Relics of St Bernadette
On the evening of the 6th October, the Cathedral parish was pleased to welcome the relics of St Bernadette as part of the their tour across the UK.
1000s queued to get into the Cathedral and venerate the relics of this little Saint from Lourdes, in the South of France. As Bishop Patrick commented upon their arrival, ‘tonight Lourdes has come to us.’ The evening opened with the welcoming of the relics by Bishop Patrick, followed by a Mass celebrated by Cathedral Dean Canon Malachy Brett and the homily preached by Fr Greg Tobin, the diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage Director.
Following Mass, a torchlight procession was led by Canon Joe Wheat, Vicar General, with young adults playing a prominent role as parishioners took the streets around the Cathedral in prayer, song and candlelight. Veneration of the relics continued through the night, with many coming in for private prayer in the stunning gothic revival Cathedral. The following morning, Bishop Patrick celebrated a closing Mass and many children from local Catholic schools were in attendance. The relics then departed for the Archdiocese of Birmingham, to cheers of ‘hip hip hooray’ led by Fr Simon Gillespie and the school children gathered in the carpark.
