Don Bosco Relics Coming to US and Canada

SAN FRANCISCO, SEPT. 7, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The relics of St. John Bosco will arrive Saturday in San Francisco to begin the U.S. and Canadian segments of a worldwide tour.

The relics have been traveling worldwide in preparation for Don Bosco's 200th birthday celebration, which will take place in 2015.

On Sept. 19, the relics -- bones and tissue from the right hand and arm that have been placed in a wax replica of the saint's body -- will be brought to New Orleans.

The pilgrimage will then take the relics through Florida: St. Petersburg, Belle Glade and Miami.

The tour will continue in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, where the faithful can venerate the saint at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Two days later, the pilgrimage continues in New York, with events that include a youth rally and a Mass with Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

Chicago will see the relics on Oct. 2, before the pilgrimage crosses the border into Canada to arrive in Toronto by Oct. 5.

From there, the tour will go to Montreal and finally to Surrey, British Columbia.

A Web site has been created for the "Don Bosco Among Us" pilgrimage, which offers a theme song and a store for commemorative items.

In its worldwide tour, which started Jan. 31, 2009 in Turin, Italy, the reliquary has traveled to Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Mexico.

It will visit 130 countries before the pilgrimage is over.

St. John Bosco is the founder of the Salesians, who serve as educators for the poor worldwide. He is the patron saint of apprentices, editors and laborers.

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On the Net:

Pilgrimage Web site: http://www.donboscoamongus.org