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The Relics of St. Bernadette visited Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Upper Manhattan May 20 to 24. The visit was part of the relics’ first time tour of the United States, from April to August—“bringing the grace of Lourdes to parishes across the country.”
The five-day visit at Our Lady of Lourdes included processions, prayer services and Mass celebrations, including a Healing Mass for youths and young adults; there was also exposition of the relics in the grotto.
Packed gatherings were conducted in Spanish and in English, and some were bilingual. Preparatory Masses and prayer services in the days leading to the visit, featuring a Novena of St. Bernadette. The church is located on West 142nd Street in West Harlem.
“People came from all over the Archdiocese of New York and surrounding dioceses to venerate her relics and ask for her intercession,” Father Gilberto Angel-Neri, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, told Catholic New York last week. “A large number of those in attendance at all the special liturgies were looking for healing; there were many healings.”
Father Angel-Neri also noted that “in a world, especially now, infested with so much division, yesterday (May 22) we experienced unity, fraternity, love…My hope is that this moment of unity and fraternity and love may not end after the relics leave us but rather that it may continue within our parish community and archdiocese.”
The pastor served as principal celebrant and homilist of the primary Mass, conducted in Spanish at noon May 22. Father Angel-Neri said, “The Scripture readings invite us to reflect on the truth that our religion is Catholic—universal. All are welcome. The vision of St. John is of a large city with 12 gates that are always opened because the glory of God shines on the city and the Lamb is the Lamp. The Lord builds a perfect city, and it's perfect because everybody is always welcomed.
“The visit of the Relics of St. Bernadette gave us the opportunity to welcome everybody into our church this weekend. We are given the charge to build on the model of the heavenly Jerusalem. May our hearts be always open to everyone.” (The pastor said the church hopes to establish gatherings devoted to honoring St. Bernadette, and also obtain a statue of the French saint).
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is organizing the pilgrimage of the relics in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Order of Malta, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers (Syracuse) and Hospitalité of Miami.
On the U.S. pilgrimage, the Relics of St. Bernadette, which include part of a rib, are contained in a large reliquary crafted by master craftsmen of religious artistry at Maison Granda workshop in Spain. The tour of the relics began April 7 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Miami and will continue with cross-country stops through Aug. 4, with the last stop at St. Bernadette Church in Los Angeles.
St. Bernadette of Lourdes was a French nun who lived in the 1800s. As a young teenager, she had a series of visions of the Virgin Mary in the Massabielle grotto, ultimately leading to the founding of the shrine of Lourdes in France.
Alexander Miguel Garcia, 16, was among the Our Lady of Lourdes parishioners who participated in the sacred gatherings. “It was really amazing to see people coming from far away to see St. Bernadette’s relics,” Garcia told CNY last week. “It really brought the community together; and to see people have immense faith and devotion to come here and pray. It was a really cool experience.”
Garcia added, “It was an experience that I won’t forget…We all deal with lots of circumstances in our day to day lives and we really need God's help to solve those circumstances. The Mass just helps us give Him those problems, and it's a good way to make us trust Him more with the things that we are dealing with. For me it is a really good way to build my relationship with God in a deeper way; to seek Him more, for me to keep going.”
Pedro Luis Peña, 27, a former altar server at Our Lady of Lourdes, remains an active volunteer. “Everything went beautifully; the church was always packed,” Peña said last week, adding that he attended the Healing Mass for youths and young adults. “It was a great feeling seeing so many people…We have been learning a lot about St. Bernadette. This will definitely help me and many people in our spiritual growth, with our faith and hope.”
