From left, Father Al Bradley, Redemptorist; Gary Tanner, a member of the Knights of Columbus; Msgr. Louis A. Marucci, pastor; and Lou Bergbauer, a member of the Knights of Columbus, gather on March 22 at the veneration of the relics of St. John Neumann during the parish Lenten mission at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gibbsboro.
GIBBSBORO – St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gibbsboro welcomed the relics of St. John Neumann to their community on March 22 during the parish’s Lenten mission.
The relics were venerated as part of the annual mission’s closing celebration. The mission, which ran from March 20 to 22, was presented by St. Andrew’s pastor, Msgr. Louis A. Marucci, and focused on the theme of “Discovering God’s Presence.” More than 700 people attended on the evening the relics were venerated.
Redemptorist Father Al Bradley shared in the closing and honored the life of St. John Neumann. Father Bradley spoke of the dedication and spirituality of St. John Neumann, who as a bishop built more than 90 churches and traveled all over the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and throughout South Jersey.
As part of the closing prayer service of the mission, the Knights of Columbus color guard accompanied the reliquary into the church, where the reliquary was positioned before the main altar. The reliquary houses several relics of the saint.
Immediately after the closing prayer service, all those in attendance were invited to spend private time in prayer and were provided the opportunity for veneration of the relics.
The parish devoted the mission to calling the community to prayer for an increase of vocations to the church.
An international tour of the saint’s relics is taking place this year to mark the bicentennial of his birth.
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