Greek Orthodox National Shrine in Saint Augustine, Florida

The St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine is located in Saint Augustine, Florida.

It contains a reliquary with bone fragments of eighteen (18) saints and was certified by the Vatican. 

The relics are from these saints:

St. Paul - 1st Century St. Peter - 1st Century St. Titus - 1st Century St. Haralambos - 2nd Century St. Anthony the Great - 3rd Century St. Ambros - 4th Century St. Athanasios the Great - 4th Century St. Basil the Great - 4th Century St. Constantine - 4th Century St. Cyril of Jerusalem - 4th Century St. Gregory of Nazianzos - 4th Century St. Gregory of Nyssa - 4th Century St. Helena - 4th Century St. John the Chrysostom - 4th Century St. Nicholas of Myra - 4th Century St. Cyril of Alexandria - 5th Century St. Sabbas - 5th Century St. John of Damascus - 5th Century

The shrine is primarily housed in an old home called the Avero House, built by a Spanish family in 1749.  This is the only Greek National Shrine in the United States.  The shrine also has Byzantine art, frescoes, a gift shop and an outdoor garden.  

The Shrine consists of exhibits depicting the life of early Greeks in America and the development of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, and the St. Photios Chapel.

 Special exhibits tell the story of the First Greek Colony in the New World. This freestanding exhibit contains various artifacts, photos and historical documents. 

Hours:   

Monday - Saturday   9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday                 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Cost:  Free

St. Photios National Shrine
41 St. George Street
St. Augustine, FL 32085-1960

 

Phone: (904) 829-8205

Email:  info@stphotios.com

 

Website:

http://www.stphotios.com

 

Maria Stein Shrine of Holy Relics, Maria Stein, Ohio

The Maria Stein Shrine of Holy Relics is the second largest collection of relics in the United States located in Maria Stein, Ohio. It was founded in 1875 by father J. M. Gartner who entrusted his collection of relics to the Sisters at Maria Stein.

With 1,100 relics - of which 95% are “first class relics” (from the body of the saint, usually part of a bone) - the Maria Stein Convent was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The convent includes second class relics (clothes and items that the saint used), and third class relics ( things that a saint touched) as well.

In addition to the permanent holy relics display, the shrine features a diverse store of expositions, which change annually and may include exhibits of the homes of the region, lace making, presentations by local artists and craftspeople, and a quilt collection.

Down a path from the main buildings of the shrine is a tiny church referred to as the "Chapel in the Woods," in which there is an altar, edged by angel-shaped lamps.

Location:

2291 St. Johns Rd., Maria Stein, Ohio, 45860

Phone: (419) 925-4532 

Email:  info@mariasteinshrine.org 

Website:

http://www.mariasteinshrine.org

Heritage Museum

Mon - Thurs: 9:30 am - 6 pm
Fri & Sat: 9:30 am - 4 pm
Sun: 12 pm - 4 pm

Closed on Holidays

Relic & Adoration Chapels

Mon - Thurs: 8 am - 6 pm
Friday: 8 am - 4 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm
Sunday: Noon - 4 pm

Closed on Holidays
 

First Class Relic of Saint Padre Pio in Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois is the location for a first class relic of Saint Padre Pio.

In 1918, Saint Padre Pio prayed and offered himself as a victim for the end of World War I. In the following days, Jesus appeared to him in a vision and pierced his side, resulting in a visible, physical wound.

This "transverberation," or piercing of the heart, was to have symbolized the union of love with God. 

The relic consists of a large framed square of linen bearing a bloodstain from the wound in Padre Pio’s side, known as the wound of the transverberation of the heart. The relic is exposed for public veneration in St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, Illinois.

 Location:

Saint John Cantius Church

825 N. Carpenter St. , Chicago, Illinois, 60607 

Website:

http://www.cantius.org/go/organizations/relic_of_st_padre_pio_of_pietrelcina

Prayer Group:

The church has a Saint Padre Pio Prayer Group, which meets on the third Saturday of each month at St. John Cantius Church in Chicago (825 North Carpenter St., Chicago, Illinois). It begins with a Latin (Tridentine) Mass at 8:30 A.M., followed by recitation of the Chaplet of St. Padre Pio, prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father and for the success of the “Home for the Relief of Suffering” in Foggia, Italy. It concludes with a brief reception and meeting with light refreshments in Cafe San Giovanni.

Contact the Padre Pio Prayer Group:

padrepio@cantius.org

 

Saint Herman's Relics in Kodiak, Alaska

The remains of the first saint from Alaska in the Russian Orthodox Church (Saint Herman) are located in Kodiak, Alaska.

The Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Kodiak, Alaska houses a wooden reliquary that holds the remains of the Russian orthodox monk who came to the Island in 1794.

The legacy of Saint Herman, now the patron saint of Alaska in the Russian Orthodox Church, lives on long after his death. To this day, pilgrims make the trip to Spruce Island, off the coast of Kodiak, annually in August to visit the hermitage where Saint Herman lived from 1808-1819.

Saint Herman: When faced with an approaching tsunami, he held aloft an icon of Mary, and the waters didn't pass the point where he held it. Also, before his death, he predicted that no one would be there to bury him when he died, and that he would be forgotten for 30y years.
When he died on 11/15/1837 on Spruce Island, the area was hit by a storm, and his body wasn't retrieved for a whole month.

Saint Herman was canonized in March 1867, the first saint in the Russian orthodox Church to hail from Alaska.

The Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral in Kodiak, Alaska is the oldest Orthodox parish in North America.  A feast day in St. Herman's honor is held annually on August 9th.

Location:

Holy Resurrection Cathedral, PO Box 55,
Kodiak, Alaska 99615

Website:

http://oca.org/parishes/OCA-AK-KODHRC

Email:  hrc@dioceseofalaska.org

Church Phone: 907-486-5532

V. Rev. Innocent Dresdow [Priest]

410 Mission Rd.
Kodiak, AK 99615

Home Phone: 907-486-3854

Directions

General Location
The city of Kodiak is located on Kodiak Island and can only be reached by air or boat.

By plane
Fly in from Anchorage on either Alaska Airlines or ERA Aviation.  The airport is located a few miles out of town and offers regular taxi service or car rentals.

By Boat
The Alaska State Ferry the M/V Tustemena serves Kodiak from the ports of Seward and Homer.  The Church is a short two block walk from the dock.

The Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Cathedral was established in 1794 and elevated to Cathedral status in 2001 by His Grace Bishop NIKOLAI. The Cathedral is a well known land mark in the community and today continues to be the most recognized building in Kodiak. The current church building is the fourth and was built in the 1940s after a devastating fire destroyed the previous church. Currently, the Cathedral is blessed with the holy relics of St. Herman that offer the faithful an opportunity to pray and venerate his holy reliquary along with his monastic skufia and the iron cross he secretly bore upon his chest. The beautiful lampada which burns continuously above his reliquary was a gift to the Cathedral from His Holiness Patriarch Alexis II during his visit to Kodiak in 1993. Holy oil from this lampada is used to anoint those who are sick and suffering and is distributed freely to pilgrims who come from all over the world.

Grotto of the Redemption, West Bend, Iowa

The Grotto of the Redemption  -often called the Eigth Wonder of the World -- is located at West Bend, Iowa.

The grotto is four stories high, the size of a football field.

This is the largest man-made Grotto in the world, and it contains the largest collection of precious stones and gems found anywhere in one location.

Father Paul Dobberstein is the creator and it took a decade to create.

Each grotto is dedicated to a different religious theme like the Garden of Eden or the Ten Commandments.

Hours:

The Grotto is open year round for the public to go through at anytime. It is lit at night until 10:30 and has music playing throughout. Accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. Tours are given on a daily basis from May 1st through Oct 16th. The first tour of the day begins at 10:am. Appointments can be made for other times of the year.

Location:

Grotto of the Redemption
300 N Broadway, PO Box 376, West Bend, Iowa 50597

GPS N42.96401 W94.4451

Phone:  515-887-2371 

Email:  info@westbendgrotto.com

Hours:

The Grotto of the Redemption is open year round to the public.
It is lit at night until 10:00pm and has music playing throughout.
During winter, the Grotto is open with limited walkways.

Grotto Tours are given on the hour every hour May-October
May, September-October the first one starts at 10am, the last one starts at 4pm.
June-August the first one starts at 10am, the last one starts at 5pm.

Or, you may line up a tour any time of year by appointment.

Grotto Gifts and Grotto Museum
Hours change seasonally.
Current Hours:
Mon-Sat: 9:00am -6:00pm
Sun: 9:30am-6:00pm
or by appointment.

Directions:

From Hwy 18:
Turn South on Hwy 15
Go 11 miles to the edge of West Bend
Turn right at the first intersection in West Bend (4th St NW).
Go two blocks to Broadway Ave and turn south.

From Hwy 169:
Turn West on B63 or 130th St
(not to be confused with 130th St north of Humboldt in Humboldt County.  Make sure it is Hwy B63)
Go 13 miles on B63 to a "T-intersection".
Turn North on Hwy 15.
Cross the railroad tracks, and at 2nd St NE turn West.
Go two blocks and turn North on Broadway Ave.

