A 465-year-old forearm of St. Francis Xavier will come to Victoria’s Roman Catholic cathedral this month as part of a cross-country pilgrimage tour.
“This relic rarely tours. It has a very prominent place at the main Gesù [Jesuit] church in Rome,” said Angèle Regnier, co-founder of Catholic Christian Outreach, a university student evangelical organization based in Ottawa.
The organization asked the archbishop of Ottawa to help get the relic to Canada for a 14-city tour from Jan. 3 to Feb. 2.
“Every Catholic church in Canada will have a relic in the altar, but it will be very small,” Regnier said.
“To have a major relic, something identifiable as part of the person, is unique. This is the hand that baptized thousands.”
St. Francis Xavier was born to a wealthy family in what is now Spain in 1506. As a university student, he helped found the Jesuit movement and later became known for his missionary work in India, Japan, Borneo and China. He died in 1553 in China at the age of 46.
The rest of St. Francis Xavier’s body is in a raised tomb in Goa, India.
Now, his arm is travelling Canada for the first time, with Regnier and a team of four.
“The relic is in plexiglass and covered in foam in a package the size of a mini fridge. It gets its own seat,” she said, adding it was not difficult to arrange travel for the delicate item.
“There are people who travel with artifacts, and the Stanley Cup travels similarly. But, you know, we couldn’t just book tickets on Expedia.”
Relics have been venerated by many religions for centuries and Regnier said they are an important part of the communion with saints for Catholics.
“We believe saints are alive in heaven and we turn to them for help and prayer,” she said. “Pilgrimages to relics or places they were is a way to feel close to them. It’s similar to visiting a gravesite of a loved one.”
Regnier said everyone is welcome to view or venerate the relic of St. Francis Xavier, which will be at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, at View and Blanshard streets, from 1 to 10 p.m. on Jan. 27.
Visitors will be able to approach the relic and have an opportunity for a brief prayer.
“Non-Catholics can, of course, come and do what everyone else is doing as long as it is respectful,” she said.
There will be a guidebook available for Catholic prayer and the history of the relic as well as a mass.
“It will be a very engaging and welcome experience. But expect long lines and only a few seconds with the relic.”
• For more information, go to cco.ca/relic.
