Top photo caption: Chris Berner holds up prayer cards against a glass case containing first-class relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in De Pere, Wis., June 14, 2022. St. Bernadette (1844-1879) was the Marian visionary of Lourdes, France. In 1858, she experienced 18 visions of Mary, who called herself the Immaculate Conception. CNS photo/Sam Lucero, The Compass
The rare opportunity to visit and venerate the relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous will come to the Diocese of Trenton Oct. 10-11 in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, 61 Georgia Rd., Freehold.
The relics of the young 19th century French saint known for witnessing 18 apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes will be received at 12 p.m. Oct. 10, as one stop along a yearlong tour across the United States.
Below is the event schedule in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral:
October 10:
12–4 p.m. – Veneration of relics
4:30 p.m. – Mass and Confession opportunities
5:30–8 p.m. – Veneration of relics
After 8 p.m. – Prayer and a candlelight recitation of the Rosary
October 11:
7 a.m.–12 p.m. – Veneration between Masses
1–1:30 p.m. – Veneration and closing
2–3 p.m. – Confessions
4:30–5 p.m. – Farewell
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes announced in August that the 2026-27 tour of St. Bernadette’s relics intends to bring the beloved saint to Catholic communities across America. A similar nationwide tour took place in 2022.
The relics departed Lourdes, France, arriving in the U.S. in September for an opening celebration Sept. 18-20 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Housed in a 132-pound reliquary fashioned by Maison Granda in Spain, the relics will visit about 140 locations, stopping at cathedrals, basilicas, shrines, seminaries, Catholic universities, hospitals and parishes, as reported by the National Catholic Register Aug. 18.
Born into a poor family in 1844 in Lourdes, France, Bernadette witnessed the Blessed Virgin Mary’s apparitions and messages beginning Feb. 11, 1858. Following the Blessed Mother’s instructions, she discovered a water spring that to this day has been associated with physical and spiritual healing. Millions of pilgrims continue to travel annually to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes to bathe in and drink from the spring.
Later joining the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, Bernadette lived quietly in prayer and service, suffering from poor health and dying at age 35. She was proclaimed “blessed” by Pope Pius XI June 14, 1925, and her body was transferred to the shrine in Nevers, France. She was canonized Dec. 8, 1933, by Pope Pius XI; her feast day is celebrated on April 16 in the U.S.
The eastern portion of the relics’ U.S. tour includes other stops in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including:
Villanova University, Pa. – Sept. 27-28
Malvern Retreat House, Malvern, Pa. – Sept. 30
Seton Hall University, South Orange – Oct. 4-6
Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark – Oct. 8
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Milltown – Oct. 9-10
For more information on the complete U.S. tour, visit https://bernadette-usa.lourdes-france.com/ip.php?pg=St-Bernadete-Relics-Tour-Map.