Relics from St Bernadette of Lourdes are set to tour the dioceses of Scotland in Autumn 2022.
The relics are from St Bernadette’s thighbone and will also tour the dioceses of England and Wales.
St Bernadette received a series of visions near Lourdes in 1858 of the Virgin Mary appearing in the guise of a 12-year-old girl. When Bernadette asked who she was, Our Lady replied: ‘I am the immaculate conception.’
Bernadette was beatified in 1925 and canonised by Pope Pius XI on December 8, 1933, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
The Motherwell diocese hosts the shrine at Carfin Grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes, and pilgrimages to Lourdes have been tremendously popular across Scotland.
However, pilgrimages temporarily ceased during the Covid pandemic.
One of the confirmed visits for the relics is Shrewsbury Cathedral.
The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Davies said: “Many pilgrims have journeyed to Lourdes over the years to pray alongside St Bernadette, and now it seems Lourdes is coming to us by the visit of the relics.”