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Relics of the Passion to Visit Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Advance to Holy Week

Contact: Joseph P. Cullen, Senior Communications Specialist, Knights of Columbus, 203-800-4923

MEDIA ADVISORY, March 27, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- WHAT: Veneration of the "Relics of the Passion," including a piece of the True Cross, will culminate Lenten meditations on the Lord's Passion. The opportunity to see a variety of relics from the passion of Christ in one place is relatively rare and does not often take place outside the Holy Land or Rome.

WHEN: Saturday, March 28, the vigil of Palm Sunday. Meditation will be offered at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. followed by veneration of the relics. A regularly scheduled Mass at 11:30 a.m. will be followed by veneration of the relics of Pope St. John Paul II.

WHY: The relics will support prayer and reflection designed to deepen participants' commemoration of Lent and Easter.

WHERE: The Saint John Paul II National Shrine, at 3900 Harewood Ave. NE, Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, it is a national place of prayer that also allows visitors to learn about John Paul’s life and mission.

The relics first went on public tour in 2005 and have been venerated by thousands of people in each of more than 20 dioceses from Maryland to Hawaii in the United States, in Guam and in the Philippines, where more than a million people came to see and venerate these rare relics.

Other relics to be shown at the John Paul II Shrine include:

  • A relic of the room used for the Last Supper,
     
  • A portion of the column to which Christ was affixed for the scourging that preceded his crucifixion.
     
  • A piece of the Crown of Thorns.
     
  • A "holy nail," one of a number made in part with filings from the actual nails believed to have been used in the death of Christ.
     
  • A relic of a bone from St. Longinus, the centurion who pierced the side of Christ with his lance while he hung on the cross.
     
  • An effigy of "Veronica's Veil," the cloth that was used to wipe Jesus' face on his way to Calvary and which retains his image.
     
  • The collection also includes a piece of material from the coverlet that protected the Shroud of Turin.

ABOUT THE SHRINE: The Saint John Paul II National Shrine was designated as such by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops last year to establish A permanent exhibit, "A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II," has been in place since October.

ABOUT THE RELICS: The event is sponsored by the shrine in collaboration with the Apostolate for Holy Relics (AHR), which was founded in 2002 as an apostolate in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to increase appreciation for the spiritual, historical and theological value of relics. It displays individual relics and collections to promote their veneration, and to help preserve and safeguard venerable objects for future generations. 

MORE INFORMATION: Additional information is available at www.jp2shrine.org.