Wednesday 4 August 2010

Saint John Baptists


This morning Fr Barry celebrated the Mass of S. Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, a French parish priest who is venerated as a great and holy man. During the Mass we were fortunate to have the relics of the saint on the altar and we venerated them at the end of the Mass.

The Curé d'Ars, as he is known, honoured our own patron, S. John the Baptist, with his name. In fact, the plaque in the Curate's House that commemorates the dedication of the house to the service of Almighty God as a house for the Community of the Holy Family in 1966, refers to the "Parish of Saint John Baptist", leaving out "the", and reverting to the old-fashioned, French-influenced title, "Jean-Baptiste".

This post, however, is not just to draw our attention to the holy Curé, but to share this news from the BBC News Website:

Bone fragments of St John the Baptist appear to have been found on Sveti Ivan Island near Bulgaria's southern Black Sea. He is considered one of the most important figures in Christianity. Further tests are still to be carried out on the fragments, which were discovered late last month.

Obviously this is very exciting and I hope more information comes to light soon. A short video showing the relics can be seen here.

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