Don’t miss this ‘house call’ by an Apostle
Centuries after he was martyred and his body entombed in St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Jude’s arms were removed and placed in reliquaries in the shape of a priestly arm imparting a blessing. St. Ann Church will host one of those relics Feb. 15, when “Apostle of the Impossible: the Tour of the Relics of St. Jude the Apostle” comes to Charlotte. (Photo provided by Apostle of the Impossible Tour)CHARLOTTE — When things seem hopeless or unbearable, Catholics have a friend in St. Jude.
St. Jude, one of the Twelve Apostles and among the most beloved of all the saints, is called the “Saint of the Impossible” – the one people turn to when they are desperate and have tried everything else.
Now, some of St. Jude’s physical remains – two large pieces of his forearm bone encased in a wooden reliquary – are coming Feb. 15 to St. Ann Church in Charlotte, where they will be displayed for veneration.
The visit is part of a special U.S. tour of the relic, the first time it has traveled outside Italy. Charlotte is one of three tour stops in North Carolina and the only one in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Father Timothy Reid, St. Ann’s pastor, is excited to host St. Jude’s relic and expects “a grace-filled day.”
“Being in the presence of a saint’s relic is an opportunity to have an experience with that saint, a chance to pray to that saint in a particular way,” he says.
“Everybody is welcome,” Father Reid emphasizes. He especially invites people who are sick, especially with cancer or incurable diseases.
Father Reid, who has a personal devotion to St. Jude, says, “He’s very good.”
He credits the saint with miraculous healings and cures, as well as helping people find jobs, assisting infertile couples to conceive, and resolving financial problems.
“What’s nice about St. Jude is that he’s a multi-faceted saint who can take on any issue that seems impossible. You can go to him for absolutely anything.”
Father Reid encourages visitors to open their hearts to God’s grace, whether or not they experience a miracle.
“People should come with a lot of faith but at the same time, if your prayers aren’t answered the way you like, trust that God has a plan for you,” he says. “No matter what, you are going to come away with a sense of peace.”
He’s encountered many saints’ relics in Rome and around the world, he says, and “I’ve never walked away from a saint’s tomb without feeling a little bit better and more joyful.”
Now, he adds, “You don’t have to travel to Rome – he’s coming here to us. He’s making a house call!”
The “Apostle of the Impossible” U.S. tour is organized by Treasures of the Church, an evangelization ministry led by Father Carlos Martins of the Companions of the Cross, a biographer of St. Jude and a Church-appointed curate of relics with over 30 years’ experience.
WHO WAS ST. JUDE?
Wikipedia “Saint Jude Thadddeus,” by Georges de La Tour (1620). According to ancient tradition, St. Jude and his fellow apostle St. Simon the Zealot were martyred around 65 A.D., probably in Beirut. They share a feast day, Oct. 28. St. Jude is believed to have been axed or clubbed to death, so he is often depicted holding a club and an image of Christ.Jude Thaddeus was one of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles. Little is known about him other than that he was Jesus’ cousin and had several brothers including James, another of the original Apostles.
The New Testament Epistle of Jude is named for him, although scripture scholars disagree on whether he was the author.
Catholics invoke St. Jude when in desperate situations because the Epistle of Jude stresses that the faithful should persevere even when facing harsh or difficult circumstances.
Historical evidence indicates Jude and fellow apostle Simon the Zealot preached in Mesopotamia, including present-day Iraq and parts of present-day Iran, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey. He and Simon are believed to have been martyred around the year 65 A.D., probably in Beirut. Their bodies were later brought to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Several centuries ago St. Jude’s arms were removed and placed in reliquaries in the shape of a priestly arm imparting a blessing.
It is one of those reliquaries – carved from wood and kept in a shrine at the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro near St. Peter’s Basilica – that pilgrims will see on the tour.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle Sources: “Apostle of the Impossible” website and CatholicOnline.org
Tour details
Date: Thursday, Feb. 15
Location: St. Ann Church, 3635 Park Road in Charlotte
Schedule: 1-10 p.m. veneration, 7 p.m. Mass in honor of St. Jude
Cost: Free. Proceeds from an offertory collection and sales of holy cards and medals will go toward the restoration of St. Jude’s Shrine in Rome, where the relic is housed.
Parking: Church lot and on-street parking available
Line-up: Upon arrival, go to the north side of the Allen Center to join the line. Avoid the area around St. Ann School during student dismissal between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Veneration will pause for Mass at 7 p.m.
On site: You will be able to touch the reliquary and touch objects of devotion to it. You may also touch photos of family or friends to it to invoke St. Jude’s intercession.
Note: Confessions will be available. Visitors may receive a plenary, or full, indulgence with the usual conditions.
Questions? Call the St. Ann Parish Office at 704-523-4641.
More online
At www.apostleoftheimpossible.com: Learn more about St. Jude and the U.S. tour of his relic.
At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Watch a 2-minute video by Father Carlos Martins, leader of the “Apostle of the Impossible: the Tour of the Relics of St. Jude the Apostle” tour.
