THE RELIC OF Catholic priest John Bosco has been travelling the world for the past four years to celebrate the bi-centenary of the Saint’s birth in 1815.
The casket, which has already been seen by residents of South America, the US, Canada, Japan, India, China, Australia and Africa, has now landed in Liverpool.
The UK leg of the tour began in Scotland, but will also take in Birmingham, London and Cardiff. Hundreds of pilgrims attended a mass in the city this afternoon.
After the relic finishes its UK pilgrimage, it will travel to Ireland on 23 February, where it will remain through 7 March. The route and venues for the visit are still being finalised, according to Salesians Ireland.
Don Bosco was born in Turn, Italy on 16 August 1815. He was ordained in June 1841 and is known for his work with the poor youth in the city of his birth. He created the religious congregation, the Salesians, which today has more than 400,000 lay people working with it.
The priest died in 1888, aged 73. He was canonised by Pole Plus XI in 1934 and in 1988, Pope John Paul II called him ‘Father and Teacher of Youth’.
The relics of Don Bosco have been recomposed from the urn that contained his remains since 1929, when the body was exhumed for his beatification and canonisation. The bones and tissues of the right hand and arm have been taken and placed within a wax replica of St. John Bosco’s body, which in turn is enclosed in a large urn.
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