Manila Cathedral plans another day of veneration for John Paul II’s relic

Following the overwhelming response of Catholics who flocked to venerate the blood relic of St. John Paul II, the Manila Cathedral is planning another day to honor the saint most beloved to Filipinos.

Some 20,000 devotees venerated the relic last Saturday and Sunday, according to Fr. Reginald Malicdem, the cathedral’s rector.

“We had five Sunday Masses and the church was really full,” Malicdem said.

After the first public veneration of St. John Paul II’s relic, the reliquary containing the vial of blood was secured for safety.

The relic was donated to the Archdiocese of Manila last year by Cardinal Stanislaus Dziwisz, the archbishop emeritus of Krakow and the saint’s former secretary.

Unique relic

The donation was requested by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who wanted relics of former Popes in time for the 60th anniversary of the cathedral’s reconstruction.

Although there are other relics housed at the cathedral, St. John Paul II’s blood is unique as it is the only one of its kind in the country.

Malicdem said another public veneration could be held on May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima and the date the former Pope survived an assassination in 1981 at the Vatican. —Julie M. Aurelio