Archbishop to inaugurate shrine containing relic in St Kevin’s

A new shrine containing a relic of the True Cross will be inaugurated at St Kevin’s Church in Kilnamanagh by Archbishop Dermot Farrell on Sunday at 11am Mass.

The new shrine at the local church on Treepark Road will be the subject of the Archbishop’s visit to the Parish of St Kevin and St Kilian, Kilnamanagh-Castleview, with a Pontifical Mass scheduled for 11am on Pentecostal Sunday to mark the occasion.

The new shrine will house the piece that was previously part of the private collection of a late Italian priest.

Parish Priest Father Frank Drescher was able to ensure that the relic would come into the care of the parish, and the shrine that will house the new relic in the church’s possession will be located near the replica of the Shroud of Turin.

Fr Drescher said: “It is a blessing for our parish to have this relic of the True Cross.

‘It reminds us in a very direct way of the love Christ showed on Calvary and of the hope his sacrifice gives to us and to the whole world.”

“Many people carry heavy burdens. I pray that this relic will be a source of hope and strength for our parish.

“A place of prayer before the reliquary of the True Cross can help people to remember that the Lord walks with them through the ups and downs of life.”

It is understood that the relic was created in the 19th century, and this can be identified by studying the style of the filigree, the Roman framing techniques and the wax seals.

All these aspects indicate that the relic originated in a Roman ecclesiastical setting; reliquaries were created by monastic or curial artisans and were intended for devotional use in churches, religious houses and private oratories.

iThe existence of the relic at St Kevin’s offers a link between the area and the history of Christian devotion, as shown by the object.

Fr Drescher noted that the shrine will encourage parishioners to look once more at the story of the Lord.

“Relics do not point to themselves. They point to Christ.

‘This fragment of the True Cross invites us to look again at the mystery of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection, and to find hope in that mystery.”