The relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, affectionately known to Catholics as Padre Pio, are being prepared to tour the United States and Canada this summer and will continue in the fall.
The Saint Pio Foundation announced that the two-part tour will run from May 1 to June 15 and, after a brief respite, will resume from September 15 – November 15.
The stigmatic saint’s relics were last brought to North America in 2017, for a tour that drew more than half a million faithful along their many stops. The previous event also captured the attention of major news outlets such FOX NEWS, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and more.
Read more:
“Here comes everybody”: My grace-filled meet-up with Padre Pio’s relics
It is the hope of the Saint Pio Foundation that the 2019 tour will draw even bigger crowds. President and CEO Luciano Lamonarca explained in a prepared statement why the tour is such a valuable experience for North American pilgrims:
“We are indeed grateful to all of those who have helped us to bring the relics of Padre Pio to so many faithful in these past two years,” Lamonarca said. “The most important fact, in our opinion, was that the majority of those attending the tour of the relics of Padre Pio would never be able to travel to San Giovanni Rotondo or Pietrelcina to visit the places where our Saint was born, lived and died. It has, therefore, become a mission for us to enable these faithful devotees to have a ‘spiritual encounter’ with Padre Pio.”
The relics on display for the 2019 tour include Saint Pio’s glove, the crusts of his wounds, cotton gauze bearing his blood stains, a lock of his hair, his mantle, and his handkerchief, which was soaked with his sweat only hours before he died.
Each of the relics are encased in elegant reliquaries, which will be displayed for prayers and veneration. The faithful who visit will be allowed close enough to touch the reliquaries holding the saint’s effects.
The Tour’s Schedule (For more information on each stop, click the link)
May 1 – Diocese of Evansville – St. Philip Parish
May 3 – Diocese of Joliet – St. Bernard Parish
May 8 – Diocese of Des Moines – St. Ambrose Cathedral
May 15 – Diocese of Kansas City – The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
May 19 – Diocese of San Angelo – San Miguel Arcangel Catholic Parish
May 30 – Diocese of Antigonish – St. Theresa Parish
June 1st – Archdiocese of Regina – Holy Rosary Cathedral
June 2 – Archdiocese of Regina – Miller Catholic High School
June 11 – Diocese of Charlotte- The Cathedral of St. Patrick
June 14 & 15 – Archdiocese of Baltimore – Basilica of the Assumption
September 16th – Diocese of LaFayette, IN – St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
September 21st and 22nd – Archdiocese of New York – St. John the Baptist Church (Info TBD)
September 27th – Archdiocese of Oklahoma City – Christ the King Church
September 29th – Diocese of Sioux Falls – Cathedral of St. Joseph
October 2nd – Diocese of Winona-Rochester – Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
October 5th – Archdiocese of New Orleans – Notre Dame Seminary
October 6th – Diocese of LaFayette – Our Lady of Fatima
October 9th – Diocese of Gaylord – St. Mary Cathedral
October 15th and 16th – Archdiocese of Oregon – St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother (The Grotto) – Day 1 – Day 2
October 23rd – Diocese of Fargo – Cathedral of St. Mary
November 3rd – Diocese of Colorado Springs – St. Mary Catholic Cathedral
November 7th – Diocese of Yakima – Holy Family Parish
November 9th – Diocese of Gallup – Sacred Heart Cathedral
November 15th – Diocese of Salina – Sacred Heart Cathedral
And today we celebrate...