A religious relic almost five centuries old will make a stop at a Coquitlam Catholic church later this month as part of a cross-country tour.
On Jan. 25 from 12:30 to 11 p.m., religion and history buffs can get a glimpse of the 465-year-old severed right forearm of St. Francis Xavier at All Saints Parish (821 Fairfax St.). A talk will also be held at 7:30 p.m., with a closing prayer at 11 p.m. Admission is by donation.
The 15-city pilgrimage of the relic, which began Jan. 3 in Quebec City and ends Feb. 2 in Ottawa, is a partnership between the Archdiocese of Ottawa, the Jesuits in Canada and the Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO), a national university student movement dedicated to evangelization that has St. Francis Xavier as one of its patron saints.
An All Saints Parish spokesperson told The Tri-City News Tuesday the tour organizers wanted to bring the forearm to Coquitlam as its a central location in the Lower Mainland.
St. Francis Xavier was a Catholic missionary and a co-founder of the Society of Jesus. According to Wikipedia, the forearm "which Xavier used to bless and baptize his converts, was detached by Superior General Claudio Acquaviva in 1614 and is displayed at the main Jesuit church in Rome."
