St Bernadette’s relics in Galway Cathedral.
Credit: Galway Cathedral Communications Office Thousands gathered in Galway Cathedral on September 5 to 6 to venerate the relics of St Bernadette of Lourdes. Fr John Gerard Acton of Galway Cathedral said that it was an immense privilege for both the Diocese and the Cathedral parish to host the relics of the young saint, noting how the two-day event of Faith deeply moved people from near and far.
Galway Cathedral marked the first stop in Ireland for the relics of St Bernadette, who, at the age of 14, encountered the Blessed Virgin Mary in the then small, impoverished village of Lourdes in 1858. Since then, Lourdes has become a renowned pilgrimage site.
The relics will continue their tour across Ireland, offering those who cannot make the pilgrimage to Lourdes a chance to connect with the saint.
Fr Acton highlighted Bernadette’s humanity, saying, “The humility, devotion, and suffering of Bernadette reminds us that saints are real people who, in their time on Earth, faced the vagaries, challenges, and difficulties of life, just like the rest of us.”
He emphasised that Bernadette’s life serves as a reminder that sainthood is within reach for everyone. “Holiness is open to every person. Having, even for a very short time, the relics of St Bernadette in our city has been a reminder that each of us has the invitation and the potential to be saint-like in this world and Saints in the next,” Fr Acton remarked.