The St. John Brebeuf Secondary community had the rare opportunity to venerate a first-class relic of their patron, St. Jean de Brebeuf, alongside relics of three other Canadian saints — St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Charles Garnier, and St. Gabriel Lalement.
The relics were visiting from the Canadian Martyrs Shrine in Midland, Ont. Jesuit Fathers John O’Brien and Edmund Lo brought the relics as part of a cross-country event marking the Jubilee Year celebrating the Canadian Martyrs.
The day began with a Mass at St. James, next door to SJB, concelebrated by Fathers O’Brien and Lo and joined by Father Ron Dechant, OMI, of St. James, and Father Gio Schiesari of St. Mary’s in Chilliwack.
In his homily, Father O’Brien shared stories of the lives of the saints. After the Mass, students and faculty were able to come forward to venerate the relics.
The Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs has been designated as an official pilgrimage site for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. The Western Canada tour was organized so Canadians across the country could make a Jubilee pilgrimage.
The major relics of the Canadian Martyrs on include the skull of St. Jean de Brébeuf and bones of St. Charles Garnier and St. Gabriel Lalemant. The three men were among the eight French missionaries who first brought the Gospel to Canada and were martyred during the Huron-Iroquois Wars of the early 1600s.
Joining them is a relic of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indigenous North American saint and the patron of First Nations peoples.
At St. Anthony of Padua in Agassiz on Jan. 11, veneration of the relics will take place from 10 a.m. until the 5 p.m. anticipatory Mass celebrated by Father O’Brien.
The relics will also visit Holy Rosary Cathedral on Sunday, Jan. 12, and Monday, Jan. 13. On Sunday, Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Miller at 11 a.m. and in Spanish by Father O’Brien at 6:30 p.m. Veneration of the relics will be available during the following times: 12:30–1 p.m., 2–4 p.m., and 7:30–8 p.m.
On Monday, Jan. 13, a Votive Mass of St. Jean de Brebeuf will be celebrated at 12:10 p.m., with veneration available from 1–4 p.m. For tour details, visit martyrs-shrine.com/relic-tour.
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