St. John Paul II’s relic on display today

MANILA, Philippines — A relic of St. John Paul II will be on display at the Manila Cathedral’s Christ the King chapel today, his feast day.

The public veneration of the relic – a vial of the late pontiff’s blood – will last until the cathedral closes at 7 p.m., according to its vice rector Fr. Vicente Gabriel Bautista.

“So far I know of one story, someone who asked for a child. The couple prayed in front of the relic then they were given a child,” Bautista said of the relic.

St. John Paul II, who died in 2005 at the age of 84 and was declared a saint in 2014 by Pope Francis, elevated the status of the Manila Cathedral as a minor basilica.

His feast day was assigned on Oct. 22, when he was installed as pope shortly after his election in 1978.