Franciscans Honor Saint of Auschwitz with Relic Tour
Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s
martyrdom, Friars proclaim legacy of this modern saint.
To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe (a friar of our Order of Friars Minor Conventual who died in the World War II concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland) our friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province have sponsored a pilgrimage of St. Maximilian’s relics (consisting of fragments of his beard). This is the largest tour of St. Maximilian Kolbe relics in the United States. It began on January 15, 2016 with an Opening Mass celebrated by our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv., followed by veneration, held the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, Maryland. The tour will include 38 ministry sites along the East Coast of the United States and Canada. The pilgrimage of St. Maximilian’s relics will return to our Ellicott City, MD ministry at the Shrine of St. Anthony for a concluding Closing Ceremony, on St. Maximilian’s feast day, August 14th.
The Baltimore – MD area was hit hard by Winter Storm Jonas majorly effecting the 1st parish (St. Casimir) stop of the Kolbe Relic Tour January 22-25, 2016. Luckily for the Baltimore faithful, the St. Maximilian Kolbe Relic will remain in downtown Baltimore this weekend as it comes to St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church (2111 Ashland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205). This beautiful church (established by Bohemian Catholic immigrants in 1872 and built in 1914) is “twinned” with St. Ann’s Catholic Church (cornerstone laid in 1873 – built 1874), under the pastoral leadership of Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Timothy Dore, OFM Conv. They will hold a special 7:00 p.m. Welcoming Mass at St. Wenceslaus Church on Friday, January 29, 2016. All are encouraged to attend. The relic will also be available for veneration at the Sunday, January 31st 8:00 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Masses at St. Wenceslaus, as well as the Sunday, January 31st 9:45 a.m. Mass at St. Ann (528 East 22nd Street Baltimore, MD 21218)
The Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity joined in the Friday evening welcome of the “Pilgrim Relic” of St. Maximilian Kolbe, OFM Conv., to St. Wenceslaus.
A few parishioners from St. Wenceslaus at the veneration of the relic, after Sunday Morning Mass.
Fr. Timothy Dore, OFM Conv. pictured holding the St. Maximilian Kolbe Relic with some of the parishioners of St. Anne (Baltimore-MD) after the Sunday morning Mass
The next stop on the Relic Tour will be for the students and staff of Archbishop Curley High School, February 2-4, 2016. If you are unable to visit St. Wenceslaus or St. Ann’s parishes this weekend, note that the next two parish stops are still in the Baltimore area. Please consider St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Church, (February 5-12) or St. Clement Mary Hofbauer Church, (February 13-15). More details on those locations will be in later posts here and on the Our Lady of the Angels Province Facebook Page.
