On July 8, more than half of the 150 relics for the unprecedented “Cloud of Witness-Walk with the Saints” Pilgrimage of the Relics event will arrive in Hong Kong. Organised by the Treasures of the Church evangelisation ministry, which travels the world, the event holds great significance for the Catholic Church in Hong Kong. Relics are physical objects directly connected to saints, such as bone fragments, personal belongings, or items they were in contact with. This pilgrimage seeks to allow people to experience the living presence of God through these relics.
The event is more than sightseeing, exhibition, or an act of worship. Participants are asked to attend relevant lectures and here the explanations given by Father Carlos Martins who is bringing these relics to Hong Kong. Through this opportunity to encounter the saints, participants can experience the power of holiness, renew their own faith, be inspired in their lives, and share this infectious power with others.
Aligned with the diocese’s direction for youth ministry, the “Cloud of Witness-Walk with the Saints” Pilgrimage of the Relics encourages the participation of primary and secondary school students. Eighteen lectures have been arranged, supplemented by five pilgrimage videos, to allow students to develop an understanding of the concept and content of the relic pilgrimage and prepare themselves spiritually.
These videos have already been uploaded online. In Catholic schools today, the majority of students are non-Catholics, so children who know these saints are in minority. This pilgrimage event serves is therefore a meaningful evangelisation activity, allowing students who are not yet familiar with the Catholic faith to learn about and emulate the exemplary lives of the saints, some of whom died at a similar age as themselves, such as St. Maria Goretti, St. Maria Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Maria Philomena, and St. Maria Dominic Savio.
The purpose of venerating the saints and blesseds is not just to admire their exemplary lives, but also to unite ourselves more closely to Christ by venerating their virtues [Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church #50].
The saints in heaven, together with the souls in purgatory and the faithful on earth, form the Communion of Saints; the family of God. The members of this family communicate with one another in love, harmonising with one another.
This is the characteristic and essence of the Church. Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate [Rejoice and be Glad], invites us to respond to the call to holiness and reminds us to be aware of “a great cloud of witnesses” [Hebrews 12:1].
Let us join together with these countless saints as numerous as the stars, raising our voices in praise of God. SE
