The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster celebrated the Capitular Mass of St Edward the Confessor on 13 October at Westminster Cathedral, in the presence of the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux.
Speaking on the feast of St Edward the Confessor, the Archbishop drew comparisons between the medieval St Edward, and Saint Thérèse, whose relics are currently in Westminster Cathedral saying: “[although they are] separated by 850 years, they bear the same testimony: that God is close to us, that Jesus is pure love and that we are invited to be close to him.'
How saints teach us
He went on to say that saints have a role to play in modern life saying: “Today, Thérèse teaches us about the faithfulness of God, who longs to embrace each one of us in our strengths and especially our weaknesses.”
Relics bring us close
'We thank God for the gift of the presence of these precious relics here today. They help us to be close to Thérèse so that she can teach us her way of prayer. She calls us to a deeper closeness to the Lord.”
The homily was delivered to a packed Westminster Cathedral and was heard as well by the many pilgrims queuing to venerate the relics of St Thérèse. The relics will remain at Westminster Cathedral until the afternoon of Thursday 15 October.
