Padre Pio relics to visit the Diocese of Trenton

After an historic 2017 U.S. tour, relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina –popularly known as Padre Pio – will resume a series of 2018 visits, making a Nov. 13 stop in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, located at 61 Georgia Road, Freehold.

Public veneration of St. Pio’s relics will be available from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The relics include a glove, cotton gauze with St. Pio’s blood, a lock of hair, his mantle and handkerchief. Following veneration, Msgr. Thomas Gervasio, diocesan vicar general, will celebrate a 7 p.m. Mass.

The Diocese of Trenton is very pleased to present these relics to the greater community as 2018 marks the 50^th anniversary of Padre Pio’s death.

Relics are not worshipped but treated with religious respect. The physical objects associated with a saint or candidate for sainthood include either part of a person’s body or something with which he or she was in contact. Touching or praying in the presence of relics can help a faithful individual focus on the saint’s life and virtues, so that through the saint’s intercession, the individual may draw closer to God. 

The St. Pio Foundation, sponsors of the tour, will sell books and items related to Padre Pio in the Co-Cathedral entryway. If you’d like to learn more about the St. Pio Foundation, click here.

You can find all this information and more on TrentonMonitor.com.