“Arm Bone of St. Jude” Tours Archdiocese of Newark as Part of First U.S. Pilgrimage

The ancient bone, encased in a centuries-old wooden vessel carved in the form of an arm bestowing a blessing, visited the Church of the Assumption in Emerson on Dec. 7, St.

Joseph Church in Oradell on Dec. 8, St. Helen Church in Westfield on Dec. 9, St. Leo’s Church in Elmwood Park on Dec. 10, and St. Stephen’s Church in Kearny on Dec. 11. Thousands of Catholics venerated the relic at each location, including some who traveled from outside New Jersey to pray for their loved ones. Many also pressed personal items like rosary beads against the glass case surrounding the reliquary. This act transforms those objects into third-class relics that can be prayed with at home. 

“We’re very blessed to be the first parish in New Jersey to have the relic,” said Father Paul A. Cannariato, pastor of the Church of the Assumption. “This is an opportunity for our parishioners to grow spiritually. And even if they couldn’t visit the relic here today, I encourage everyone in the Archdiocese to pray before it while it’s still in New Jersey because St. Jude is a very powerful intercessor. If they go in faith, hope, and love, and if they truly open their hearts and ask St. Jude to help them, I believe that he will.”

Treasures of the Church, a Michigan-based ministry that partners with the Vatican to make relics accessible to Catholics worldwide, facilitated the bone’s trip to the U.S. Currently, the ministry is sharing the relic with parishes throughout Central Jersey. But on December 18, it will bring the bone back to the Archdiocese once more for a visit to Our Lady of the Lake Church in Verona. That stop will consist of public veneration from 2-10 p.m. and a special Mass in St. Jude’s honor at 7 p.m.

For more information on St. Jude’s U.S. relic tour, visit www.apostleoftheimpossible.com.

About the Archdiocese of Newark  

The Archdiocese of Newark serves 1.3 million Catholics throughout Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. The Archdiocese has 212 parishes, 73 Catholic schools, and many missions and ministries. Hundreds of Masses are celebrated in more than a dozen languages each week. Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., the sixth archbishop of Newark, leads the Archdiocese with four auxiliary bishops. Together, they serve the northern New Jersey community through faith, education, and social services. For more information, visit www.rcan.org.