St. Jude relic draws big crowds in Orange County
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A relic of St. Jude on loan from Rome is drawing large crowds of Catholics and other Christians to churches in Orange County this week.
The relic consists of a bone fragment from St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hope and lost causes, which Catholic Church officials say was taken centuries ago from his remains and is now preserved inside a wooden shrine carved in the shape of an arm.
“He’s very beloved in the Catholic community, and not just for Catholics, for lots of Christians and especially the Orthodox,” said Father Alfred Baca with the Diocese of Orange, who is helping to organize the event.
Duan Nguyen visits the relic of St. Jude Thaddeus on display at Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, CA, on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images) The relic of St. Jude Thaddeus on display at Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, CA, on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images) Fr. Charbel Grbavac, from St. Michael’s Abbey, visits the relic of St. Jude Thaddeus on display at Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, CA, on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images) Melannie Rivamonte holds pictures of her family against the glass during a visit to the relic of St. Jude Thaddeus on display at Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, CA, on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
St. Jude the Apostle, a cousin of Jesus, is one of the most venerated saints, according to the Church. The relic is touring the United States during its first journey outside Italy.
“Pope Francis has sent the relic to us because of what happened with COVID. He sent it as a sign of comfort and care from the Church of Rome to the United States,” Baca said.
According to Baca, many who come to see the relic are in search of healing, physical and/or spiritual.
“It’s very scriptual too,” Baca said. “In the Acts of the Apostles, we have situations where the handkerchief of St. Paul heals people, the shadow of St. Peter heals people … So this is something that’s actually in the tradition. So when people come to venerate, they come with a lot of expectation of God’s blessing and grace to come upon them.”
The faithful lined up at Saints Simon and Jude Catholic Church in Huntington Beach Wednesday morning to be in the relic’s presence.
If the turnout is anything like Tuesday at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, they hopefully arrived early.
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Organizers there anticipated around 4,000 people would show up but thousands more arrived, prompting officials to turn some visitors away.
The relic will be on display at Saints Simon and Jude from 2 p.m. until 10 p.m. Wednesday and then go to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in La Habra during the same hours on Thursday.
The relic will also go to the Armenian Orthodox church in Orange County, Baca said. “It’s really been a wonderful ecumenical moment to bring the ancient churches together for him,” Baca said.
The relic will then be headed to the Los Angeles area after it leaves Orange County.
A complete schedule of the tour can be found at apostleoftheimpossible.com.
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