From Hwy 4:
In Mallard, turn East on B63.
Go 13 miles.  The road will curve, just stay on it.
You will enter West Bend on B63.
Follow it up the hill to the stop sign and intersection with Broadway Ave.
Turn North.

 

Cost:

5.00 per adult and $2.50 per child for guided tours

Website:

http://www.westbendgrotto.com

Ave Maria Grotto (Jerusalem in Miniature) in Cullman, Alabama

The Ave Maria Grotto is located in Cullman, Alabama.

Brother Joseph Zoettl was born on 1/24/1878.
He was poor and hunchbacked.
He joined the St. Bernard Abbey and spent 17 hours a day for 30 years working in the pump house. During that time, he began building models to keep himself occupied because his work in the pump house was so tedious.

Brother Joseph Zoettl created thousands of miniatures to sell and hundreds of larger scale models to keep at the Abbey.

What began as a hobby became the Ave Maria Grotto, or "Jerusalem in Miniature," a 4 acre miniature city, filled withminiature versions of 125 famous, holy places. He built the Basilica in Lourdes --his last model--at age of 80 in 1958.

Address:

1600 St. Bernard Drive, Cullman, Alabama, 35055

Hours:

Open daily 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.       
Closed Christmas Day

1600 St. Bernard Drive SE
Cullman, AL  35055


Phone:  (256) 734-4110

Cost:

Adults $7.00 Children 6-12 $4.50 Sr. Citizens $5.00 Children under 6 - Free with Adult 

Website:

http://www.stbernardabbey.com/default.asp?iId=LHGJD

To Tour the Grotto, Here is the website:

http://www.avemariagrotto.com

Shrine of Saint Frances Cabrini and her Relics - New York, New York

In the city of New York, New York State, United States of America, is the shrine of Saint Frances Cabrini.

Shrine of Saint Frances Cabrini

Saint Frances Cabrini was the first American to be canonized as a Roman Catholic Saint.

This Shrine contains her remains and her wax effigy.

A Catholic Italian missionary who came to New York in the late 19th century to work with Italian immigrants,  Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini started schools and hospitals in nine countries. Cabrini died of dysentery in 1917 and was canonized in 1938 as the patron saint of immigrants.


Located in northern Manhattan, St. Frances Cabrini Shrine overlooks the banks of the Hudson River and the neighboring state of New Jersey. The Chapel houses the most precious remains of our beloved St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. 

Website:

• • Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

  
  
  (  http://www.mothercabrini.org )
  
   
  

 Address of this Shrine:



St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Shrine
701 Fort Washington Ave.
New York, NY 10040

Phone: 212-923-3536

Large Collection of Catholic Relics near Buffalo, New York

There is a large relic collection housed at Saint John Gualbert's Church located in Cheektowaga, New York.  It contains such relics as wood from the Cross of Jesus and threads from the Virgin Mary's veil and countless bones of saints.

Father Michael Burzynski has been collecting Christian relics for over 25 years. After being appointed to lead the parish at St. John Gualbert's Roman Catholic Church just East of Buffalo, New York he brought his entire collection to a side altar in the church where they will remain on permanent display for visiting and veneration.

There is no charge to view the relics.

The address and phone number for this church is:

St. John Gualbert's Roman Catholic Church

83 Gualbert Avenue, Cheektowaga, New York, 14211 

Phone: (716) 892-5746 

 

 

 

 

 

Relics of Saint Valentine in the United States

The Old St. Ferdinand Church in Florissant, Missouri contains the Old St. Ferdinand Shrine, and contains a wax replica of Saint Valentine in front of the altar.

Inside of this life-like replica is one of the relics of Saint Valentine that was given to Bishop Louis DuBourg as a gift from the King of France.

• Hours

  You must make reservations by mail or online.

• Website

  • http://www.oldstferdinandshrine.com/church.html

• Address

  1 Saint Francois St , Florissant, Missouri, 63031, United States

• Cost

  The cost of the tour is a $2.00 minimum donation per person for any size group. The tours can be conducted for all ages – they give tours from first graders to senior citizens.

I found the above information at this website:


http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-valentine-s-relics-in-missouri

Relics of St. Padre Pio 2014 Tour in the U.S.

Just learned there will be a tour of relics of St. Padre Pio in the United States in 2014.

I requested details for the schedule, and will post them upon my receipt of same.

"The actual cup that belonged to Padre Pio will be on tour of the USA in 2014, along with a collection of 1000 other Padre Pio relics and memorabilia.  Web site for the tour is here."