A journey of saintly remains

MANILA, Philippines - The first time I became a bona fide pilgrim was in 2014 when I joined my compadres and comadres in a tour of Israel and Palestine visiting the land where Jesus walked and was crucified. My second pilgrimage was in 2015 with the same group and visited a land although unholy in terms of faith, is hallowed ground as far as music buffs and aficionados are concerned. We visited Liverpool, the birthplace of the Beatles and London where they recorded their masterpieces and got immortalized as the No. 1 rock ’n roll band of all time.

This year, our group, now called the Pilgrimates (Greg and Myrna Garcia, Freddie and Boots Lozano, Mike and Baby Enriquez, Joey and Eileen de Leon, and yours truly with my better half Madeline) visited saints whose earthly remains still exist in various churches in France and Italy.

1. Mary Magdalene (Marie Madelein)

The skull of Mary Magdalene

I’ve read and heard so much about this controversial saint. Mary Magdalene was portrayed as Jesus’ lover and later wife in Martin Scorsese’s controversial movie The Last Temptation of Christ. She was also historically referred to as Jesus’ wife in the bestseller book and box-office smash movie The Da Vinci Code. We put her on the top of our list to be visited. Mary Magdalene’s remains (Madelein in French) including her skull and majority of her bones are located in a crypt under the basilica of St. Maximin, a small town of Sainte-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in the Provence area of France. It was a rainy afternoon when we visited her ancient crypt. Behind a glass casing was her fully-restored skull behind a well-reinforced altar.

According to historical accounts, Mary Magdalene after Jesus’ death, together with her brother the risen Lazarus, St. Martha, St. Maximin and a couple of others were exiled from Jerusalem and sailed on an unruddered boat. Miraculously, they arrived without incident in Marseilles in the Provence area where she preached and lived. In her latter years, she sought solitude in a cave on a mountaintop living a solo life of severe penance until her death. In 710 AD, her sarcophagus was found under the basilica of St. Maximin. Our group was privileged to hear a special Mass with Mike as the sacristan in the basilica’s main altar followed by a guided tour by the curator.

The author in front of the basilica of Mary Magdalene

2. Sts. Catherine Laboure and Louise de Marillac

St. Catherine Laboure

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris, France, is the chapel where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830 and requested the creation of the medal which came to be known as the Miraculous Medal. It is also the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. Located in the center of Paris, chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal houses two saints whose wax effigies that contain their bones are on display inside glass coffins on both sides of the main altar. St. Louise de Marillac, together with St. Vincent de Paul, was one of the prime movers of volunteers and social workers in 16th century Paris. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in March of 1934.

3. St. Bernadette (St. Marie Bernaud Soubirous)

The young Bernadette and (right) the favorite chair where St. Bernadette died.

On my seventh time to visit the uncorrupted corpse of the favorite saint of my wife and daughter, a tour guide was around to walk us through St. Bernadette’s timeline at the convent. She started by showing us the side door of the convent where she first entered to embrace the life of a nun.

According to our guide, her life at the convent was filled with struggles, illnesses and disappointments. Whenever depressed, she visited a tiny grotto at far end of the convent garden where she often prayed to a statue of Our Lady of the Waters and sought solace. Bernadette always commented that the statue of Our Lady of the Waters was exactly how the Immaculate Conception appeared to her unlike the existing statue in Lourdes which is merely a personal interpretation of the artist who made it. Of all the saintly remains I’ve seen, Bernadette, for me, is the best preserved. Of course, I’ve yet to visit Padre Pio in southern Italy whose remains are also uncorrupted. A new movie of her life, Je m’appelle Bernadette (I am Bernadette), has just been released in the market and I believe is a more accurate account of her life as a person compared to the older movies about her.

Our Lady of the Waters

4. St. Francis of Assissi a.k.a. Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone

Nestled in the center of Italy’s Umbrian region is the commune of Assisi in the province of Perugia. St. Francis of Assissi a.k.a. Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone or simply Francesco was born in September 1182. He and Chiarra Offreduccio (St. Claire of Assissi) both came from very rich families and decided to give up all their earthly possessions and embraced the vow of poverty. My compadre Mike, who is an ardent fan of St. Francis, was the most excited to visit the land where St. Francis walked and established the Franciscan order. And almost entered priesthood like yours truly to emulate St. Francis’ vow of poverty. Unbeknownst to many, both Mike and yours truly entered the seminary but didn’t reach holy priesthood. St. Francis’ remains consisting of a skull and skeletons are seldomly shown to public. A full tour of a few hundred meters from St. Francis basilica is the church of St. Chiara or Sta. Clara, the patron saint whose congregation we offer eggs to when we want good weather. Most childless couples in the Philippines pray to her with matching dance in her Obando church in Bulacan. Her remains are located at a catacomb below the church together with her worldly belongings including robes, hairbrushes and other sundries. I noticed from her dress sizes that her height must have been close to six feet.

Visiting the remains of saints we mostly revere are as interesting as touring the wonders of this world and there are thousands more to visit. I guess I’ve just scratched the surface.