First class relic of St John Paul II for Cheras parish

Dec 02, 2017

CHERAS: The Church of St Francis of Assisi (SFA) will be receiving a first class relic of the still-liquified blood of St John Paul II. SFA is the first parish in Malaysia to receive a first class relic of St John Paul II.

A relic is a piece of the body of a saint, an item owned or used by the saint, or an object which has been touched to the tomb of a saint. A firstclass relic is a part of the saint’s body.

The relic of the blood of St John Paul II will be available for veneration on December 7, 2017 at the Church of the Holy Family, Kajang.

Parish priest, Fr Andrew Manickam OFM Cap, said that “during this time of rebuilding the Church of St Francis of Assisi, God has blessed the parish community by giving the relic of Pope St John Paul II, the missionary Pope. With this special relic, we, SFA, hope to grow and become a missionary church. Missionary work is at the heart of being a Catholic.”

The Church exists in order to evangelise.(EN No: 14). Every Christian is missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: We no longer say that we are ‘disciples’ and ‘missionaries’ but, rather, that we are always ‘missionary disciples’ (Evangelii Gaudium No.120).

SFA must be a missionary church with the coming of the relic of St. John Paul II.

This first-class relic is one of the few blood relics of St. John Paul II from his last hospitalisation, taken shortly before his death on April 2, 2005.

Usually, when a sample of blood is taken, the remaining blood that is not used for further tests is supposed to be discarded. But, a nun who was taking care of Pope John Paul II in the hospital kept two vials of blood. After his death, she gave it to the postulator of the cause. Those vials of blood were later divided into smaller relics, one being the travelling relic lent out by the postulator Monsignor Oder, and the rest enshrined in Rome and Poland.

The miracle with this is that that blood has remained liquefied — it has no chemicals to keep it either coagulated or to keep it liquid. It’s really a miracle that the blood of John Paul II is ‘live’.

A Triduum and Mass to St John Paul II has been arranged for this auspicious day.

On the fourth day, the Mass will be celebrated by Fr Krzysztof Wieliczko, OSPPE (a Polish priest based in Rome). Fr Krzysztof Wieliczko will personally bring the relic and hand it over to Fr Andrew on Thurs, December 7. Fr Andrew is inviting all to come and join in this celebration.

See schedule of events on the below: