Sacred relic visits Nova Scotia
Stops in Halifax, Antigonish attract big crowds as faithful line up to venerate saint
Saint Francis Xavier’s forearm doesn’t often leave Rome, so it requires a bit of planning taking it on the road.
The Catholic relic was in Nova Scotia on Sunday and Monday as part of a Canadian tour and pilgrimage orchestrated by the Archdiocese of Ottawa, the Jesuits religious order and Catholic Christian Outreach, a missionary organization that’s at several Canadian universities.
Monday, at St. F.X. University in Antigonish, events included public veneration in the chapel.
It was on display Sunday at St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Halifax, but getting it there was a process. Angèle Regnier, cofounder of Catholic Christian Outreach, can make the preparations sound more relatable.
“In fact, when we landed in Quebec City, the pilot said, ‘What have you guys got there? The Stanley Cup?’” Regnier said during an interview at the church. “And I laughed, because I’ve been using that analogy a lot. It is a lot like it.”
So much so that it has its own seat on planes.
“They have this netting that they put over it and cinch it up really good. So we’re the first on the plane and the first off the plane.”
A full day was scheduled in Halifax, with morning and afternoon masses, nine hours of public veneration and a talk about the life of St. Francis Xavier. A steady stream of visitors only had short waits in order to spend a few seconds with the attraction Sunday afternoon. Some reverently touched the clear case that housed the relic at the front of the church; others peered intently, as if probing a mystery beyond their comprehension.