Southern Nebraska Register
Relics of St. Jean Brébeuf will be at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 320 N. 16th St., Lincoln, Wednesday, Feb. 28.
A presentation will take place at 6:15 p.m., followed by public veneration from 7 to 9 p.m. Masses will be celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas at 5:30 p.m. and 9:10 p.m.
The relics – including the saint’s skull – are coming to Lincoln as part of a tour across Canada and the United States.
St. Jean Brébeuf was one of the “North American Martyrs.” The six priests and two lay brothers were members of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, who were martyred in North America after bringing the faith to the Huron, Iroquois and Mohawk Indians.
St. Jean Brébeuf, born in France, was ordained a priest in 1622 and became the first Jesuit missionary in Huronia (present-day Canada) in 1626. He immersed himself in the Huron culture, learning the language and customs, even producing resources like Huron grammar and catechism translations.
In 1649, during an Iroquois attack on a Huron village, Brébeuf and another Jesuit, Father Lalemant, chose to stay with the Christian Huron men. They were captured, brutally tortured, and martyred. Before he died, Brébeuf declared: “I have a strong desire to suffer for Jesus Christ.”
The eight martyrs were canonized June 29, 1930, by Pope Pius XI. Their memorial is celebrated Oct. 19 in the U.S.
Brébeuf’s remains were initially buried near the Huron villages where he dedicated his life to spreading the faith. However, his remains – and those of Father Lalemant – were exhumed by the Jesuits, who sought to protect and preserve the relics. Over the years, the relics changed hands multiple times, moving between various Jesuit communities for protection and veneration.
The Jesuits eventually established a shrine and museum dedicated to preserving the memory and relics of the martyred missionaries in Midland, Ontario.
Catholics venerate relics of saints as a means of asking the saint’s intercession before the Lord. It is well documented in Christian history that credible blessings, favors, miracles and conversions have taken place after the intercession of saints. For example, when the corpse of a man was touched to the bones of the prophet Elisha, the man came back to life (2 Kings 13:20-21). A woman was healed of her hemorrhage simply by touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak (Matthew 9:20-22).
In each of these instances – and others – God brought about a healing using a material object. Relics are not magic or superstitious. Any good that comes about through a relic is God’s doing.
To venerate a relic, one may simply spend a few moments in quiet devotion, standing or kneeling, honoring the relic. One can devoutly ask the Lord for His intercession for any intention one carries in his or her heart. Prayer cards or other objects may be touched to the reliquary.
Those who participate in the tour of St. Jean Brébeuf are encouraged to bring articles of devotion (rosaries, holy cards, etc.) and pictures of ill friends or family members, which may be touched to the reliquary as a means of intercessory prayer.
First class relics are the body or fragments of the body of a saint. Second class relics are something that personally belonged to a saint such as a shirt, prayer card, or book – or fragments of those items. Third class relics are items a saint touched, or items that have been touched to a first- or second-class relic of a saint.
The Jesuits’ website about the tour acknowledges that the veneration of relics “may seem morbid and peculiar, even superstitious.” The website points out that those who venerate relics are not worshipping objects, but are honoring individuals who lived exceptionally virtuous lives. A saint’s relics are a reminder of his or her faith and the historical, physical, and spiritual reality that is celebrated when the Church elevates a saint for veneration by all the Christian faithful.
More information is available at https://brebeuftour24.org/.
