Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone has granted permission for the relics of St. Anthony of Padua to tour in the diocese from April 6-15. The tour will begin in Bluffton on Friday, April 6, and will end in Lexington on Sunday, April 15. One relic is a fragment of his floating rib while the second relic is skin of his cheek. See below for a schedule.
St. Anthony of Padua was one of the earliest members of the Franciscan Order, which was founded in 1209. The saint of lost things, he helps people find their way to the Lord.
When Pope Francis was Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, he led a prominent procession through the streets of the Argentinian capital in the year 2000, carrying in his hands a reliquary containing a precious relic of St. Anthony of Padua — a piece of his floating rib.
The relics will be accompanied on tour by Father Bortolino Maistreello, a Franciscan Friar from Padua, Italy, where the saint is buried. According to Father Mario Conte, who is editor of the “Messenger of St Anthony”, “There is nothing superstitious about relics. The real meaning of a relic is love — they are a link of love between the person who venerates and the saint.”
In an address in Cologne, Germany, in 2005, Pope Benedict Emeritus said of relics, “By inviting us to venerate the mortal remains of the martyrs and saints, the Church does not forget that, in the end, these are indeed just human bones, but they are bones that belonged to individuals touched by the living power of God. The relics of the saints are traces of that invisible but real presence which sheds light upon the shadows of the world and reveals the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst.”
St. Anthony’s reputation as a finder of lost things dates to an incident in the saint’s life. As the legend goes, a novice who had grown tired of religious life decide d to leave the Franciscan community. When he left, the novice took St. Anthony’s psalter. The book was very important to Anthony, especially since it was before the printing press had been invented. The psalter had notes and comments he made in teaching his students in the Franciscan order. Anthony prayed that the psalter would be found and returned to him. Anthony’s prayers were answered. The novice returned the psalter and returned to the order.
We invite you to come and ask for St. Anthony’s intercession for more than the loss of material things, but also for loss of faith, family harmony, health, hope, mercy, and peace of mind, just to name a few.
Prayer petitions with holy cards will be distributed by Friar Bortolino and volunteers, so people may write a prayer petition to the saint. The writing of a prayer petition is a worldwide tradition when venerating a relic of a saint. Father Bortolino will bring the petitions back to the Pontifical Basilica in Padua and place them at the tomb of St. Anthony. The tour officially ends back at the Tomb of St. Anthony, where the friars will gather to pray for the saint’s intercession upon our intentions and petitions.
Image: Wikimedia Commons, St. Anthony of Padua with Child, by Bartolomé Murillo, circa 1668
Here is the tour schedule for the Diocese of Charleston:
Friday, April 6
St. Gregory the Great
38 St. Gregory Drive, Bluffton, SC
Pastor: Monsignor Ronald R. Cellini
Phone: 843.815.9988
Mass times: 12:15 PM and 7 PM
Veneration from 11:30 AM to 8 PM
Saturday, April 7
St. Francis by the Sea
45 Beach City Road, Hilton Head Island, SC
Pastor: Reverend Michael J. Oenbrink
Phone: 843.681.6350
Vigil Mass times: 5:30 PM and 7 PM
Veneration from 2:30 PM to 5:15 PM and after each Vigil Mass
Sunday, April 8
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
120 Broad St., Charleston, SC
Pastor: Reverend Monsignor Steven L. Brovey
Phone: 843.724.8395
Mass times: 9 AM, 11:15 AM and 6 PM
Veneration after each mass and all afternoon
Monday, April 9
St. Anthony Church
2536 W. Hoffmeyer Road, Florence, SC
Pastor: Reverend Robert E. Morey
Phone: 843.662.5674
Veneration from 9 AM to 1 PM
Monday, April 9
Our Lady of the Hills
120 Marydale Lane, Columbia, SC
Pastor: Reverend Peter Sousa
Phone: 803.772.7400
Veneration from 4 PM to 8 PM
Tuesday, April 10
Our Lady of the Rosary
3710 Augusta Road, Greenville, SC
Pastor: Father Dwight Longenecker
Phone: 864.422.1648
Veneration from Noon to 4 PM
Tuesday, April 10
St. Anthony of Padua and Our Lady of La Vang
Joint Service at St. Anthony of Padua Parish
307 Gower St., Greenville, SC
Pastors: Father Patrick Tuttle, OFM, of St. Anthony of Padua
Father David Phan, OFM, of Our Lady of La Vang
Phone: 864.233.7717 (St. Anthony)
Phone: 864.395.0202 (Our Lady of La Vang)
Veneration from 6 PM to 9 PM
Wednesday, April 11
St. Peter Church
1529 Assembly St., Columbia, SC
Pastor: Very Reverend Canon Gary S. Linsky
Phone: 803.779.0036
Veneration from Noon to 6 PM
Thursday, April 12
Our Lady of Peace
856 Old Edgefield Road, North Augusta, SC
Pastor: Reverend J. Renaurd West
Phone: 803.279. 0315
Veneration from 10 AM to 2 PM
Thursday, April 12
St. Mary Help of Christians
138 Fairfield St. SE, Aiken, SC
Pastor: Reverend Gregory Wilson
Phone: 803.649.4777
Veneration from 4 PM to 8 PM
Mass at 7 PM
Friday, April 13
Our Lady of Grace
7095 Waxhaw Highway, Lancaster, SC
Pastor: Father Jeff Kirby
Phone: 803.283.4969
Mass times: Noon and 7 PM
Veneration to begin after the noon Mass until the 7 PM Mass
Saturday, April 14
Transfiguration Church
306 N. Pines Road, Blythewood, SC
Pastor: Monsignor James LeBlanc
Phone: 803.735.0512
Mass time: 4 PM
Veneration from noon until 6 PM
Sunday, April 15
Corpus Christi
2350 Augusta Highway, Lexington, SC
Pastor: Father Raymond Carlo
Phone: 803.359.4391
Mass times: 8 AM, 11 AM and 5 PM
Veneration all day
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