St. Peter Cathedral hosts visit
of relic of St. Mary Magdalene JACKSON — The Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle will host a first class relic of St. Mary Magdalene on Thursday, Oct. 29, after the 12:05 p.m. Mass until 9 p.m. The relic will be placed on the St. Joseph Altar.
The visit of the relic is sponsored by the Emmanuel Community in the United States.
St. Mary Magdalene is referred to as “the Apostle of the Apostles.” Tradition has it that Mary Magdalene traveled to France after the resurrection of Jesus and spread the Gospel of Christ crucified and resurrected.
For centuries her bones have been venerated at Sainte Baume, France, which is where tradition tells us she spent the last 30 years of her life in a grotto on the side of a huge cliff.
Several bishops are allowing the Emmanuel Community to bring the relic to their diocese, including Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta. A Dominican priest sent by Bishop Dominique Rey, the bishop of Frejus-Toulon in France where Sainte Baume is located, will be traveling in the Mercy Bus around the southern states of the United States with this relic from Oct. 21 to Nov. 30.
This is the first visit of the relic of St. Mary Magdalene to the United States.
Organizers are inviting non Catholics “to come and experience the love of God working through undying holiness.”
The Emmanuel Community is an International Public Association of the Faithful of pontifical right under Canon Law. Its statutes were officially approved by the Pontifical Council for the Laity on Dec. 8, 1992.
By its “public” statute, the Holy See recognizes the Emmanuel Community acts in the name of the Catholic Church, that is not only for the particular good of its own members but for the common good of the whole church, participating in this way in the renewal of missionary conscience among all the baptized.
The Emmanuel Community gathers more than 8,000 members and is present in 57 countries. It brings together families, single people, priests, seminarians, and consecrated lay people living in celibacy for the kingdom. Four bishops have already been appointed from priests of the Emmanuel Community.
The mission of the Emmanuel Community is to offer a path to its members to answer God’s call to holiness and proclaim Christ in today’s world. It is particularly through eucharistic adoration, compassion, and evangelization that its members are called to manifest God’s presence with us (“Emmanuel”).
