RELICS GIVEN TO THE CHURCH
A relic of bone of St Philip Howard, martyr, kept at Arundel Cathedral, detached by Anthony Wale, Administrator of the Cathedral of Our Lady and St Philip, on the authority of the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. 17th May 1989.
Howard, Twentieth Earl of Arundel and much of his family, remained Catholics during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when it was very dangerous to do so and attempted to leave England without permission. While some might have been able to do this quietly, Howard was second cousin of the Queen. He was committed to the Tower of London on 25 April 1585. While charges of high treason were never proved, he spent ten years in the Tower, until his death of dysentery. He had petitioned the Queen as he lay dying to allow him to see his wife and his son, who had been born after his imprisonment. The Queen responded that if "If he will but once attend the Protestant Service, he shall not only see his wife and children, but be restored to his honors and estates with every mark of my royal favor." To this, Saint Philip replied, "Tell Her Majesty, if my religion be the cause for which I suffer, sorry I am that I have but one life to lose." He refused and died alone in the Tower.
A relic of the body of St Teresa of Avila, registered in 1991, registered by Fr Simon, Postulator General of the Sacred Family of the Carmelite Order. 1991.
Teresa was born in 1515 in
Spain. She tried to run away from home
at age seven to serve God. Later she resolved to found a reformed Carmelite convent. The
absolute poverty of the new monastery, established in 1562 and her renunciation
of property , at first excited a scandal among the citizens and authorities of
Avila. Her last words were: "My
Lord, it is time to move on. Well then, may your will be done. O my Lord and my
Spouse, the hour that I have longed for has come. It is time to meet one
another."
Pope Paul VI
bestowed on her the title ˜Doctor of the Church" in 1970 along with Saint Catherine of Siena making them the
first women to be awarded the distinction. Teresa is revered as the Doctor of
Prayer and the mysticism in her works exerted a formative influence upon many
theologians.
A relic of the body of St Leopold Mandic, registered by Fr Bernardunus n Senis, Postulator General in 1983.
Saint Leopold Bogdan Mandic,
an ethnic Croat was born in 1866. He was disabled and had great difficulties in
speaking and walking.
He became known as Apostle of Unity. In
the mid-1880s, Bishop Joseph Juraj Strossmayer began an ecumenical movement
which focused on unity in diversity, consecrating the cathedral of Djakovo i
Srijem (Bosnia) "for the glory of God, church ecumenism, and the peace and
love of my people." Leopold dedicated himself to the same end, repeatedly
praying, "One flock, one shepherd.", the famous prayer that is the forerunner of
today's ecumenism.
A relic of bone of St Sabina registered by Fr Simon, Postulator General of the Sacred Family of the Carmelite Order. 1991.
Sabina was accused of being a Christian and martyred in 125 AD in the
city of Vindena in the state of Umbria, Italy under the reign of Hadrian.
A relic of bone of St Marcellus, registered by Fr Simon, Postulator General of the Sacred Family of the Carmelite Order. 1991.
Marcellus was a centurion stationed at Tingis
(modern-day Tangiers)
who refused to participate in the general birthday celebrations of the Emperor Maximian,
which would have entailed sacrifice to the Roman gods.
Throwing off his military belt, weapons, and vine-branch (the insignia of his
rank) and pledging his loyalty to Jesus alone. For these actions he was
beheaded in 298.