Pilgrims flock to venerate relics

St Therese is sometimes referred to as the 'little flower'

Large numbers of pilgrims have visited St Andrew's Catholic Church in Newcastle to venerate the relics of St Therese of Lisieux.

The relics, in a decorated casket, were on display in the church, on Worswick Street, for 19 hours from Wednesday 30 September to Thursday 1 October 2009.

Pilgrims began queuing early on for their chance to venerate the relics.

There were also several special services and masses to mark the occasion.

Speaking to BBC Newcastle just a couple of hours after the relics arrived, Father Andrew Downie, the Roman Catholic chaplain at Newcastle University, said the number of visitors was already into the thousands.

He said seeing the relics was clearly having an effect on people:

"It's certainly making an impact - I think partly because St Therese is a saint that people very easily identify with - someone they can feel is relevant to their own lives and experiences.

The relics were in Newcastle for 19 hours Enlarge Image

"So to have this tangible link of visiting her relics is very special."

Father Downie also said he hoped the relics would encourage some people to start going to church again if they had not been for a while.

'Greatest saint'

St Therese was a French Carmelite nun who died of tuberculosis in 1897 aged 24.

She came to wider attention after her autobiography was published and was described by Pope Pius X as "the greatest saint of modern times".

So far her relics have been to 42 countries in 15 years.

The visit to Newcastle is one of 28 stops on a touring of England and Wales that continues until 16 October 2009.