Chancery Staff Blessed with Relic

On January 22, Father Joseph Marquis and his wife Mary visited the Chancery, sharing a relic of Pope St. John Paul II’s pericardium which is housed at All Saints Shrine at Sacred Heart Parish in Livonia, Michigan. Bishop Robert Pipta blessed the Chancery staff with this relic.

This relic was originally presented by Pope Benedict XVI to His All Holiness, Batholomew I (Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople) on May 1, 2011; the day of the late pontiff’s beatification.

The pericardium, which protects and supports the heart, contains approximately 50 cc of fluid that lubricates the heart's movements and prevents friction with the interior lining. It is attached to the chest cavity, providing stability to the beating heart.