Seeking a healing touch
Throngs come for a blessing from relics of a saint noted for forgiveness
Jesús Aguiñaga and his wife, Juanita, came to Houston from the border town of Pharr for a blessing.
Late Thursday morning, they were among the first in line outside the Catholic Charismatic Center on Cullen Boulevard, waiting for a Spanish Mass that welcomed the arrival of the remains of St. Maria Goretti. Touching the wax likeness of the adored saint, which held her skeletal remains, would provide the blessing Aguiñaga wanted for his marriage.
“Marriage and life always have their ups and downs,” Aguiñaga said, while his wife tried to get a closer look of the statue as it was unloaded from a van. “Saints act like lawyers for us, and without them, no help will come.”
Aguiñaga is among the thousands of devoted parishioners expected by local church leaders to seek a holy blessing. Relics of St. Maria Goretti, the youngest person ever canonized, are on tour in the United States, organized after Pope Francis declared 2016 a Holy Year of Mercy. The tour of Patroness of Mercy is meant to bring Catholics into the mindset of forgiveness.
St. Maria Goretti was canonized when she was 11, after she was killed by a family friend who tried to rape her. Enraged by her rejection, Alessandro Sereneli stabbed her 14 times with a metal file. She later died in the hospital, where her last words were forgiving her killer.
The tour is also a healing ministry, said Father Carlos Martins, who is in charge of the statue’s transportation.
“There are hundreds of claims of — verified claims — of healing, including deafness, osteoporosis, cancer and blindness,” Martins said.
At the Charismatic Center, hundreds of sick, disabled and elderly were the first to receive her healing.
Many at the center were seeking guidance for family members, healing or help
with personal problems.
“I’m praying for my son to stay close to the Catholic Church,” Monica Strenge, 59, said. “She (Goretti) suffered greatly and forgave her murderer. Her presence here is a gift to our souls and our families.”
Strenge showed up at 11 a.m. to wait for the noon service.
Hundreds already were lined up eagerly awaiting the “Little Saint of Great Mercy.”
Debora Mateos, a 46-year-old mother from The Woodlands, also sought prayer for her family.
“I’m praying for my teenage daughter and for her to put her hands on my kids to always follow God’s mission,” Mateos said.
During Mass, Father Francis Frankovich recounted St. Maria Goretti’s story to the congregation of about 2,000, heralded by hymns and ceremonial Catholic rituals.
He wore a white robe with red details — the white representing the girl’s virginity and the red her martyrdom. Hispanics filled most of the seats during the Spanish Mass.
Not everyone there spoke the language.
Frances Hall, 64, went with members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.
“We have the same hymns at my church,” Hall said. “I didn’t need to understand to feel the power of the Holy Spirit that filled the room.”
After the Mass, those wishing to touch the wax statue of the saint had only 15 seconds to honor her.
Many presented her with rosaries, crucifixes and lists with the names of loved ones. No photographs were allowed.
The relics came to the center, near the University of Houston, a day after a stop at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land. There, between 12,000 and 15,000 people showed up to receive the saint’s blessing, church officials said.
The church was too small to accommodate the thousands who showed up, so the line of followers wrapped around the building, causing an average wait time of two hours to touch the relic, said Gabriel Castillo, director of evangelization for St. Theresa.
On Friday, the relics move to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, 6646 Addicks Satsuma, where veneration begins at 10 a.m. and continues until 7 a.m. Saturday. Mass is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.
After the tour’s last stops in Oklahoma, the statue returns to the place of the saint’s death in Netunno, Italy.