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Hundreds of Pilgrims expected at Minster for visit by Saint’s relics
Published: on 8th July 2009 by Martin Sheppard in Minster News
York Minster will be host to the Relics of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux from 6.00pm on Thursday 1st October to 12.00 noon on Friday 2nd October 2009.
Click here for more information on the visit.
Thérèse of Lisieux (1873 to 1897) is one of the major saints of the Roman Catholic Church, and many Christians of other traditions and denominations are influenced by her writings and her life.
Dying aged just 24, she is one of only three women recognised as ‘Doctors of the Church’.
The Relics, contained in a decorated casket, are in England and Wales from the 16th September to the 16th October at the invitation of the Roman Catholic Bishops of England and Wales.
Wherever the relics have travelled since the 1990s, people have experienced the closeness of God through the saint.
York Minster, a Cathedral of the Church of England, is the only non-Roman Catholic venue in the programme of visits.
The Dean of York, the Very Reverend Keith Jones, said, “I am thrilled that the relics of St Thérèse, the Little Flower, are coming to York Minster, at the request of the Catholic Bishops' Conference. She is a gift of God to us all, and this is a chance for Christians of different traditions to us to pray for unity and renew our faith and our love.”
The Very Reverend Canon Michael Ryan of St Wilfrid’s Roman Catholic Church, York, said, “Therese prayed during her short life that her mission to spread the love of Jesus would cover the whole earth, and in the last few years we have seen that prayer answered as her relics have travelled the globe. Her visit to York Minster is a great gift to the whole Church in Yorkshire, and I pray that Christians of all traditions will come together here to celebrate her life and learn from her teaching.”
The Minster will be open to pilgrims and worshippers continuously during the eighteen hours of the visit.
The Relics will be greeted at the Minster’s west door at 6.00pm on Thursday 1st October and taken in procession to the east end where they will be placed on a dais in the Lady Chapel area and made accessible for the public to make their devotions.
After a united Christian service of thanksgiving for the life and witness of Thérèse at 7.30pm on Thursday 1st October, it is planned to hold an act of Christian worship or prayer every hour, on the hour, beginning at 9.00pm and continuing until 11.00am in Friday 2nd October.
Pilgrims and searchers of all religious traditions and none will be welcome at the Minster throughout the visit, and no admission charges will apply.
A meeting for the public and the media will be held in the Minster at 6.00pm on Wednesday 8th July to introduce Thérèse and the visit of the Relics to York, and to give further details of the visit programme.
ENDS
For further information contact Martin Sheppard at York Minster on 01904 557248 or martins@yorkminster.org
Notes: the public and media are welcome to attend the 8th July launch and briefing event in the Minster. Media are asked to advise Martin Sheppard or Kendal Chalk on 01904 557248 if you wish to attend. The Dean of York and Canon Michael Ryan will be available for interview.
Further information on Thérèse of Lisieux and the 2009 visit of the Relics to England and Wales may be found at www.catholicrelics.co.uk and www.carmelite.org .