Jacksonville, Fla. – In preparation for Easter, St. Paul Catholic Church in Riverside, will host a Lenten program, the Relics of the Passion, on Friday, April 11, after the 6 p.m. Mass, and on Saturday, April 12, after the 4 p.m. Mass.

Generally seen only in Rome or the Holy Land, these rare and historical items are being brought to the local church by the Apostolate for Holy Relics (AHR) – an organization founded 10 years ago in Los Angeles, and they are the guardians for more than 1,200 relics organized into special collections.  

Some of the items in this collection include:

• a piece of the True Cross
• a piece of the table from the room where the Last Supper took place
• a piece of the Crown of Thorns
• a relic from the head of St. Longinus, the centurion who pierced the side of Christ while he was hanging on the cross. It was he who said, “Indeed this was the Son of God.”
• a picture of the Veil of Veronica, the woman who wiped Jesus’ face on his way to Calvary. The picture on display actually touched the original with a Vatican seal attesting to the fact.

“These relics provide Catholics an opportunity to meditate in prayer, while commemorating the events relative to each relic and its significance in the Passion of Our Lord, Jesus Christ,” said Father Sal Di Fazio, pastor of St. Paul Parish, Jacksonville.

The Relics of the Passion have been venerated in more than 12 archdioceses and nine dioceses throughout the world, including the U.S., Guam and the Philippines, where more than a million people came to see them.

For more information on the two-day event, call St. Paul Parish at (904) 387-2554.