The Wisely family of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, gathered around the reliquary of the Martin family on Sunday, November 10, 2013

Yesterday afternoon, at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, I was deeply touched to see the Wisely family of Phoenixville come in to pray as a family before the first-ever reliquary that is a shrine to a family.  I am happy to think that a mother, father, and children can now pray together in the presence of the relics of a mother, a father, and a child, and I hope that many other families will receive graces by doing so. 

I have been in the Cathedral with the reliquary over three days, and it is a beautiful contemplative experience of graces at once personal and universal, as though  God wants this Magnificat week to foreshadow the graces God is going to pour out on this diocese through the presence of the reliquary of this family.  The reverent atmosphere that surrounds them is itself healing. I was deeply moved to see a young married couple who came from Washington, D.C. by train to pray in the presence of the reliquariy; young mothers bringing their infants to the reliquary to pray; many couples praying before the intertwined wedding rings that form part of the design of this family reliquary; a family from Maryland who venerated the reliquary both Saturday and Sunday; and persons who prayed the whole afternoon.

Even if you plan to pray in the presence of the relics at Carmel, I encourage you to visit them in the Cathedral this week if you can.  Through and including Friday, you can pray in the presence of the reliquary from 7:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m.  Prayer services for public veneration are at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13th and again at 1;30 p.m. on Thursday, November 14th.

Click on the image to see it as a slightly larger PDF.  Download it here.  Please circulate it. Note that, especially if you are coming to Philadelphia from out of town or if you do not know your way around all parts of the city, the events of November 9-16 are your best chance to pray in the presence of the relics in the center of town.  The Cathedral Basilica is centrally located, there is paid parking nearby, and transportation to and from the airport is not difficult.

With the kind permission of the Magnificat Foundation and of the sculptor, Fleur Nabert, I have the honor of displaying the first photograph of the new reliquary containing relics of Saint Therese of Lisieux and of her parents, Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin.

  Three separate containers hold relics of Louis Martin, Saint Therese, and Zelie Martin.  Therese's relics are marked by a rose, those of her parents by lilies.  For a full explanation of the symbolism of this reliquary, please see the Web site of the sculptor, Fleur Nabert.

We are most blessed to have the reliquary housed permanently in the United States.  May its presence flood us with prayer, grace, and healing.

View and download a PDF of this flyer here.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Magnificat Foundation, and the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Philadelphia released today a schedule for the ten days of events planned this month to celebrate the Magnificat Foundation's gift of a new reliquary containing relics of St. Therese and of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and to give as many people as possible an opportunity to pray in the presence of this reliquary, the first reliquary of a family.

Please see the first photos of the new reliquary and an explanation of its symbolism.