Rev. James D. Conley, D.D., S.T.L. | Diocese of Lincoln website

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.

St. Jean Brébeuf, one of the “North American Martyrs,” was a Jesuit missionary who dedicated his life to spreading the faith to the Huron, Iroquois, and Mohawk Indians. Born in France, he immersed himself in the Huron culture, learning their language and customs. Brébeuf and another Jesuit, Father Lalemant, were captured, brutally tortured, and martyred during an Iroquois attack on a Huron village. Before his death, Brébeuf declared: “I have a strong desire to suffer for Jesus Christ.”

The eight martyrs, including Brébeuf, were canonized in 1930 by Pope Pius XI. Brébeuf’s remains were exhumed by the Jesuits to protect and preserve the relics. Over the years, the relics changed hands multiple times, eventually finding a home in a shrine and museum in Midland, Ontario.

Catholics venerate relics of saints as a means of asking for the saint’s intercession before the Lord. It is believed that credible blessings, favors, miracles, and conversions have occurred through the intercession of saints. The website about the tour of St. Jean Brébeuf acknowledges that the veneration of relics “may seem morbid and peculiar, even superstitious,” but emphasizes that it is a way of honoring individuals who lived virtuous lives.

To venerate a relic, one can spend moments in quiet devotion, standing or kneeling, and asking for intercession for any intention. Those participating in the tour of St. Jean Brébeuf are encouraged to bring articles of devotion and pictures of ill friends or family members for intercessory prayer.

The relics touring across Canada and the United States include first class relics (body or fragments of the body of a saint), second class relics (personal belongings of a saint), and third class relics (items touched by a saint).

For more information on the tour, visit https://brebeuftour24.org/.