Claire Kenney
Freelance Writer
January 31, 2023 // Diocese

First Class Relics Will Tour Diocese as Part of Eucharistic Revival

Claire Kenney
Freelance Writer

The first-class relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis and St. Manuel González García will tour seven churches in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend this month.

The tour begins on Wednesday, Feb. 8, in South Bend at St. Adalbert, where the relics will be displayed from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The veneration will be paired with a 6 p.m. Votive Mass.

The relics will be displayed the next day, Thursday, Feb. 9, at St. Matthew Cathedral from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two Masses will take place that day at the Cathedral; the first at 8:30 a.m. and the second at 5:30 p.m.

On Friday, Feb. 10, the relics move to St. Pius X in Granger. They will be present for veneration in the parish chapel beginning at 6:45 a.m. Mass will also begin in the chapel at 6:45 a.m. Relics will move to the parish church at 8:45 a.m., when Mass begins.

The relics will stay at St. Pius X as part of the second Eucharistic Formation Day in the diocese, taking place on Saturday, Feb. 11.

“We are happy to host the South Bend-area Eucharistic Formation Day, which will include Mass with Bishop Rhoades, his talks on the three fundamental aspects of the Eucharistic Ministry, and the Eucharistic Miracles exhibit,” St. Pius X Pastor Father Bill Schooler said. “We hope that the day will be well attended, as was the day hosted by Saint Charles in the Fort Wayne area last month.”

The reliquary containing the relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis and his photo are displayed in the chapel the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington Aug. 16, 2022. The Italian teen had a great love of the Eucharist and used his technology skills to build an online database of eucharistic miracles around the world. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Adoration will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the church. Relics will be available for veneration until 5 p.m.

Between Saturday, Feb. 11 and Sunday, Feb. 12, the relics will move to Sacred Heart in Warsaw. Mass will be celebrated both days … at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 11 and at 8 a.m. on February 12.

“It can be very powerful to be in physical proximity of the
relics of saints, because it reminds us that they were real and died with hope in the resurrection,” Sacred Heart’s Father Jonathan Norton said. “I hope that all of the parish comes to venerate these relics, and it means a great deal for Sacred Heart to have this opportunity. The relics will be displayed before the altar during Eucharistic Adoration.”

The reliquary containing the relic of St. Manuel Gonzalez Garcia and his photo are displayed in the chapel the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington Aug. 16, 2022. He was a Spanish bishop who spent his life devoted to Eucharistic adoration. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

The relics will stay in Warsaw on Sunday, Feb. 12, and be available for veneration at Sacred Heart between 7:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. before moving to Our Lady Guadalupe for viewing beginning at 10:30 a.m. Two Spanish Masses will be celebrated — at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. — that day at Our Lady of Guadalupe.

On Monday, Feb. 13, the relics will be displayed from 8:15 a.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Joseph in Fort Wayne. Bishop Rhoades will say Mass at 8:15 a.m., and there will be a Mass celebrated in Spanish at 6:30 p.m., with Adoration between each Mass.

The tour will end on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at St. Vincent de Paul in Fort Wayne, where the relics will be available for veneration beginning at 8:15 a.m. Mass will also be celebrated at 8:15 a.m. Later in the evening, Bishop Rhoades will celebrate a Votive Mass of the Holy Eucharist at 6:30 p.m.

St. Vincent de Paul Adult Ministry Pastoral Associate Dorothy Schuerman said with enthusiasm, “We welcome all to come and see!!”

Both Blessed Carlo Acutis and St. Manuel González García are known for their devotion to the Eucharist.

Born in London, Blessed Carlo Acutis was a Catholic Italian who passed away in 2006 at the age of 15. He was designated as Blessed just four years later.

St. Manuel González García was a Spanish bishop born in Seville in 1877. He founded the Missionary Sisters of Nazareth.

For more information on Blessed Carlo Acutis, St. Manuel González García, and the relics tour, visit diocesefwsb.org/eucharist-relics.


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