, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Anthony of Padua, New York, NY
Precise reliquary tour dates have yet to be determined, so please stay tuned to Franciscan Friars Charities for updates.