Students venerate relics in honor of feast day and parish anniversary

SWORMVILLE — St. Mary Parish has a special devotion to St. John Neumann, the 19th century saint who went on to serve as bishop of Philadelphia, founded the Swormville parish in 1849. As the parish begins the celebration of its 175th anniversary, the school students marked the Jan. 5 feast day by venerating relics of this missionary saint. 

After school Mass, Principal Tristan D’Angelo explained to the students what a “relic” is. A relic can be a body part of a saint such as bone, blood or flesh, a possession that a saint owned, an object that has been touched to something belonging to a saint, or an object that the saint touched him or herself. Relics are reminders of saints and invite us to seek their help on our journey of discipleship. St. Mary’s has several St. John Neumann relics. A portion of bone was venerated by the students in the reliquary, but additional relics were placed under the main altar in the new church when it was built in the early 2000s.

Middle school students met with Ken Hoffmann, a parishioner; and Michael Slish, St. Mary’s youth minister, to discuss St. John Neumann and the topic of relics. They also discussed what we must do to be a saint. Students were invited and challenged to listen to God’s word in their lives, think about what He is asking them to do, and respond with a generous “yes!” By following St. John Neumann’s example in this way, the school prays that many more saints come from the parish in the future. 

For a more detailed biography of St. John Neumann and a timeline of his involvement with St Mary Parish, see excerpts from the 175th Anniversary Commemorative booklet, produced by members of the parish, click here. Commemorative booklets are available at the parish office. St. John Neumann pray for us.