At www.praymorenovenas.com/st-jude-novena: Prepare for the saint’s visit by praying a novena.
BELMONT — History was made as ground was broken June 20 on the nation's first college-based pregnancy and after-care maternity home.
Abbot Placid Solari, abbot of Belmont Abbey monastery, offered the opening prayer at the groundbreaking ceremony for Room At The Inn's future 10,000-square-foot maternity home on four acres donated by the Benedictine monks at Belmont Abbey.
The facility will have two residential wings, one for maternity and one for after-care, and can house up to 15 mothers, 15 infants and eight toddlers for free for up to two years. Each mother will have a private bedroom and bathroom and share the kitchen, dining room and laundry room with other residents. Administrative and counseling offices and quarters for residential managers will also be on site.
Staff and volunteers at Room At The Inn, a non-profit maternity and after-care program based in Charlotte, N.C., have long dreamed of a place where college-aged pregnant women could find shelter for themselves and their babies while finishing their studies.
Jeannie Wray, executive director of Room At The Inn, began her remarks at the groundbreaking by stating, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!"
Wray, who has worked tirelessly for years on developing this facility, was exuberant as she addressed the crowd:
"Surely every day brings us reason to be glad, but today we truly have reason to rejoice," Wray said. "Today we witness the Holy Spirit in action, for what else could explain our being here in this time at this place doing what we're doing? How else could we explain the willingness a group of men to provide property to underpin this fantastic new facility? What would inspire national pro-life leaders to travel from so far away to be part of its beginning? Why would so many give so generously to those they have never met and may never have a chance to meet so that those people will have a future and their children will have a future? Why would a fraternal order of men declare themselves providers for young women who will never be able to thank them?"
"There is no other explanation – it is the work of God," she concluded.
Bishop Peter J. Jugis, bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, then led the prayer of blessing for the new home before sprinkling the site with holy water.
"The work we are beginning today should enliven our faith and make us grateful," Bishop Jugis said. "We know the familiar words of the psalm, 'If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do we labor.' Whenever we look to the interests of our neighbor or our community and serve them, we are in a sense God's own co-workers."
So far, $2.2 million of the $3 million needed to fully fund the project has been raised by donations from private individuals and groups like the Knights of Columbus of North Carolina, who have pledged to raise $1 million for the new maternity home.
N.C. Congressman Patrick McHenry, whose 10th district adjoins Belmont, also attended the event.
"This is a wonderful thing, not only for Room At The Inn, but for Belmont Abbey and the students at Belmont Abbey College. We can learn a good bit from this and make it a model for the state and nation," McHenry said.
Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, also spoke at the groundbreaking and served as homilist at Mass at the abbey basilica immediately following the ceremonies.
"This project is a witness to the entire Church about what we need to do as a Church," said Father Pavone. "This is a perfect example of the Church collaborating with independent organizations who are working to provide alternatives to abortion. It tells us something about who the Church is and who we are supposed to be as the people of life... that we not only give voice to the teaching but that we give resources. The monks have donated land. This is what we have to do across the nation. Every Catholic campus, every parish, every Catholic school, needs to be the place of first resort. When a young woman or a man feels that a new baby in their life is throwing everything out of control, they need to see that the Church is the anchor, the place they can go to find help for themselves and their child."
Another honored guest was Serrin Foster, president of Feminists of Life for America, who has worked tirelessly for women's rights and the rights of the unborn.
"Feminists for Life was very pleased to be a catalyst for change and help inspire this groundbreaking today. When we've been working on college campuses, we know that women find they are driven to abortion, even pro-life women, because they have no housing, no childcare and no maternity coverage. For Room At The Inn and Belmont Abbey College to come together to address the needs of women, it's remarkable," Foster said.
National pro-life advocate David Bereit, co-founder of 40 Days for Life, also spoke at the historic groundbreaking.
"This is an effort that will educate students with the information that they need; the truth about life. This an effort that will enable those in times of crisis to choose life, and this is an effort that will empower those people in that moment of crisis to be able to have a bright future which includes both a child and a college education," Bereit said.
Dr. William Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College, echoed Bereit's hopes that the presence of the new home for women and their children on the college campus will help his students understand what it means to put their faith into action, providing a concrete experience that will personally affect them.
"The students who live on this campus will get to see the reality, get to see that there are options," Thierfelder said. "They'll see we are not a materialistic society, we don't have to be relativists – that we can do good."
A time capsule was placed at the site containing personal notes from those who attended the ceremonies and items collected from Room At The Inn directors and staff, as well as visiting dignitaries. Room At The Inn plans to open the capsule in 10 years to celebrate the home's first decade of service to college-aged women and their children.
"This is breaking new ground today, both literally and figuratively in terms of what can be done all across the nation, and I hope that is what results from this," Father Pavone concluded.
For more information about Room At The Inn, go to www.rati.org.
— SueAnn Howell, Catholic News Service