(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — In honor of All Saints' Day on Friday, a Roman Catholic church on Chicago's Southwest Side is celebrating with a display of relics from 17 saints.
Father Sam Joutras is the associate pastor of St. Rita of Cascia Church at 63rd Street and Fairfield Avenue in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, where the relics will be on display through Monday morning, Nov. 4.
He said the relics are especially significant, because they were part of the saints' bodies.
"It's the saints' actual DNA," Father Joutras said. "A piece of bone, a piece of hair, maybe a drop of blood. It is part of the body of the saint."
Father Joutras said because the relics were parts of the saints' bodies, it makes it easier for people to relate to them.
"It's showing that hey this person lived. This person experienced the same temptations, went through the same human struggles and joys that we all go through," Father Joutras said.
"Through all of it, they were given the grace to be faithful. It does make the saints more relatable."
For more information about the relics, visit the St. Rita of Cascia Church website.
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