October 14, 2023

St. Jude relic coming to West Springfield in November

REGIONAL
By Rebecca Drake

This relic of St. Jude the Apostle began its nine-month tour of U.S. in Chicago Sept. 9, 2023. (OSV News photo/courtesy Father Carlos Martins)

SPRINGFIELD – St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, 47 Pine St., West Springfield, will host a relic of St. Jude on Friday, Nov. 17.

The relic, which is an arm-shaped reliquary holding bones from an arm of St. Jude the Apostle, will be displayed for public veneration beginning at 2:30 p.m. A special Mass celebrated in St. Jude’s honor will be held at 7 p.m. Public veneration will end at 10 p.m.

According to the nonprofit ministry Treasures of the Church, the current U.S. tour is the first time the relic has left Italy. The Treasures of the Church website states that bones from the saint’s arm are housed inside a “an arm-shaped wooden reliquary in the gesture of giving a blessing.” The tour began in Chicago on Sept. 9.

Known as the patron saint of hope and impossible causes, St. Jude is aid to have traveled throughout Mesopotamia, Libya and Persia with St. Simon after Jesus’ death and resurrection. St. Jude was martyred, the means by which vary in different accounts. His body was buried in Beirut, Lebanon, and later moved to a crypt in the original St. Peter’s Basilica. The body is now housed in the current basilica in a tomb also containing the remains of St. Simon.

Father John Sheaffer, pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, credits a parishioner, Kate Day, with suggesting the parish host the relic.

“St. Thomas got chosen because a parishioner, Kate Day, contacted me about it and said that there was one day left on the tour,” he explained. “We checked and were told that the Diocese of Albany had requested it, but things weren’t firmed up yet. They contacted us a few days later and said that we would be the ones to get the date.”

Asked what he hopes people will experience by venerating the relic, Father Sheaffer said, “Our faith has a long tradition of venerating relics, especially first-class relics, that is, some piece of the saint’s body.

“We believe that the human body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and so we show respect for all human bodies, saint or not, during life and after death,” he continued. “To be in the presence of an arm bone from an Apostle will be an incredible experience. Through St. Jude’s role and presence in the early church, we will be in the presence of something that was in the presence of Jesus, Himself, our Blessed Mother, the other Apostles, Mary Magdalene, at the Last Supper, and so many other events central to our faith.

“I’m looking forward to the visit of the relic and welcoming the faithful to our parish for this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Father Sheaffer said.

More information about the relic can be found here: https://apostleoftheimpossible.com/