Relic of St. Mary Magdalene on tour in CA

“Not just a saint, but a friend of Jesus”

Relic of St. Mary Magdalene on tour in CA

From http://www.calcatholic.com/

A relic of St. Mary Magdalene on tour in Northern California since Feb. 14 continues its sojourn today at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Daly City and St. Joseph of Cupertino Catholic Church in Cupertino. Eventually it will make its way to Southern California next month.

The relic is part of St. Mary Magdalene’s shinbone, and is being carried in a reliquary to various stops in California. Already the relic has been on display at St. Albert Priory in Oakland, Most Holy Rosary Church in Antioch, Holy Name of Jesus, St. Dominic and St. Thomas More churches in San Francisco, St. Mary Magdalene Church in Berkeley, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose, the Oratory of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel in Santa Clara, the Vallombrosa Retreat Center and Corpus Christi Monastery in Menlo Park. 

“‘You’re in the presence of a saint,’” Tim Hooke told his students who were seated quietly in the sanctuary at Holy Rosary Church as they waited their turn to take a close look at a relic of St. Mary Magdalene,” reported The Catholic Voice, the newspaper of the Diocese of Oakland. “‘And not just a saint,’ he added, ‘but a friend of Jesus.’” The relic was on display at Holy Rosary Church on Feb. 15. 

“St. Mary Magdalene is recorded in the Bible as the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus,” explained a story in the archdiocesan newspaper Catholic San Francisco. “According to tradition, some years after the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene was imprisoned. After her release, she and some other followers of Jesus were cast out to sea, landing miraculously on the coast of Gaul (France) near Marseille. After preaching and converting the region, she retired to a mountain cave, known as Sainte Baume and spent the last 30 years of her life in solitude.” 

“A letter from Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon reports that the relics were hidden at the time of the Saracen invasion and rediscovered in 1279, and have been venerated ever since,” reported Catholic San Francisco. “Shortly after the discovery, Pope Boniface VIII published the pontifical bull for the establishment of the Dominicans at Sainte Baum and St. Maximin.” 

The reliquary will conclude its Northern California tour at the U.S. penitentiary in Atwater on March 1 before moving on to Southern California. 

Below is the complete remaining schedule for the tour: 

Feb. 22 -- San Jose: St. Leo the Great Catholic Church 
Feb. 22 -- Palo Alto: St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church 
Feb. 23 -- Los Altos: St. Simon Catholic Church 
Feb. 24 -- Healdsburg: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church 
Feb. 25-26 -- San Jose: St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church 
Feb. 27 -- East Palo Alto: St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church 
February 28 -- Los Altos: Poor Clare Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
March 1-- Atwater: U.S. Penitentiary 
March 2 -- Los Angeles: St. Dominic Catholic Church 
March 3 -- Santa Paula: Thomas Aquinas College 
March 4 -- Los Angeles: Sacred Heart Catholic Church 
March 6 -- Rialto: St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church 
March 7 -- Anaheim: St. Boniface Catholic Church 
March 8 -- Silverado: St. Michael's Abbey 
March 10 -- Garden Grove: St. Callistus Catholic Church 
March 11 -- Costa Mesa: St. John the Baptist Catholic Church 
March 12 -- San Diego: St. Thérèse of Carmel Catholic Church 
March 13 -- Escondido: Church of the Resurrection 
March 14 -- San Diego: St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

Posted via email from deaconjohn's posterous