A relic of St. Titus Brandsma was brought to the recent three-day plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in Kalibo, Aklan.
Saint Titus Brandsma (Catholic Online)
The CBCP said, the relic, taken from St. Brandsma’s Carmelite habit, remained throughout the bishops’ gathering from July 8 to 10 before it was transferred to St. Joseph the Worker Parish in the nearby town of Malinao.
Carmelite Br. Lester Hallig talked about the life of the journalist and World War II martyr on the first day of the gathering.
The pilgrim visit was part of a year-long national pilgrimage of the relic and image of the Dutch priest, which began on July 28, 2022.
Organized by the Order of Carmelites in the Philippines, the pilgrimage aims to increase awareness of the saint among the Filipino faithful, highlighting his life and mission as an educator and journalist dedicated to defending the truth.
The pilgrim relic has so far visited more than a hundred communities and schools in various dioceses around the country.
Catechism sessions on the life, works, and advocacies of St. Titus are usually held along with the veneration of the relic and a pledge for truth.
The Carmelites carry with them the advocacy of defending the truth, combating fake news, and countering historical revisionism, just as St. Titus did during the Nazi Era, the CBCP said.
The year-long pilgrim tour will end with a Mass at the Minor Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Quezon City on July 27, to coincide with the Feast of St. Titus Brandsma.
Born in 1881, St. Brandsma was a theologian and journalist who was canonized only recently by Pope Francis in May 2022.
Revered as “a martyr of press freedom,” the saint was executed at the Dachau concentration camp on July 26, 1942, for his staunch refusal to publish Nazi propaganda in Catholic newspapers.
There are no first-class relics of St. Brandsma because his body was cremated immediately after his death, and the ashes were scattered.