MEDFORD, Ore.- Medford will connect with a piece of religious history next week when a Catholic relic arrives.
The bone from the arm of apostle St. Jude Thaddeus has left Italy for a pilgrimage across the U.S. and will be at Sacred Heart Church in Medford this coming Tuesday.
The public will be able to touch and observe the reliquary holding the relic at its exhibition starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday. A special mass will follow at 7:00 p.m.
The apostle’s visit is an effort by the Catholic Church to give comfort and hope to all who need it, thousands are expected to attend.
Pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Ken Sampson said, “St. Jude, in our tradition, is a friend of the hopeless and of the downtrodden. With a lot of people struggling with mental health problems and depression and with suicide on the rise and drug addiction, some ministers in North America went to Pope Francis, and asked could there be something we could do to bring back some hope.”
Sampson says he wants the whole community to come out, and you don’t have to be catholic to attend.
The church is warning visitors that vendors outside of the event are not affiliated with the tour.
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