The right forearm of Saint Francis Xavier will travel from Rome on a tour of Canada in 2019

It is interesting that in 2019 a particularly venerated relic, the right forearm of Saint Francis Xavier, will set out from Rome on a grand tour of Canada. Servants of the Church explain that the arm, of course, will not fly in the hold or the hand luggage, but will occupy a seat of its own on the aeroplane, next to its escorts. The organisers of the journey have clarified that the hand of Saint Francis is not merely a relic but, in a manner of speaking, a person, though not a human being. We shall see what the Canadian airlines have to say to that.

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The right forearm of Saint Francis Xavier will travel from Rome on a tour of Canada in 2019

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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