Relics to visit five parishes

CLIFTON  The faithful will have the opportunity to venerate the relics of St. Anthony of Padua — the patron saint of finding lost items — from Oct. 4 to 14. Over those 10 days, two of St. Anthony’s first-class relics will visit five churches in the Diocese for public veneration — part of a larger tour that will reach other locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Anthonian Association of the Friends of St. Anthony will bring two relics of St. Anthony, a piece of his “floating rib” and slivers of skin from his cheek, accompanied by Conventual Franciscan Father Mario Conte, a friar from Padua, Italy, and a world-renowned expert on the life and ministry of the saint, who was born in 1195 and is buried in Padua. Pope Francis, then Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, carried the reliquary containing the piece of “floating rib” — a rib that is smaller than most of the other ribs — during a large procession through the streets of the Argentinian capital in 2000.

At each stop in the Diocese the faithful will have opportunities to attend Mass, venerate the relics, hear Father Conte preach, offer their own petitions to the saint, and have quiet time for reflection, said Tom Muscatello, U.S. representative for the Anthonian Association of the Friends of St. Anthony.

The relics will visit the following five churches in the Diocese on the following dates:

• Thursday, Oct. 4 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Butler, where Masses will be celebrated at 12:10 p.m. and 6 p.m. with veneration from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m.

• Saturday, Oct. 13 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Hawthorne, where Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. with veneration from

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Saturday, Oct. 13 at St. Vincent de Paul Church, Stirling, where Mass will be celebrated at 5 p.m. with veneration from 3 to 7 p.m.

• Sunday, Oct. 14 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Branchville, where Mass will be offered 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. with veneration from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Sunday, Oct. 14 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Rockaway, where Mass will be celebrated at 3 p.m. with veneration from 3 to 7 p.m.

At each stop, Friar Conte and volunteers will distribute prayer petitions with holy cards to allow parishioners to write their petition to the saint. The writing of a prayer petition is a worldwide tradition when venerating a relic of a saint. Father Conte will bring the petitions back to the Pontifical Basilica in Padua and place them at the tomb of St. Anthony. The tour officially ends back at the Tomb of St. Anthony where the friars will gather to pray for the saint’s intercession on all the intentions and petitions called from the tour, according to Muscatello.

“There is nothing superstitious about relics. The real meaning of a relic is love. They are a link of love between the person who venerates and the saint. St Anthony intercedes with those trying to find a job, a home, faith, peace of mind, family harmony, love, hope and mercy. He brings us closer to Our Lord,” said Father Conte, also editor of the Messenger of St Anthony.

The origins of this tour of St. Anthony’s relics started several years ago when Franciscan Father Thomas Hartle, former pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Butler, met the friars on a trip to Padua and invited them to his Morris County faith community. The Anthonian Association of the Friends of St. Anthony secured permission from Bishop Serratelli to bring the relics to the Diocese and then reached out to other parishes and locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to ask if they would like to host the relics. Father Conte and the volunteers will be staying at St. Anthony’s Friary during the New Jersey portion of their visit. In the Diocese, Father Kevin Corcoran, diocesan vice chancellor and the Bishop’s priest-secretary, has helped coordinate the tour, said Muscatello.

The faith-filled legacy of St. Anthony started with his birth in Portugal in 1195 to a noble family. At 15, he started studying with the Augustinian religious order, but joined the Franciscans in 1220, after he dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel. St. Anthony gained a reputation as an astonishing preacher, who found success at converting heretics and renewing the faith of people, as he traveled in France and Italy — also moving many people to seek Confession, according to historical accounts.

Several miracles were attributed to St. Anthony during his lifetime. He died on June 13, 1231 at 36. Pope Gregory IX canonized him on May 30, 1232. Pope Pius XII declared St. Anthony a Doctor of the Church on Jan. 16, 1946. Even today, the faithful claim to have received miracles at his tomb in Padua, according to historical accounts.

“We are excited that Father Conte will bring relics of St. Anthony, the patron of our parish, for public devotion. I look forward to hearing him speak about this part of our faith — why we have these relics and why we venerate them,” said Father Joseph Juracek, pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Butler.

On Aug. 16, Bishop Serratelli sent a letter to the faithful of the Diocese, stating that he was “happy” to announce the visit of relics two saints’ to the Diocese: St. Anthony’s and St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, which will come to the Diocese on Thursday, Sept. 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at St. Peter the Apostle Church, Parsippany, for public veneration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of St. Padre Pio’s death with Mass at 7 p.m. In the letter, the Bishop wrote that the “traditions of visiting the relics of saints is a rich part of our Catholic heritage.”

“While we ask for their powerful intercession, there have been many blessings and conversions that have come through devotion to these saints. Those who attend are encouraged to bring articles of devotion, such as rosaries, holy cards and pictures of loved ones, which may be touched to the reliquaries as a means of intercessory prayer,” the Bishop wrote. He also encouraged all pastors, priests and parish leaders in the Diocese “to encourage devotion to these important witnesses of our faith as a way of building up the faith of our people.”