Crowds turn out to see saint's bones
- 00:01:13
- ITN
Crowds turn out to see saint's bones
Thousands of pilgrims have gathered at Westminster Cathedral for the culmination of a tour of the relics of a 19th century French nun. The bones of Saint Therese de Lisieux have been on a month-long tour of Catholic cathedrals, convents, the Anglican York Minster and Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London. The 19th-century nun, known throughout the Catholic world as the "Little Flower of Jesus" died aged 24 in 1897 but became famous after the publication of her autobiography The Story Of A Soul. She was declared a saint in 1925 by the Catholic Church and has since become the patron saint of a number of groups including missionaries, Aids sufferers, florists and the sick. Her relics, made up of portions of her thigh and foot bones, were blessed on the steps of Westminster Cathedral by auxiliary Bishop of Westminster the Rt Rev John Arnold before the start of the visit. Westminster Cathedral said 100,000 candles and 50,000 pink roses had been ordered with 2,000 pilgrims expected to venerate the relics every hour. The tour of England and Wales comes after tours of 46 countries by the relics since 1997 including Brazil, Russia, Kazakhstan, the US, Ireland, Lebanon and Iraq.
ITN | October 15, 2009
