Symbols in Art: White Crown – Purity, Red Crown – Martyr, Franciscan Habit including Franciscan Crown/Rosary & Three Knotted Cord – Member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv.), Prisoner Uniform with “P” & #16670 – Political Prisoner in Concentration Camp, Prisoner Uniform with “P” & #5659 – Franciszek Gajowniczek Whom He Replaced in Death and the Images of Auschwitz Concentration Camp – Location Martyred
The next Pilgrimage of the Relic of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv. stop is at our pastoral ministry of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Community, in Graham (Burlington, NC).
Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Fr. Paul Lininger, OFM Conv. (Pastor),
Fr. Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. (Associate Pastor) and
Fr. Briant Cullinane, OFM Conv. (Pastor Emeritus)
invite all to join the parish community for a prayerful reflection the the life and death of this great Martyr of Charity. The event includes veneration of the relic, February 27-29, 2016 at the Masses {Sat. 5:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. Spanish and Sun. 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m. Spanish).
There will also be a Special 3:00 p.m. Prayer Service on Sunday, February 28, 2016,
for those in need of or in recovery from addiction, as well as families & friends impacted.
There will also be an additional Prayer Service Monday, February 29, 2016, after 8:30 a.m. Mass.
Message from Fr. Paul:
“Blessed Sacrament was honored to host the relics of St. Maximilian Kolbe for the weekend of February 27-29, 2016. Because it was a special occasion for the parish community and others from the diocese, we decided to invite an outside speaker for the events which included homilies at all the Masses (both in English & Spanish), as well as, Sung Vespers on Sunday Afternoon, and then a special prayer service for Monday morning, Feb.29th. Fr. Michael Lorentsen, OFM Conv. was able to join us as the homilist for the occasion. In addition we included the members of the SFO from our parish along with the Knights of Columbus and the Columbiettes in the event. The relics were carried into the church at the beginning each service by the SFO members. It was a means of again recognizing their role here in the larger community and their ongoing quiet service to the community.”
If you cannot make these dates, know that the next stop on the tour is
Holy Cross Catholic Church, (Durham, NC) March 5-6, 2016.
Relic Tour Background:
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 of our friar’s 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.
