Since July 2022, the Carmelites in the Philippines have sponsored a yearlong pilgrimage of the relics of St. Titus Brandsma. The pilgrimage was the result of a decision of the previous provincial council to promote the life of the Carmelite saint to the people of the nation. The relics made more than 90 stops during the year. Although the designated year finished, dioceses are still contacting the province to ask for the relics to visit them.
Each Carmelite community has received a relic of St Titus from the postulator general’s office in Rome, allowing each to foster their own program of evangelization of St. Titus. The traveling relic is in a reliquary which in turn is inside an urn. The pilgrimage is self-sustaining. The cost of transportation as well as the cost for accommodations for those accompanying the relics
“The relics went from one parish to another, from one monastery to another, from one diocese to another, from one island to another,” said Fr. Esmeraldo Reforeal, O. Carm., the national coordinator of the tour. “We traveled by car, boat and plane.” Some remote chapels were included in the tour, enabling people without access to transportation to benefit from the relic visit.
The presence of the relic provided the faithful with far more opportunities to experience the faith than just praying before the relic. The program at each stop included a catechism, lectio divina on the life of St. Titus, a Mass of Welcome, the opportunity for confessions, a farewell Mass. Some stops made requests for a specific service and these were honored if possible. The relics were accompanied by a Carmelite and others to provide security for the relics as well as the religious services.
The final stop for the year was in the annual meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The bishops welcomed the idea of presenting Titus as a “truth-seeker” "truth-defender" and a “promoter of the truth.” The relic was also present at the annual meeting of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines. The Carmelites were given time to present the story of St. Titus and spend time in prayer with the relics.
Feedback from the year long experience indicated that people were impressed and inspired by the life of St. Titus. This was also true among the students who were able to participate.
