When Father Joseph Detwiler heard that a relic of the apostle St. Jude Thaddeus was coming to St. Louis, he knew he needed to see it for himself.

There was a special reason, after all: In 2010, Father Detwiler was in a serious car accident with his sister, Cecilia. Neither was expected to survive. Among his many injuries, the priest sustained a severe brain injury and was unresponsive for more than two months. At best, doctors were hopeful they could save his organs for transplant.

His family prayed to the patron of impossible causes: St. Jude. After 117 days in the hospital, Father Detwiler (who before the accident was preparing to enter college seminary) finally left the hospital on Oct. 28 — St. Jude’s feast day.

“My parents were praying to him the whole time. I had a severe brain injury and three strokes in the helicopter on the way to the hospital, along with a lot of blood loss,” said Father Detwiler, who made the 45-minute drive from St. Patrick in Wentzville, where he is an associate pastor, to St. Joseph in Manchester, where the relic was on display Oct. 3. “They prayed to St. Jude for this miracle.”

Treasures of the Church, a U.S.-based evangelization ministry that brings relics to locations throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, is hosting a 100-city tour of St. Jude’s relic through May 2024. The first-class relic, which includes two pieces of St. Jude’s forearm, is on display in a centuries-old wooden reliquary in the shape of a priest’s arm imparting a blessing.

More than 4,200 people visited the relic in the nine hours it was on display (with a pause in the evening for Mass with Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski). Many visitors pressed personal items against a glass case protecting the reliquary, including rosaries, religious medals, holy cards and even cell phones displaying images of loved ones.

This is the first time St. Jude’s relic has left Rome, said Father Carlos Martins, director of Treasures of the Church and who serves as the relic’s custodian for the tour. The Holy See, through the Archdiocese of Rome, tapped Father Martins to bring the relic to the United States.

“People come for different reasons. Some have a devotion to St. Jude, and they may have had it their whole lives,” he said. “Some are like, wow, it’s an apostle, a cousin of Jesus.” (St. Jude was the son of Mary of Cleophas, who was thought to have been related to the Blessed Mother.) And yet others have heard the stories of those who have found healing through St. Jude’s intercession, he said.

Ancient records identify Beirut as the place of St. Jude’s martyrdom and burial. His body was later transferred to Rome and placed in a crypt within the original St. Peter’s Basilica, completed by the Emperor Constantine in 333 A.D. Today, his remains are in the left transept of the current basilica (completed in 1626), below the main altar of St. Joseph, within a tomb also holding the remains of the apostle Simon. The resting place has become a popular destination for pilgrims.

St. Jude’s arm was separated from the greater portion of his remains several centuries ago. The reliquary containing his arm bone typically is on display at the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome.

Stephania Russo of St. Joseph Parish in Josephville came with her children, Annalise, 13, and Gerard, 11, to pray for Russo’s cousin, who has stage-four pancreatic cancer. “In these troubling times, God has been gracious to bring (St. Jude) to us,” she said. “We’re also praying for our pope and the Church and for everyone’s intentions that are here. St. Jude is such an awesome saint.”

Christian Flanery, a teacher at St. John Paul II Preparatory School, along with a parent chaperone, brought several of his fourth-graders to venerate the relic and receive a plenary indulgence. Flanery teaches history, Latin and geography and thought it would be a good experience for the students to be connected to the history of the Church.

“It’s an opportunity for them to be connected to the history of the Church,” he said. “A first-class relic like this is a connection to the apostolic times and a pretty amazing experience for them to realize their Church allows them to still be connected to that.”

---

>> St. Jude’s relic

The tour of St. Jude’s relic will continue through May 2024. For more information on the relic and the tour, visit www.ApostleOfTheImpossible.com.

To watch the Mass with Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski and Father Carlos Martins, homilist, visit stjoemanchester.org/special-events-live-stream.