Relics of eucharistic revival patrons will travel around diocese April 20-23
Those who attended the High School Eucharistic Conference on April 20 weren’t the only ones who will have a chance to venerate the relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis and St. Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, the patrons of the National Eucharistic Revival.
On loan from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the relics will be traveling through the Diocese of Peoria for four days, and include a piece of bone from St. Manuel and a piece of heart tissue from Blessed Carlo.
The dates and locations where the relics can be found are:
- Thursday, April 20, at St. Patrick Church, 705 E. Jefferson St., Washington, from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Friday, April 21, at St. Hyacinth, 927 10th St., LaSalle, from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Saturday, April 22, at St. Mary, 412 10th St., Moline, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Corpus Christi, 273 S. Prairie St., Galesburg, from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Sunday, April 23, at Holy Trinity, 106 W. Chestnut St., Bloomington, from noon to 3 p.m., and St. Patrick, 708 W. Main St., Urbana, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Phillip Lee, director of the diocesan Office of Divine Worship, said prayer cards for both Blessed Carlo and St. Manuel will be available in English and in Spanish. There will also be banners with an explanation and biography of the saints on them.
“We’ve asked, as possible, for the priests to start with a brief explanation of relics and of these saints,” Lee told The Catholic Post. “Otherwise, we’ve found that with other relics traveling throughout the diocese that just this opportunity for the faithful to come and venerate them is enough.”
Blessed Carlo was born in London and raised in Milan, Italy. He developed a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament after receiving his First Communion at the age of 7. Considered a computer geek by some, he spent four years creating a website dedicated to cataloging every reported eucharistic miracle in the world.
Diagnosed with leukemia, Blessed Carlo died in 2006 and was beatified in 2020. His liturgical feast is celebrated on Oct. 12.
Born in Seville, Spain, St. Manuel is known for his devotion to abandoned tabernacles. It became his focus after discovering that the church to which he had been sent was filled with dust and dirt, with cobwebs inside the tabernacle.
As he knelt before the altar, he thought about the many abandoned tabernacles around the world. He would start the “Union Eucaristia Reparadora.”
He asked to be buried at the foot of the tabernacle when he died, which was on Jan. 4, 1940. As he wished, St. Manuel was buried at the main altar of the Cathedral of Palencia.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: To learn more about why it’s important to venerate the relics of saints and holy men and women, read a reflection by Father Anthony Co, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Urbana and St. Mary in Champaign, that can be found here.