The Church of the Incarnation will be one stop on a national tour of the relics sponsored by the Saint Pio Foundation.

The relics will be displayed from 9 to 11:45 a.m. and then from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the Church of the Incarnation. A Mass in honor of St. Pio will be celebrated at 5 p.m. Relics include the crusts of Fr. Pio’s wounds, cotton gauze bearing his blood stains, a lock of his hair, his handkerchief and a piece of his mantle.

About the relics

In the Catholic Church, relics are physical objects associated with a saint or candidate for sainthood — part of the person’s body or something with which he or she was in contact. Relics are not worshiped but treated with religious respect. Touching or praying in the presence of such an object helps a faithful individual focus on the saint’s life and virtues, so that through the saint’s prayer or intercession before God, the individual will be drawn closer to God.

About the Saint Pio Foundation

Founded in 2014, the Saint Pio Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization that promotes the legacy and teachings of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, popularly known as Padre Pio. Among its most important initiatives is the tour of the relics of Padre Pio, which has visited more than 100 cities in the United States and abroad, and the “Panis Angelicus” initiative, which provides thousands of boxes of food for families in need through its two programs “A Margherita for a Smile” and “Christmas Challenge.”