November 28, 2023

Thousands come to West Springfield to see St. Jude first-class relic

REGIONAL 
Story and photos by Nick Morganelli

WEST SPRINGFIELD – It was an hour’s wait at times to view and touch the reliquary at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, here, on Nov. 17 as over 1,000 people visited throughout the day and evening. Many stayed to pray, and the Mass attendance on Friday night was at capacity.

What helped the line to move along was a visual educational walk-through that was set up in the gymnasium prior to entering the church. This gave attendees time to learn more about the saint and reflect on their personal pilgrimage.

Relics are physical objects that are directly associated with Jesus himself or a saint and there are three classes. First class includes the body or body fragments of a saint; second class relics include items a saint owned; and third class are items that have touched a first-, second-, or third class relic. 

Treasures of the Church, a ministry of evangelization from the Vatican, brings relics on tours across the globe and on Nov. 17 stopped at St. Thomas the Apostle Church with the arm bone of St. Jude, who is blood cousin to Jesus, and one of the 12 apostles. 

Father Carlos Martins, director of the ministry said, “Relics are the touchstone of eternal life. Every time relics are mentioned in Scripture, two things always occur: There is always a healing, and touch is the way that healing comes about.

“In the New Testament we hear about the hemorrhaging woman who became aware that all she had to do was to touch the hem of Christ’s garment and she would be healed,” Father Martins continued. “She didn’t touch Jesus, but when she did touch his garment, Christ turned and asked who touched him because he felt power go out of him.”

Many people seek some kind of healing through their tangible experience with a relic. The St. Jude relic was kept in a reliquary, a wooden box with glass sides, but simply touching this, one can receive healing power.

“There are healings at each one of these events,” Father Martins said. “Some of them are very dramatic. I had a woman who was dealing with stage four cancer recently hand me her latest diagnosis. She prayed in front of the relic of St. Jude and is now cancer free with no tumors in her lymph nodes or on her liver. The illness of cancer is not detectable in her body.”

This tour is the first time the relic has traveled outside of Rome, Italy; it was sent on tour by the Vatican because St. Jude is the patron saint of hope and this is a time when people need hope. “St. Jude is easily one of the most beloved saints in the world, with more shrines to St. Jude than any other saint, short of the Blessed Mary,” said Father Martins. “If people have a divine experience, then they make a life-long commitment to God.  It’s not something that they inherited from their parents, or through the culture in which they grew up. Christianity becomes something real and meaningful to them.”

Ray and Nathalie Adkins, traveling from Granville, wanted to teach their children by example and brought them along to view the relic. 

“I just hope they get the same feeling that I got when I converted to Catholicism. It was that feeling of completion,” said Ray Adkins.

“I’ve been a fan of St. Jude for a really long time and we agreed that we needed to come see an actual relic of someone who actually walked with Christ,” said Nathalie Adkins. 

The tour continues for the next two weeks throughout New York and then wraps up 2023 in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Information on the St. Jude relic including, a spring 2024 schedule can be found at Home – Saint Jude (apostleoftheimpossible.com)